Unable to Save or Export files from InDesign 2022 (17.0) on macOS Monterey

[Alexander.Hahn]

Updated to macOS 12.0.1 and InDesign can't save or export files anymore. 

What I tried with no success:

• Delete Cache and Prefrences in the Library folder
• Uninstall / Install InDesign
• Rebooted the system
• Logged out and in from my Adobe Account
• Tried to use the Intel and M1 verison of InDesign. Same problems

So, clicking (or using the shortcuts) Save or Export, nothing happens. When I try to place another document the attatched, broken dialog appears.

{Renamed by MOD}

[Emmazoe08]

Thanks Stephen, your suggestion works perfectly for me! It also solved the problem to make the pdf export dialog appear.

[danisack]

YOU ARE A GOD! it works... 

[billglas · Accepted solution]

Was horrified to update to OS Monterey yesterday so that I could update to InDesign 2022 today. Menus drop-downs no longer worked in InDesign so couldn't export to PDF presets and had to go through the "Export" keyboard shortcut. Found one solution. I set the Apple System Preferences -> Accesibility -> Display to "Reduce Transparency". Menu function is now working correctly. Now to go find out where all my PhotoShop shortcuts went...

[jimoglesby65]

Bill, THANK YOU! I udgraded to Monterey and I lost all dropdown menu functionality in InDesign. It was driving me crazy! Your solution fixed it. Much appreciated!!

[Essbee63]

All the sudden I cannot Export or Save As (NOTHING happens when I select them from the menu or use keyboard shortcuts) although it has never been an issue until today. I use a large external monitor attahed to a MacBook and the large monitor is my main work area. I find that if I switch monitors in System Preferences so that the MacBook is the main monitor, OR I totally disconnect the main monitor, I CAN Export and Save As. So I can only do this from the small MacBook screen, which totally DISRUPTS my workflow. I see that this has been an issue for a while for others for months, and it NOT YET FIXED. Can you, you know, FIX IT?!

[Randy Hagan]

I'm afraid we can't. This is a user forum, with only rare contact with Adobe staff and nearly none from the program developers.

If you'd like to report this bug that's bothering you, you can do it through this link.

Hope this helps,

Randy

[Essbee63]

Oh, sorry, right. Rarely post. Well, the link to report this is an exercise in frustration. Anyway this is a serious issue and they have been sitting on it for two months. Ugh! Dunno why I had NO issues until today, nothing has changed with my setup, settings, version, nothing.

[Randy Hagan]

I'm sorry you're suffering this.

I actually have the opposite issue. On my laptops, I can't see a bunch of my menus and/or dialog boxes and have to scroll down the zoom to use InDesign on the fly.

I don't know if this will work in your case, but if you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, holding down the Ctrl key+scrolling the wheel up and down zooms the screen view in  and out on Windows systems. On Macs, the Cmd key+scrolling does the same thing.

While you don't need to zoom in/out on your InDesign desktop with a large external monitor, I know that sometimes behavior changes as I work in different zoom percentages. Maybe that could help? I don't know, but it doesn't take much to try and maybe you'll get lucky?

Wish I could offer more help to you,

Randy

[LisaE_Atl]

OMG. I just upgraded to Monterey, and the latest InDesign and I cant export or save as!! This is madness!!

[Essbee63]

Yes, it's an absurd bug. What does the MONITOR have to do with whether InDesign should work?!

I assume you use more than one monitor. The only solution I found, which is extremely inconvenient, is switching my main monitor FROM my large external monitor to the small MacBook screen, which causes all my carefully plaed Desktop folders and icons to get crammed randomly onto the smaller screen, overlapping each other and causing chaos. Someone out there may say, "clean that up, then," but that is NOT what I should have to be doing with my time!

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Essbee63 & @LisaE_Atl,

We are sorry about the trouble. We're currently working with Apple to resolve this issue. Please upvote this issue here and stay tuned for updates. As you are already aware of one of the workarounds, would it be possible for you to test a couple of workarounds:

• Change the default resolution to scaled 1080p and see if that helps.
  
  
  
• Try different Screen UI scaling from the InDesign preferences menu, and let us know if that helps.
  

I will be looking forward to your response.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[Essbee63]

Yeah, I appreciate that but I am not messing with my setup any further. Once this is fixed, please contact me so I can change my setup back to the way it was! Thanks.

[Anshul_Saini]

I understand that. Thanks for being so patient. As I mentioned above, please upvote this issue & add your comment there (https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs/suggestions/44352357-export-and-sav...), and you will get all the updates related to this issue.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[Essbee63 · Accepted solution]

When I went to upvote, I discovered someone said that simply updating Monterey to 12.1 solved the problem. So I upgraded. And it did. WOW, wish I'd known it was that easy. All that agony for naught!

[Anshul_Saini]

Glad to hear that. I guess Apple silently fixed some issues in macOS Monterey. I hope it gets fixed for other users as well. Thanks for letting me know that. I will check with a few other users and see if it helps them out.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[LisaE_Atl]

12.1 Monterey update still has several things greyed out in InDesign, but at least they actually WORK now!! 

(Apple's site has an old link.. just to 12.. they should update it to 12.1)

[Pix-l]

Impossible to open the windows for exporting my works in inDesign. Same for “saving as“.

I tried keyboard shortcuts, mouse pointing and everything.

I relaunch my inDesign 16.4, uninstall the 17 and install it again from Creative Cloud. Still impossible.

Is somebody have the same problem ? It's like inDesign don't let the “extra-windows“ open.

I'm on Mac OS Monterey.

Thanks

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi there,

Sorry about this trouble. This issue has been reported with multiple apps on macOS Monterey. We're currently investigating this issue.

As a workaround, you may try one of these options:

• Change primary monitor from System Preferences (Display) and then restore the settings to the original. Steps are shared here.
• If that doesn't help, we would suggest disconnecting the external monitor(s) or iPad (Side Car).

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[kayleighr90403470]

I have tried InDesign 2021 & 2022 on the new Mac Os update and I can't get any documents or images placed. The file window is blank with the excpetion to check boxes? Is anyone having the same problems? I have also seen all the posts with the document font issues as well...

[Kathya98BC]

Hello, I´m having just the same problem. I tried opening a InDesign docuement and the work window doesn´t show up, when I right click in the App to Show All Windows this is the only thing that shows.

[Conrad_C]

Could those be related to the problem listed by Adobe in their help document Known issues with macOS 12 Monterey? The Place dialog box is related to the Open/Save dialog boxes.

InDesign
Sometimes the Save, Save as, and Export dialogs may not appear when an external monitor (via USB-C thunderbolt cable) or iPad (via Sidecar) is connected.
To display the dialogs, temporarily disconnect the external monitor or Sidecar.

---

If the Place dialog box isn’t working, can the files be imported using drag and drop?

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi all,

Sorry about this trouble. This issue has been reported with multiple apps on macOS Monterey. We're currently investigating this issue.

As a workaround, you may try one of these options:

• Change primary monitor from System Preferences (Display) and then restore the settings to the original. Steps are shared here.
• If that doesn't help, we would suggest disconnecting the external monitor(s) or iPad (Side Car) as mentioned in the help article shared by @Conrad_C. 

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[default5y42cbrng2ft]

Ah.

So we have to disconnect our external (second) monitors for this problem to go away?

That's tying one of my designer hands behind my back but still expecting me to get my work done to meet deadlines.

Are you really working on this problem? Phrases like "we're currently investigating this issue" don't give me much faith that Adobe will fix this bug soon.

This is a terrible bug!

[Conrad_C]

I don’t work for Adobe, but based on past experience it is not clear cut yet whether this is an Adobe bug to fix. Especially because the problems involve things that could be OS level. There have been several examples in recent years where a serious bug affected Adobe Mac applications, and nothing was confirmed by any party until an Apple update fixed the problem. In many cases the bug fix is not even mentioned in the Apple release notes but the evidence was clear. I am not saying these specific bugs are Apple’s fault (because we dont’t know and users might not ever be told), so although it may well be an Adobe bug, history suggests there is a fair chance that the bug fixes might come from either company.

Sometimes we wait while the two companies dig into the code and figure out whose problem it is. No point making one company committing resources to fix it when the problem might be in the other company’s code.

If you’re seeing this bug because you bought a new M1 Pro/Max laptop, I hear ya…it is not possible to use an earlier version of macOS on them. We will suffer until one of them fixes it.

If it’s because the Mac has been upgraded to Monterey, then…this is exactly why every time, I wait 6 to 12 months to upgrade to the next major version of macOS. There are always too many glitches in the first few months and I will not expose client schedules to those risks if I can avoid it.

[veras54240904]

Never update to first OSX version. It is like puting bomb under your designer chair. I have never updated my mac to anything less than xy.3 or later.