Unable to Import Canva PDF into InDesign: Seeking Solutions for 'Failed to Open' Error

[adept_days4831]

I have a 16-page pdf file from a client that they made in Canva. I can open it in Acrobat just fine but cannot import it in to InDesign. They included bleeds and crops. TrimBox set to .236 in, Bleed Box .118 in. Is there something I need to do to the file in Acrobat first before InDesign will let me place it? I keep getting the "Failed to Open the PDF file error".

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[Abhishek Rao]

Hi Adept_days4831,

Sorry to hear you're running into trouble with importing the Canva PDF! Could you please let me know which version of InDesign you're using and the details of your operating system? It might help us troubleshoot more effectively.

Additionally, would you be able to share the PDF file with us for testing? In the meantime, you could try opening the PDF in Acrobat and resaving it with different compatibility settings, or even try exporting it as a new PDF to see if that resolves the issue before placing it in InDesign.

Let me know how it goes!

Best,
Abhishek

[adept_days4831]

I'm using Adobe InDesign 2025 & Adobe Acrobat Pro on a MacBook Air - Apple M2/24 GB memory, Sonoma 14.6.1 (since my boss hasn't approved me to update it yet). I'll try resaving it with different settings.

[adept_days4831]

Here is the first 2-pages of the 16-page document.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi Adept_days4831,

Thank you for providing the details about your setup! Since you’re using Adobe InDesign 2025 on a MacBook Air with Sonoma 14.6.1, it’s helpful to know.

I can reproduce the issue you’re experiencing with the PDF, and I appreciate you sharing the first two pages of the document for our review. We will need to check this internally with the product team to investigate the problem further.

Please rest assured that we’ll keep you updated as soon as we have more information. In the meantime, if you come across any additional details or errors, feel free to share them!

Thanks for your patience!

Best,
Abhishek

[adept_days4831 · Accepted solution]

I found another user with a similar issue. His work-around allowed me to place the pdf. User IanMMP "Error Importing PDF into InDesign: 'CROP' Crop Type Missing"
Opening the pdf in Illustrator & resaving it as pdf. (I also fixed the document page size & bleeds while I was at it.) Worked great.

[leo.r]

I have a 16-page pdf file from a client that they made in Canva. I can open it in Acrobat just fine but cannot import it in to InDesign.

By @adept_days4831

<wrong response removed>

I thought you were talking about opening the PDF in InDesign.

[adept_days4831]

Nope. : ) That's the error received when trying to place it in InDesign. 
They call it opening when were just trying to put it in the file.
Thanks.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Have you tried opening it in Acrobat and saving under a new name? That may clean up and "correct" the file so that InDesign recognizes it. Canva is not noted for their outward compatibility with any vendor or app, and PDF is just a variable enough format that a few shortcuts or poor technical choices can make a file less than completely compatible.

I don't know what changes you want to make, but if the original creator can't do it for you, you might be able to do it in Acrobat directly. Or, try opening it in Illustrator, where you would have full editing capabilities although you have to be very careful with the strange structure that PDF sometimes uses to replicate a live layout.

[richf58022912]

I've been having the exact issue for a week, this is new. Last week preflighting the PDF worked so I could place the file in InDesign, but this week that no longer works. It's only Canva PDF files that are the issue. I've tried placing using all the import options and nothing works.  Having to open the file in Illustrator and re-saving it completely is a waste of time. I'm assuming Canva did something new to avoid print shops from printing easily? 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Since Canva is also a print provider, they'd of course prefer your projects get printed by them. Whether they are deliberately munging export PDFs to force (or encourage) this route is... unknown unless a technical expert looks at the very low-level nuts and bolts of the file.

But as said in this thread and others —

• Canva is an amateur's platform that emphasizes ease of use (sometimes for very complex, demanding project types) and has many limitations and variations from industry standard to both serve this audience/user level and encourage using them for the whole project;
• PDF is a variable standard, and even tools and export from differing quality tools can vary and fail to be interpreted correctly by other apps.

It's possible opening the PDF in Acrobat and re-saving it might 'clean up' the file; a similar pass through Illustrator — even to the point of saving as AI and placing that file format in InDesign  — might also bypass any issues, deliberately-induced or not.

[EoinMad]

I had this problem today.

A Canva PDF that had bleed, crop marks & CMYK wouldn't import to Indesign.

I got my customer to change the file to RBG and it now imports to Indesign.

I hope this helps someone...

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I'd make a small bet that opening and re-saving the PDF in Acrobat (making any small change to force a complete rewrite) is more at play, here, than the CMYK/RGB issue in particular.

Simple processing of PDFs through (genuine) Acrobat solves many problems with those generated by third-party apps and tools.

[Mike Witherell]

In Acrobat Pro, you can Save As and you can also go into the Preflight Profile and into the fix-ups section and re-write a PDF in many highly specific ways.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/preflight-profiles-acrobat-pro.html