Reoccurring Crash at the Data Merge Tab

[McKenzie36849647cgni]

We are having an issue with InDesign at the Data Merge tab on large files (~100MB) on a group drive . We make a copy of a template, make some changes, and link a csv and merge one record in our process. However,  sometimes, when we open our template and clicking the data merge panel it crashes the entire program. This typically happens when there is already a csv linked to the document. Sometimes we can no longer open the file. Other times we can open the file, but never use the data merge feature or the software will crash and changes are lost. When we try to copy pages to a new file, the issue seems to carry over with the page content. It does seem to help to rewrite the file as IDML, but then we loose the content in the data merge tab and are back to the same place in our procees. Does anyone know what might be causing this issue or have recommendations for how to use the data merge feature without loosing files? 

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @McKenzie36849647cgni,

Thank you for sharing the details of your issue. I understand how frustrating it must be when InDesign crashes during such a critical part of your workflow. Let’s try to narrow this down.

1. Could you please confirm the version of InDesign you’re using and the details of your operating system? This information is crucial for identifying any version-specific or OS-specific bugs.

2. Are you linking the CSV file from a local drive or accessing it remotely (e.g., from the same group drive as the template)? Files accessed remotely can sometimes cause delays or corruption, particularly with large templates.

3. Is the crash happening every time you access the Data Merge panel with linked CSVs, or does it occur sporadically? Knowing this will help us determine whether it’s file-specific or systemic.

4. Have you submitted a crash report with a description of the issue? These reports are incredibly useful for Adobe’s engineering team. You can find the steps to submit one here.

Recommendations:

• Since rewriting to IDML seems to help temporarily, try saving the template as IDML and then back to INDD before linking the CSV. It’s not ideal, but it might isolate whether the issue is with the file structure.
• If possible, test with smaller CSV files to rule out the possibility of size-related crashes.

For additional insights, you might find these threads useful:

• Data Merge Crashing
• Data Merge Panel Crashes
• Old Discussion but Relevant Info

Let me know if you’re able to reproduce the issue or gather additional details. I’ll do my best to help resolve this!

Best,
Abhishek Rao

[McKenzie36849647cgni]

Abhishek, 

Thank you for your reply. 

1. We are using version 20.0 on a Windows 10 operating system. 

2. We are linking as locally to the same drive. 

3. The issue seems to occur sporadically. We have used this process for over a year and are just now encountering this errror more regularly. The only known change was that we added hyperlinks to youtube videos on about 10 master pages, but this is a different panel and function. 

4. We have submited crash reports, but have not heard back on how to resolve the issue. 

The first link you shared is most similar to our experience, but it does not answer how we could prevent the error?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

1. We are using version 20.0 on a Windows 10 operating system. 

2. We are linking as locally to the same drive. 

By @McKenzie36849647cgni

Was everything OK on 19.5 / 2024?

Earlier you said "group drive"?

Local drive is one that is installed physically in your machine. Anythuing else is considered "remote" and can create problems.

[McKenzie36849647cgni]

My apologies it is a group drive, not physically on the machine. We had this problem on both 19.5 and 20.0. 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

My apologies it is a group drive, not physically on the machine. We had this problem on both 19.5 and 20.0. 

By @McKenzie36849647cgni

Have you tried copying all data locally and then do DataMerge?

[McKenzie36849647cgni]

We have. But our data merge links to files that live in the group drive so that is not a solution for us unfortunately. 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

We have. But our data merge links to files that live in the group drive so that is not a solution for us unfortunately. 

By @McKenzie36849647cgni

Can you make a sample - and test it locally and then from your group drive? 

InDesign is extremely sensitive to a network "quality".

Or try smaller CSV files.