Unable to launch InDesign: Continuous loading

[amharc]

I'm getting a continuous beach ball when launching InDesign on my iMac (OS 13.6.9 and up to date). It keeps spinning for hours and the only way out of it is to force quit the program.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled Creative Cloud and all of my Adobe apps but it still keeps happening. I've also tried the other solutions suggested online but to no avail.

The computer is running smoothly. I work on files in Google Drive but that has worked without any problems in the past.

Any ideas as to what could be wrong.

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Mike Witherell]

Carefully work thru this compendium of troubleshooting advice:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/reset-indesign-preferences-and-other-troubleshoo...

[amharc]

Thank you very much Mike for that comprehensive page. I worked through as many of them as I could. Unfortunately, the problem still remains. 

I transferred the file to another Mac and it opened without any problem. 

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @amharc,

I’m sorry to hear that the issue is still persisting despite your best efforts. It sounds really frustrating, especially when you’ve tried so many troubleshooting steps.

Based on your description, it seems like the spinning beach ball might be caused by Google Drive not syncing properly on your Mac. When InDesign tries to access a file that’s not fully synced, it can cause the program to hang because the file isn’t available locally.

As a workaround, I recommend keeping your InDesign files locally on your Mac rather than directly in Google Drive. This should help prevent the spinning beach ball issue. You can always move the file back to Google Drive once you’re done working on it.

Please let me know if this helps or if there’s anything else I can assist you with!

Best regards,

Anshul Saini

[amharc]

Thank you Anshul. I tried that but unfortunately it didn't work either.

I get a 'Do you want to start automatic recovery?' message.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @amharc, 

Thank you for trying the suggested steps by Anshul. Would you mind sharing a few more details like: 

1. Is the issue specific to a single file or happening with all InDesign documents? If single, please share the file with us to test at our end. 

2. What version of InDesign are you using? 

We will wait for your response. 

Thank you,

Abhishek Rao

[amharc]

Hello Abhishek. Thank you for responding.

1. It's not specific to any one file. It happens as soon as I launch InDesign, just after the Home screen appears. I don't even get a chance to open a file.

2. I'm on the 2024 version.

Thanks again.

Seán.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @amharc,

Thank you for your response. If possible, could you share one of the files with us for testing? Additionally, a screen recording of your entire workflow would be really helpful in understanding the issue better.

Thank you,  
Abhishek Rao

[amharc]

Hello Abhishek,

File and video attached. Unfortunately, the video didn't record the beachball but it was there from the very moment the file started opening.

Thanks.

Seán.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @amharc,

Thank you for sharing the file and screen recording. I appreciate your effort in providing these details. I was able to open the file without any issues.

Please download the InDesign file to your desktop folder and ensure that the linked file, Library_ucd_brandmark_black_text.ai is downloaded and kept on the Desktop folder. Once you've done that, try reopening the file and seeing if the issue persists.

Let me know if you still encounter any errors or need further assistance.

Best regards,

Anshul Saini

[amharc]

Hello Anshul,

I downloaded the InDesign file and the linked file and tried to open it. Unfortunately, there was no change and the problem persists. I left the program running last night and the beach ball was still spinning this morning! 

I also ran Activity Monitor. A screenshot is attached here. Yesterday I noticed that the beach ball is also starting to appear in Photoshop when I try to place an image into a file. It lasts about 10–20 seconds.

Seán.

[Dirk Becker]

Have a look here https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/indesign-is-slowing-down-while-open-documents-in...

Activity viewer can give a hint where the program is stuck.

Maybe you can prepare a few similar screenshots. I'll be away until next week.

[amharc]

Thanks Dirk. I removed five fonts but that didn't make any difference.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @amharc, 

Thank you for the update. Would you mind running the document in Safe mode to check if any third-party driver is causing the issue?

We will wait for your response. 

Thank you,

Abhishek Rao

[Dirk Becker]

The suggestion was not about the outcome / fonts in that case, but about the approach to see where InDesign is stuck – it will likely be different for yours as it is not just a delay.

[amharc]

Hello Abhiskek,

Apologies for not being able to get back to you sooner.

I ran the document in Safe Mode. Firstly, Creative Cloud launched but it too three minutes to initialize. I then clicked on the InDesign document file. It launched fine and I could move the cursor around for about one minute. The beach ball then appeared again and the program froze, so I had to use Force Quit.

The computer was running slow for a time. It took about 5 seconds to respond to clicks.

Seán.

[Mike Witherell]

On the problem computer, is Google Drive set to have files available for offline use? IOW, is the file on your hard drive?

[amharc]

Hello Mike,

Google Drive is set for offline use. The file is on my hard drive, in a folder synced to Google Drive.

Seán.