Why will the Type tool not work?

[julia8173]

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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[Bill Silbert · Accepted solution]

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]

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]

Hope it continues to work out.

[danadelsol]

This worked for me; thank you!

[WaltDittrich]

Neither of these two fixes (Deleting the InDesign cache nor InDesign preferences) worked for me.

Each time I drag a box with the Type tool, no box is created. I can't type and see my letters. Typing actually changes which tool I'm using.

I click on the Type tool.

I click and hold on a blank spot in my document and drag to make a text box. When I let go, the box disappears. Typing any key changes the Type tool to whatever tool is for that key.

[Laubender]

WaltCD  wrote

…I click on the Type tool.

I click and hold on a blank spot in my document and drag to make a text box. When I let go, the box disappears. Typing any key changes the Type tool to whatever tool is for that key.

Hi WaltCD ,

would the following steps create a text frame in your document?

1. Copy some text to the clipboard.

2. Switch to your active document with the Selection Tool selected.

3. Paste.

How large is the rectangular area you do with the Type Tool before the text frame vanishes?

Try a larger area before you let go the mouse.

Regards,
Uwe

[MissYakson]

This is the answer that worked for me, thank you very much.

To add to what you've already noted in case someone is not drawing a tiny text frame and wondering why this happened to them. In my case, my document dimensions were already very small. I'm creating a profile photo for social media. So, my "regular" text frame would actually be quite tiny, considering. Anyone wanting to try this, make a really big text frame to be sure it works. You can resize it afterwards.

Thanks again for the answer.

[HPWGVA]

Still helping in 2024. Indeed on a small document we need to make a bigger textbox or change size of the font before doing the box. Thank you 🙂 

[laura1jane]

THANK YOU!!! I have been having this problem for a few days off and on! It has been driving me nuts! This worked!!

[theag48571468]

Very helpful, this worked immediately. Thanks!!

[bradblackman]

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

[bradblackman]

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.

[Csaba5E46]

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.

[defaultpn7s0lr8z2j5]

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]

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

[defaultpn7s0lr8z2j5]

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
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