Performance Issues with Fonts on MacBook M3 Pro in InDesign

[AlexUzan]

Good morning,

I recently switched to macOS with a MacBook M3 Pro, and I'm experiencing terrible performance when certain fonts are used in my documents, like this one: https://www.dafont.com/hey-october.font.

I understand it's not a simple font and is likely resource-intensive, but I never had any issues on my less powerful Windows PC.

So, I'm wondering what my options are. Is there a setting I can change in InDesign to fix the issue? (I've tried the most common solutions.) Or is there a tool that could make the font less heavy?

I installed the trial version of Fontalb, which has an option to simplify or clean the font, but it hasn't helped.

Unfortunately, I can't change the font because it's used throughout the entire document.

Thank you very much for your help.

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[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @AlexUzan,

I understand how frustrating it can be to encounter performance issues with specific fonts, especially after switching to a new system like the MacBook M3 Pro. 

Could you please share the following details to help narrow down the issue?

- What version of InDesign are you using?
- What macOS version is installed on your MacBook M3 Pro?

Additionally, it would be helpful if you could share a screen recording of the workflow showing the performance issue. This will give us a better idea of what's happening.

In the meantime, here are a few things you can try:

1. Disable Font Preview:
   - Go to InDesign Preferences > Type and uncheck "Enable Type Tool Font Preview." This can help reduce the load when working with resource-heavy fonts.

2. Font Cache Reset:
   - Try resetting the font cache on your Mac. Sometimes font cache issues can lead to performance problems:
     - Open Terminal and run the command: 'sudo atsutil databases -remove'.
     - Restart your Mac.

3. Outline the Font:
   - If performance remains an issue, you can try converting the font to outlines. This removes the font from the document but maintains its appearance:
     - Select the text > Right-click > Create Outlines.

For additional troubleshooting, you can also refer to this article: (https://adobe.ly/3XP6ANV).

Let me know if these steps help or if you need more assistance. We're leaving the discussion open for further insights from our community experts as well!

Thank you,  
Abhishek Rao

[AlexUzan]

Hey Abhishek,
Thank you for your answer.

1) I disabled the preview: no change.
2) I tried this as well, no change.
3) Converting the font is not really an option since we're still early in the process workflow, and many changes will be made.

I just made a video about the issue:

https://youtu.be/ZN2yqSxkb1s

Thank you

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @AlexUzan,

Thanks for sharing the video; that really helps! To better understand the issue, could you let me know if this performance problem occurs with just this specific file, or is it happening with all InDesign files using the same font? 

If it’s happening across multiple files, you might want to consider the following options:

1. Create a new document and try using the same font to see if the performance issue persists.

2. If you're using multiple styles (e.g., regular, bold, italic) of the font, try reducing the number of active styles to see if that helps.

Let me know how it goes or if you need further assistance! We're here to help. 

Thank you,  
Abhishek Rao