Repairing a file

[Design Stream]

I have been using a single InDesign file for about 3 years to create catalog documents for one client. Each season, the catalog uses products from the previous season and we add or subtract a few more. It might be as small as 120 pages or as large as 200 pages. Over time, the file has grown slow and the style sheets are quirky. I'm hoping to be able to repair the file without spending days rebuilding it. I tried saving it as an idml file to clear out the old information, but that didn't seem to work. Has anyone found a good way to do this?

[Geоrge]

For the future, not now:

- do a copy as many as you think. Your HDD will suffer this, don't worry.

- use backup soft (Acronis, Symantec/Veritas Backup, etc)

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

Save the file as an IDML (File > Save As). This will fix a lot of issues and strange behavior with a document.

I can't tell you how many times IDML saved a layout project for me.

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

And as George recommends, back up, back up, back up. It's a great idea that never gets old. I use Time Machine on a Mac and it is truly amazing.

[Design Stream · Accepted solution]

I saved as an IDML file and that didn't seem to speed up the file, Then I copied the pages of the file to a new blank document. So far, this seems to have helped. Thanks for your advice!

[smoothsea]

I'm glad that you got it sorted out for this document.

For future projects though, save your document as an Indesign template (.indt). Each time you open a template it will open as an untitled document which you can use.

That way, you don't experience any errors which compound as a document is re-used over time. You'll always start with a clean document.

Regards,

Malcolm

[SJRiegel]

To speed up working with a large InDesign project, break it into several smaller documents, and connect them with an InDesign Book file. This will speed things up (especially if you are using Index markers), while still allowing master pages and styles to be synced across the whole project.

[Barb Binder]

Here is a good resource for you, and others who may read this thread in the future: Troubleshoot damaged InDesign documents

You've already tried step 4 unsuccessfully, and it appears that step 9 fixed the issue, but for any of us who spend much time around InDesign, it's worth being aware of steps 5–8 as well.

~Barb