"Activating Font" background task won't stop

[Thomas30206178sk8b]

Hello! 

I'm having an trouble the background task feature on InDesign. I downloaded two fonts from DaFont to spice up my magazine, and since then I haven't been able to save or export my document because it is continuously "activating font" under background tasks and isn't stopping. There is no option to delete (see picture). Has anyone had experience with this? I'm afraid to ctrl-alt-delete because I don't want my document to not be saved. 

This post from 2020 had a similar issue, but after I did what the commentor suggested (went to Find/Replace Font and clicked "Redefine Style When Changing All" for all the non-normalized fonts) it still didn't work. I'm at a loss as to what to do. 

[Steve Werner]

Try using a different font instead of the one you used and see if you get the same issue.

Some free or inexpensive fonts may "look good" but are poorly constructed.

[jesse_mellon]

Same issue here.

[hixchix]

I'm having the same problem on one of my two iMacs. Minion Pro is the font (which I don't use) which is constantly activating in the background tasks. I can't make it stop. I tried disabling automatic font activation in the Preferences, but it still happens. I've restarted, updated InDesign etc. Still happens. Ugh. 

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi @hixchix,

Sorry to hear about the trouble. Please try the suggestions shared in this discussion and let us know if this helps or if you need further assistance.

Thanks

Rishabh

[davecourtemanche]

Minion Pro may be the default style of "Basic Paragraph" or the Type Tool. Try changing to something you have continual launched (with no documents open).

[Cynthia36125482dxvx · Accepted solution]

Just go to "edit", "preferences" and down to "file handling", uncheck the box that says "auto activate Adobe Fonts.

[Nicole36967642heey]

Winner, winner, winner! Thank you so much. This has been an aggravation for me for months.

[Hebah Alhamwi]

It didn't work! the background is still trying to activate the font that's not being able to be installed in Adobe fonts for some reason when the whole family is activated! 

[Laubender]

Hi @Hebah Alhamwi ,

double-check if the option to automatically activate Adobe Fonts in the InDesign Preferences is deactivated.

If that still does not work, quit InDesign, restart InDesign and see if the option diabled still stick.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[kristen_4273]

this worked!!!!!!!!!

[Mandeepoop]

My Hero!!

[Jim38840276pfdj]

Are there any other options? because that did not work. 

[rob day]

Hi @Jim38840276pfdj , What font(s) are trying to Auto-activate?

[Jim38840276pfdj]

Not sure which one it is exactly but it starts with "Monarch"

[maisy_6415]

I had the same issue - did you restart Indesign after unticking the 'Auto-activate' box? This did the trick for me

[Bera35005021f6ve]

Hey guys, I'm having the same problem, thing is i DO want to activate the fonts since I need them in the project. I wonder if there's a way of fixing this. Internet connection is ok, I'm logged into my CC account... Happens with every file now. Any ideas?

[Laubender]

Hi @Bera35005021f6ve ,

do you have checked option:

Preferences > File Handling >

[ x ] Auto Activate Adobe Fonts

Are the missing fonts available in Adobe Fonts?

If yes and auto activation does not work, activate the fonts in:

https://fonts.adobe.com/

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[Bera35005021f6ve]

The fonts are availavable in Adobe Fonts, however the task won't stop. I've had to quit Indesign several times just to save a file, for example. These are old files, I'm not trying to activate any new font.

[rob day]

These are old files

The reason I asked about the font name is you have to watchout for fonts with the same name but different vesions There are a number of fonts provided by Adobe Type that also could be downloaded from some other vendor and installed in your OS—something like the free Google font Roboto might cause an activation conflict.

[Bera35005021f6ve]

That's exactly the case. I went ahead and deleted the fonts from my computer and re installed them and it stopped. Thank you so much.

[rob day]

Hi @Bera35005021f6ve , What font are you trying to activate? 

[Laubender]

@Bera35005021f6ve said: "…The fonts are availavable in Adobe Fonts, however the task won't stop. I've had to quit Indesign several times just to save a file, for example. These are old files, I'm not trying to activate any new font."

Well, in this case I would deactivate any automatism for activating fonts.

Preferences > File Handling >

[   ] Auto Activate Adobe Fonts

And activate them when necessary directly at:

https://fonts.adobe.com/

when InDesign is not open.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[Bera35005021f6ve]

I understand, I do enjoy the Auto Activating on other documents though, this would be a great fix but sometimes files I share files with a team, so not having to do that manually does save some time. You're so kind though, thank you so much for your help!

[Bob5CF2]

Thank you for this thread! I have been running into this same issue. Turning off "Auto Activate Adobe Fonts" is a temporary fix. Auto activation saves time and guesswork and I would love it if it worked.