Skip to main content
A
Anonymous
April 12, 2010
Answered

"Failed to export pdf file" in indesign

  • April 12, 2010
  • 9 replies
  • 74585 views

Hi all

I get this message “Failed to export pdf file in indesign” when exporting a 20mb indesign file. It doesn’t seem to like being compressed, manybe taking up to much virtual memory,

Has anyone had similar problems?

Or suggestions?

Thanks

Helen

      This topic has been closed for replies.
      Correct answer JJS SCP

      Divide and conquer worked for me. I exported only the first half, then the second minus the back matter, and they exported fine. One page in the back then did not. I then fixed a visual problem I saw on the page and that somehow fixed the problem (I resized an image and a text box). I was able to export the page and the whole doc.

      9 replies

      P
      Paolo T
      Known Participant
      September 4, 2020

      I have the same problem with an older version of InDesign. I’ve been using it on a Mac mini 2012 with 16 GB of RAM up until now, and everything worked fine. Now, I’ve migrated to a Mac Pro 2013 with 64 GB of RAM. The operating system is the same (High Sierra, Security Update 2020-04).

       

      Yet, with more memory and a more powerful computer, I've a big book that I can no longer export as a PDF in the new Mac. I've tried with another Mac (with the same OS and fonts installed), by accessing the book from remote, and it worked fine.

       

      I've restarted the Mac Pro in safe mode, and it worked fine (despite lacking the necessary fonts). I've cleaned the fonts, repaired permissions, deleted ID's preferences with Cmd-Opt-Ctl-Shift and manually, removed ID's temp font lists, and there is no way to make this big book be exported. Smaller books and documents are fine.

       

      I'm following this thread, but I see that there is not yet a solution. Saving separate sections of the book is not working, because the PDF bookmarks are broken (not so the ToC ones shown in page, oddly).

       

      Paolo

       

      P
      Paolo T
      Known Participant
      September 6, 2020

      Solved!

       

      It was for sure something in the fonts. I let Font Book deactivate all the extra fonts. Then I added the reliable ones. I left out the most dated, or the one from obscure developers.

       

      At the moment, everything works fine. I'll add any other fonts, one at a time, and check what they do to the system.

       

      So, InDesign CS6 is continuing to work fine on my High Sierra systems. Fonts are always the second thing to see, after the preferences. Or maybe the first one.

       

      Paolo

      C
      cloud1950
      Inspiring
      January 24, 2019

      I receive the same error on my MacBook Pro with InDesign CC 2019.

      The INDD file is 1442 pages. There are tons of .pdfs placed in this document.

      FYI's:

      • I resized all the images so that they fit the size that they are in the frame boxes.
      • I didn't adjust too many .pdfs. (reduce size pdf)

      I am trying to export the .pdf at 150 resolution and I thought by dropping the resolution from 300 it would export.

      This is an interactive .pdf because there is a table of contents and I want the user to be able to navigate through this large document. I don't know if I split the .pdf in half if that would help keep those hyperlinks intact?

      On a separate note, I think IND acts weird with the new Mojave.

      BobLevine
      Community Expert
      BobLevineCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 24, 2019

      Bookmarks in a TOC will function in a print PDF. Be sure to enable it on export.

      C
      cloud1950
      Inspiring
      January 24, 2019

      thanks Bob! even if you split it and put it together, will it still work?

      pattyl00
      pattyl00
      Participant
      September 28, 2016

      Not sure if my issue is the same as yours, but I kept getting the "Failed to Export PDF" pop up even with no errors.

      Recently talked to a representative at Adobe. I was working on a 300 page book filled with PDF documents. The first issue that came up was missing fonts - InDesign picked up the text from my PDF files (even though it was the completely wrong font) but I had to download them anyways to clear that missing fonts pop up to export.

      "Failed to Export PDF" still kept popping up and all the links were linking up. The rep (having full control of my screen) finally figured out that it was the PDF export settings, under Output. It was difficult for me to understand his English, but he mentioned something about the color of the PDF? Anyways - I attached a screenshot of what worked for me. Hope this helps!

        Peter Spier
        Community Expert
        Peter SpierCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        September 28, 2016

        If that solved the problem, it was only coincidence. Color conversion should not affect the ability to export, and I certainly wouldn't want to convert work for print to RGB.

          C
          cb75002518
          Participant
          June 17, 2016

          Try exporting as an IDML and reopening. The IDML strips out any excess formatting etc. May not work for everyone, but worked just now for me! The new file from the IDML was able to export PDFs with no problem.

          C
          Clarerc
          Participant
          May 23, 2016

          What I did is to export the whole InDesign file as a JPEG.  By doing this, the pages in the document will save as individual files.  All you then have to do is to convert the files to PDFs and merge all the documents into one PDF file and open it as a PDF. 

          This is by far much quicker and simpler than anything else I have tried, especially compared to trying to find the source of the error.

          BobLevine
          Community Expert
          BobLevineCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          May 23, 2016

          First, this is a five year old thread. Secondly, that is an awful "solution" since everything is rasterized.

          C
          Clarerc
          Participant
          May 23, 2016

          Sorry, I just thought that it might still be a relevant problem, since I myself referred to this forum when faced with the same difficulty.  And I agree with you, it isn't the best action since it rasterizes it but I just thought that it could be a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone who had a huge document and needed to convert their document into a PDF really quickly.

          D
          damogran
          Participant
          March 9, 2011

          Hello All

          I had this same situation on, and even bothered to create an account here to report it.

          I found a solution after trying to "package" the .indd file.

          When packaging the file, it reported about two pictures that were inserted as links to the document. Their type was a PNG-file.

          I replaced the linked PNG:s with imported .BMP:s and voila, export to pdf worked fine.

          just my 2 cents,

          Damogran

            A
            Anonymous
            April 27, 2010

            I just got the same error and went through separating pages and remo

            ving things, and when that didn't work I just tried changing the name of the document and it worked.  Go figure!

              A
              Anonymous
              April 13, 2010

              Probably completely off the wall, but do you have any background applications that might take ownership of that PDF before it's finished?

              I have this situation with an automatic backup programme that, if it starts to back up the PDF before InDesign has finished creating it, effectively locks the file so InDesign can't complete PDF creation.

              k

                linda jayne clark
                linda jayne clark
                Participant
                October 8, 2019
                found the offending placed illustrator file by saving each page individually!! thx!!
                A
                Anonymous
                April 12, 2010

                cs3 indesign, windows vista!

                E
                Community Expert
                Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
                Community Expert
                April 12, 2010

                I think there's something wonky on one of your pages that is causing it to crash:

                Try the divide and conquer method.

                Export the first half to pdf, then the second half.

                Then half them again and again, until you find the problem page(s).

                If both halves export just fine then just combine them in acrobat again.

                But you might want to consider that your file might have a bit of corruption so check out this post:

                (as always keep a backup of your file just in case)

                http://forums.adobe.com/thread/526991

                  A
                  Anonymous
                  April 12, 2010

                  Hi

                  thanks for the message. How do you export the first half and second half and put them together Theres only one page..its a exhibition panel!

                  thanks

                  Helen

                  Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                  Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices