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michaelac52496890
Known Participant
August 4, 2021
Question

All files getting damaged/ corrupted after upgrading to inDesign v16.3

  • August 4, 2021
  • 5 replies
  • 6519 views

Ever since we upgraded to 16.3 our files are consistently being corrupted. We repair them, resave them, and then it happens again. This is happening to our entire team (we each have our own login accounts). We have tried:

  • uninstalling and reinstalling 16.3
  • uninstalling and going back to 16.2
  • uninstalling and going back to 15.1.3
  • recreating the file
  • opening a file from March and updating it
  • emailing Adobe support directly
  • Google searching the error messages
  • Reading every "learn more" option provided
  • Sending reports every time we are given the option

None of these have fixed the problem and it seems to be getting worse each day. The first week it was occasional, the second week it happened more often than not. Now it is every time we open a project file and sometimes it's even crashing InDesign altogether or not repairing the file.

 

Desperate for help...

 

 

{Renmade by MOD}

5 replies

LarryDDavis
Participant
February 26, 2023

Corruption may be overstating it.  When we upgraded our version of inDesign, the new one would revise any file opened - making the file unopenable in the older version.  Since we had a couple of workstations running different versions, that was a big problem.  This lack of compatibility is built into the software, and as far as we know, no simple fix after the files have been saved on the upgraded format.

Barb Binder
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 26, 2023

Hi Larry:

 

When we upgraded our version of inDesign, the new one would revise any file opened - making the file unopenable in the older version.

This is how InDesign has always worked. Files created in older versions can be opened by newer versions—they will show [CONVERTED] on the tab bar by the filename—and you will be forced to Save as even when you choose File > Save so that you don't inadvertantly overwrite the previous version. 

 

If you attempt to open a file from a newer version you will get a message like this, offering to convert it back:

 

This is not an ideal workflow in an workgroup environment. Ideally, the whole office is on the same version so that none of this goes on. That's part of the idea behind the creative cloud subscription — the upgrades are included, so everyone can upgrade at the same time.

 

~Barb

 

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
Known Participant
September 8, 2021

I'm having the same issue.

 

InDesign 16.4

macOS 10.15.7

Intel-based 27" iMac

 

Reverting back to InDesign 16.3.2 seemed to work for now.

Ashutosh_Mishra
Inspiring
September 5, 2021

Hi All,

 

Sorry to hear about your experience. We have launched Adobe InDesign 16.4 recently with multiple bug fixes and performance improvement.

Please update your app to the latest version. Let us know if you still have any issues. We'll be happy to help.

 

Regards,

Ashutosh

Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Community Manager
August 11, 2021

Hi there,

 

Sorry for the delayed response. I can understand your frustration. I would like to know if you are still facing this issue. If yes, I would request you to share a few more details like: 

  • Operating System
  • Screenshot of the error message
  • Please share a damaged sample document with us? You can upload it to the Creative Cloud (https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/share.html) and share the download link.
  • Are you able to open files in v16.3 if you save them locally?
  • Are you able to create a new document and open them up later without any errors in v16.3?
  • Were there any recent changes made to your systems? For example, any antivirus, system updates, or web extensions installed recently.

 


I will be looking forward to your response.

 

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 4, 2021

How are the files being corrupted? You say you can open and "repair" them. What are you "repairing" to continue?

 

Are you using Windows machines, Macs or both? Where are your InDesign files and linked files stored? What are the error messages you're seeing?

 

We're happy to help, but we need a bunch more information about what you're experiencing to be able to lend a hand.

 

Randy

michaelac52496890
Known Participant
August 4, 2021

If we knew how they were being corrupted, I think we'd have our solution!

 

  1. The initial message when we try to open says: InDesign detected that the file "XXX" is damaged. Would you like us to try to repair the file? The file may be temporarily processed on our servers. 
  2. When we say "yes" it does some scrolly bar stuff and the says: InDesign has repaired "XXX". Some information may have been lost. We recommned you save this file before working further.
  3. Then we choose "Save As" and rename it. The next time we open that file we circle back to the first message.

 

At least that's what WAS happening. Now, we sometimes get a message: InDesign could not repaire "XXX". To prevent such file issues in the future, please check the support documentation. This gives a Close and Learn More option. The Learn More goes to https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/troubleshoot-file-issues.html which doesn't provide anything helpful for our situation. Or it will "repair" and instead of opening it crashes InDesign altogether. 

 

We are only using Windows PCs and our files are stored on a server (same place they have been, no change there).

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 4, 2021

OK.

 

In-house physical server or cloud server?

Are you working off the server?

Or are you downloading packages to local desktops and working on local systems? If you try this option, do you get the same results, or does this help you past your immediate issues?

Have you tried exporting files to IDML, then re-opening them in InDesign and saving as new INDD files? If you haven't, try this and let us know how this works for you.

 

And let me offer some outside reading which may help you in your efforts:

 

https://creativepro.com/editing-indesign-files-directly-off-a-server-crazy — old school arguments, but germs of this discussion are still relevant to issues you're contending with today

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/1631944-indesign-corrupt-files — the last comment offers relevant information for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loXAjL-ICLo — Options for advanced file recovery, as well as specifically addressing network problems

 

Finally, I'm trying to help here. I understand you're frustrated, but I'm an end user just like you. If you're looking for help, I'm willing to try. If you're looking for a fight, you need to go somewhere else. 'Cause I'm not interested in that.

 

Honestly, I hope this helps.

 

Randy