Workspaces aren't synced. So... where are they stored under Windows and Mac OS?

[Thomas_Calvin]

I'm logged in with the same account on both systems, but despite claims I've seen to the contrary, a workspace I created and saved on my Windows computer does not appear on my Mac.

Presumably there's a workspace file I can manually copy between the two computers, but where do these reside under these OSes?

And are workspaces supposed to sync?

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

macOS:
The workspace files (XML files) are stored in the following location: /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/Version [version number]/en_xx/Workspaces.

Windows:
The workspace files are located in this folder: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\Version [version number]\en_xx\Workspaces.

[Thomas_Calvin]

Thanks for the reply.

So... nobody knows if these are supposed to sync? I thought they were.

[Frans v.d. Geest]

No, they don't sync. I believe syncing was gone 10 years already...

[Thomas_Calvin]

Unbelievable. Another "advantage" of the software-rental scam turns out to be...

[rob day]

I believe syncing was gone 10 years already...

Hi @Frans v.d. Geest , Do you mean the Creative Cloud Files folder? The discontinued CCF folder was Adobe’s version of Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, etc. I don’t think any of the file syncing services let you sync folders in the system folder, which is where the Workspaces XML files live.

[Thomas_Calvin]

It shouldn't be for the user to know or care where these files are stored; it's Adobe software configuration that's supposed to be synced across devices for paying Adobe users.

Failing that, there should be an import/export function. How are people supposed to move their workspaces between computers? Digging through application-support directories (which may be hidden by default on some OSes) and copying XML files around is not a legitimate workflow in production-quality software.

[Eugene Tyson]

Typically move the Find/Change queries, workspaces etc. to new installs. 

I also back up the xml files from those locations to another folder. 

It doesn't really bother me, never really thought of it before. I guess having them synced to your profile could be useful. 

I guess one situation I had a while ago was that I used a Windows PC for specific work in InDesign, and then I did other type of work on a Mac - and I used two different workspaces so in that case syncing wouldn't be useful. 

But I guess loading them to the Workspaces would be handy. 

[Thomas_Calvin]

This kind of thing was one of the selling points for the whole rental scheme. This is from Adobe's own documentation:

When you work on multiple computers, managing and syncing glyph sets, menu customizations, keyboard shortcuts, custom workspaces, and PDF presets among the computers could be a chore.

The new Sync Settings feature enables individual users to sync their settings using Creative Cloud. 

Do ya think? Having to manually re-create your workspaces and other settings every time you switch computers is absurd.

[leo.r]

This kind of thing was one of the selling points for the whole rental scheme. This is from Adobe's own documentation:

When you work on multiple computers, managing and syncing glyph sets, menu customizations, keyboard shortcuts, custom workspaces, and PDF presets among the computers could be a chore.

The new Sync Settings feature enables individual users to sync their settings using Creative Cloud. 

By @Thomas_Calvin

That page was last updated in 2021.

Also, you forgot to mention this from the page you quoted:

https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/indesign/using/sync-settings.html

I do agree that this feature would be useful. I think that it never worked as expected that's why Adobe discontinued it years ago. I also think that's the feature @Frans v.d. Geest was referring to in an earlier post where he said "I believe syncing was gone 10 years already."

[Thomas_Calvin]

I didn't forget to mention it. The point is that syncing this stuff is a need recognized by Adobe (and widely supported in other software), not some surprising idea.

So what do they do? Remove the functionality after touting it as a benefit of their rental scheme.

[Eugene Tyson]

This kind of thing was one of the selling points for the whole rental scheme.

Having to manually re-create your workspaces and other settings every time you switch computers is absurd.

By @Thomas_Calvin

Just 2 points. It’s not a rental, it’s a time-limited subscription licence you’re paying for the legal right to use the software while your subscription is active.

An recreating my workspace takes about a minute. I know how I want it to look and what I need. Once I do it once I save it. Then I back up the XML file for it. 

It doesn't take long. 

Of course, a simpler way would be appreciated. But then Adobe couldn't show you new panels or features, or maybe a panel/feature is removed or renamed and then your Workspace XML file won't make sense. 

Anyway, it's not how it works at the moment, you can always make a feature request. 

For now, you have to do what we all do, find the files and manually move them, or some script might be able to do it, but that's a lot of work to do to write a script to do something that takes a couple of minutes. 

[Thomas_Calvin]

I don't subscribe to word games; I leave that to others.

"But then Adobe couldn't show you new panels or features, or maybe a panel/feature is removed or renamed and then your Workspace XML file won't make sense."

Not true. A central tenet of software design is versioning. Any preference file that can't sustain schema changes as the software's features evolve is grossly incompetent.

Digging around in buried app-data directories that are not consistent from one Adobe product to another on the same computer, let alone across operating systems, is not something the users of a finished product should be expected to do. Excusing unprofessional implementations like that with, "oh well, it's only a few minutes" simply gives vendors a free pass on fielding half-asssed junk (at high prices, no less).

[Eugene Tyson]

Maybe I'm just resigned to that's the way it's always been. As I said you can raise a feature request. 

Nothing we can do about it here except say how it works. 

[Frans v.d. Geest]

This may help:

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/export-import-user-settings-indesign.html

[Thomas_Calvin]

That does, help, thanks! Apparently even Adobe is unaware of this document, since the page above, Sync settings in InDesign using Adobe Creative Cloud

says "See the information below to migrate your presets/settings from an earlier version of InDesign to the latest one or from one computer to another" but does not, in fact, discuss moving settings from one computer to another or link to the page you provided.

There's a pretty major caveat on the other page, though:

You may not be able to successfully import the User Settings if these were exported from:...

• a different OS platform.

If you can't sync between Windows & Mac, it's pretty junky.