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julia8173
Participant
March 25, 2018
Answered

Why will the Type tool not work?

  • March 25, 2018
  • 5 replies
  • 21824 views

I was working on a project in InDesign, and I needed to use the Type tool. I clicked on it and tried to create a text box on my artboard but nothing would appear. I tried this several times and nothing happened. I have never had this issue before. I read that it may be helpful to "trash" the preferences, so I tried the keyboard shortcut and nothing happened. Everything else appears to be working fine. I am new to this program and don't know anything about how to fix these things.

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    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Bill Silbert

    Try deleting your InDesign cache files (which is not the same as trashing preferences).

    To do so:

    For Macintosh Users: With InDesign closed launch a Finder Window in column view and click on your home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. Within the Library folder find the “Caches” folder. Within the Caches folder find and delete the entire file “Adobe InDesign”. I find that deleting the cache file completely leads to a lasting change. 

    For Windows Users: On Windows 7 and above the caches files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\Version [#]\<Language>\Cache.

    If that does not work you might try manually deleting your preferences.

    To do so:

    For Macintosh Users: With InDesign closed Launch a Finder Window in column view and click on your home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the following two files and delete them: “Adobe InDesign” and “com.adobe.InDesign.plist”. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

    For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching InDesign and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

    To do so:

    On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create  new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

    The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

    5 replies

    Participant
    July 5, 2023

    Maybe I'm just not doing it right, but I cannot find the folder you described, I can't reset preferences, I can't find the Cache, I do not know what I'm doing wrong. Even when I manage to copy and paste text into the text box it disappears if I try to change the type. This is super frustrating. I even updated Indesign hoping that would fix it, but it did not. When I tried to hold down the keys like you described that also did not work.

    HARSHIKA_VERMA
    Community Manager
    Community Manager
    July 5, 2023

    Hi @defaultpn7s0lr8z2j5,

     

    We apologize for the frustration you're experiencing with the Type Tool in InDesign. We understand how important it is to address this issue promptly. To assist you better, could you please provide us with the following information?

     

    • The version of InDesign is installed on your machine.
    • Details about your operating system.
    • Is the issue occurring consistently across all InDesign files or only specific ones?
    • If possible, could you create a short video demonstrating the behavior you're experiencing? This would help us gain a clearer understanding of the problem.

     

    We will make every effort to assist you.

     

    Thanks,

    Harshika

     

    Participant
    July 5, 2023
    Indesign 18.4x64 - the most recent update.
    Windows 10 version 22H2
    I don't have a video, next time it happens I will take one. I kept
    uninstalling and reinstalling and restarting my computer until I got it to
    work again because I have to use Indesign at work. But this has happened at
    least 4 or 5 times now and I would really like for it to stop happening.
    We do have a Connect Fonts powered by suitcase plugin, I don't know if that
    is causing an issue?
    It seems to just happen randomly, I don't know what's causing it and I
    can't figure out how to fix it other than going nuclear with uninstalling
    and reinstalling and restarting.
    Thanks,
    Penny
    --
    Participant
    August 31, 2021

    I've had the same issue, and before trying the solution here, I tried drawing out a type box outside my pages. It worked, I was able to drag it into the page and then was able to create boxes normally again. Might worth a try.

    bradblackman
    Participating Frequently
    October 5, 2020

    I've done this several times and it still reverts to the incorrect behavior after a couple of tries.

    bradblackman
    Participating Frequently
    March 4, 2021

    I discovered that using my own Workspace tends to mess this up, so I use one of the defaults. Not really ideal, but since I modify the Advanced workspace, it's not a dealbreaker. Would be nice if the type tool didn't break, though. Haven't seen any issues since I last posted here, though I've been using one of the default workspaces instead of my own.

    Participant
    September 17, 2020

    Very helpful, this worked immediately. Thanks!!

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    March 25, 2018

    Try deleting your InDesign cache files (which is not the same as trashing preferences).

    To do so:

    For Macintosh Users: With InDesign closed launch a Finder Window in column view and click on your home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. Within the Library folder find the “Caches” folder. Within the Caches folder find and delete the entire file “Adobe InDesign”. I find that deleting the cache file completely leads to a lasting change. 

    For Windows Users: On Windows 7 and above the caches files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\Version [#]\<Language>\Cache.

    If that does not work you might try manually deleting your preferences.

    To do so:

    For Macintosh Users: With InDesign closed Launch a Finder Window in column view and click on your home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the following two files and delete them: “Adobe InDesign” and “com.adobe.InDesign.plist”. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

    For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching InDesign and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

    To do so:

    On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create  new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

    The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

    julia8173
    julia8173Author
    Participant
    March 26, 2018

    I tried this. Thank you very much for such a complete answer. I couldn't find the folder you mentioned: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\Version [#]\<Language>\Cache. I tried to reset the preferences, and I think that worked. I'm not sure because I formed the text box by clicking and dragging, which I've never had to do before. Thanks again for the long, detailed answer.

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    March 26, 2018

    Hope it continues to work out.