Spell Check becomes non-responsive when checking large document.

[mazdaspeed]

InDesign's spell check becomes non-responsive when checking a large (1,200 pages) document. When initiating the spell check the application becomes non-responsive for upwards to 30 minutes. Sometimes, it seems (maybe coincidence) that opening the MacOS Force Quit dialogue box causes ID to suddenly snap out of it. Once it decides to actually start checking words there seems to be no further issue.

Anyway, it's imperative that I run the spell check before this document goes to print. I know there's the argument that ID is not meant for editing. Editing is not the point. If you've ever maintained a large document you know how it can make you sleepy and prone to inadvertent keyboard taps, which can turn up as misspellings. I have to do this 2-3 times a year and I dread it every time.

Seems to me, from a purely programmatic standpoint, that spell check should take place in a non-graphical space that should not be a CPU-intensive task. Does anyone else have this issue?

[BobLevine]

What version of InDesign? What O/S? How much RAM?

[mazdaspeed]

Version 19.4, running MacOS Sonoma 14.5 on a Mac Studio M1 Max, 32GB.

I just finished running it again, twice, and it's done, meaning there are no more corrections to make. It takes about 10 minutes of spinning color wheel to come back to life. Force Quit shows ID as "not responding." 

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi @stevenp64515577, 

Thanks for sharing the info. Would you mind telling us if it happens only with the large document or any document? Is it possible for you to share a screen recording of the issue and if possible if you can share the packaged InDesign file with me over a private message so we can investigate at our end?

We will be happy to help you.

Thanks,

Harshika

[mazdaspeed]

Hello Harshika,

This is limited to only the large file (.indd is 40 MB after packaging). I have several files that are this size and they all behave the same. I'm unable to share the file with you but I can provide a screen recording. In it's entirety, the recoding is 12:29 and about 1 GB in size.  I've trimmed it to two, 100 MB files that are aproximately the first and last 90 seconds. Everything in between is irrelevant, as the Spelling dialogue box does not appear until toward the end of the video. How would you like me to share these with you?

While the recording does not capture the spinning color wheel, I did include the Force Quit dialogue box in the video, and it shows when ID is "not responding."

As stated, the Spelling dialogue box does not appear in the application until the end of the 12 minutes. There are no remaining words that are misspelled in the document. Preferences are set to find only Misspelled Words. To further validate,  I added 3 misspelled words to the document at page 1, page 623, and page 1148, and ran the spell check again. The first misspelled word is found almost immediately and this causes the Spelling dialogue box to also immediately appear. Skipping this first misspelling, it takes approximately 9 minutes for it to reach the second misspelled word at page 623. Skipping this second misspelled word, it finds the last instance on page 1148 after approximately another 2 minutes.

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi @stevenp64515577,

Sorry for the delay in responding. Are you still experiencing the issue? Please send me a private message with the screen recording of the issue. 

We will try our best to investigate the issue. 

Thanks,

Harshika