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laurendrzata8
Inspiring
April 23, 2021
Answered

InDesign (16.1) crashes while installing new font on macOS Big Sur

  • April 23, 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 1781 views

Without fail. No matter where the fonts come from: Adobe Fonts, Google Fonts, specialty fonts. Shortly after  installing I get an alert saying InDesign has experienced a serious error and needs to close, which it does. Sometimes it recovers work, sometimes it doesn't. Super frustrating. Hoping I am not the only one dealing with this and that there may be a fix soon.

 

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Correct answer laurendrzata8

UPDATE: The Adobe Employee below suggested a remote session, and that's what saved the day. The suspected culprit was a third party font that went corrupt. Solution involved validating all fonts in Font Book (and deleting the ones generating errors), restarting the computer, cleaning the font cache, restarting the computer again, then resetting the InDesign preferences to default. I had done some of these steps previously, but once performed in this order, the issue seems to be resolved. It took about 2 hours for a very patient Adobe employee to remotely poke around my desktop and figure all this out.

4 replies

L
laurendrzata8AuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
May 4, 2021

UPDATE: The Adobe Employee below suggested a remote session, and that's what saved the day. The suspected culprit was a third party font that went corrupt. Solution involved validating all fonts in Font Book (and deleting the ones generating errors), restarting the computer, cleaning the font cache, restarting the computer again, then resetting the InDesign preferences to default. I had done some of these steps previously, but once performed in this order, the issue seems to be resolved. It took about 2 hours for a very patient Adobe employee to remotely poke around my desktop and figure all this out.

    Srishti Bali
    Community Manager
    Srishti BaliCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    April 25, 2021

    Hi Lauren,

     

    Sorry about the crashing! I am hopeful that the issue is fixed by the suggestions shared above. If not, would request if you could try the steps shared on this page ( https://helpx.adobe.com/in/fonts/kb/troubleshoot-fonts-illustrator-indesign.html ) and share your observations with us.

     

    Also, please confirm a few more details like:

     

    We're here to help, just need more info.

     

     

    Regards,

    Srishti

    L
    laurendrzata8Author
    Inspiring
    April 26, 2021

    Hello Srishti,

     

    Resetting preferences did not remedy the issue. The troubleshooting link you sent seems to identify damaged fonts. I am fairly sure that none of the fonts are damaged; every single font that I try to download, no matter where it comes from, causes InDesign to crash.

     

    To answer your questions:

    • No, the issue is not related to a specific document. I get the attached prompts within a minute or two of activating or installing any font. (
    • No, my machine is not powered by an M1 chipset. iMac specs attached as well 
    Srishti Bali
    Community Manager
    Srishti BaliCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    May 2, 2021

    It looks like we need to troubleshoot this on a live session. Please head here (https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html) and select the chat button in the lower-right corner of the page. We can help troubleshoot faster that way.

     

    Thanks!

    jmlevy
    Community Expert
    jmlevyCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 24, 2021

    Did you try to reset preferences? Restart inDesign while holding down the Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Cmd keys. Wait to get the warning message, then you can release the keys. You can also try to remove the AdobeFnt16.lst files (these are the font caches files). 

      E
      Community Expert
      Eugene TysonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 25, 2021

      Agreed - it's one of the first things to try - reset your preferences.

      If that is not working - sure an update might work. 

      But I suggest you try the https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

       

       

      L
      laurendrzata8Author
      Inspiring
      April 26, 2021

      Hello Eugene,

       

      I have tried resetting preferences, no dice. I then read about the cleaner and it says advanced users should only attempt it for certain situations. I do not think this particular problem warrants this particular troubleshoot, as I'd be nervous about messing it up. Thanks for the suggestion though.

      Bill Silbert
      Community Expert
      Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 24, 2021

      You didn't say how and where you are installing fonts. Fonts should always be installed in the correct font folders on your computer rather than within a program's application folder. This way fonts are available to all programs rather than just a single one. I also recommend using a Font Utility such as Suitcase or FontExplorer to manage your fonts. If you are installing directly into InDesign try doing what I've suggested instead and see if it makes a difference. In terms of troubleshooting this is also a better way to go as it gives you a chance to see if the fonts are working in other programs which eliminates the possibility that your fonts are corrupt.

        L
        laurendrzata8Author
        Inspiring
        April 24, 2021

        Hello Bill.

         

        Allow me to clarify for you. I have been have been adding fonts two different ways: 1.) by simply "activating" them via Adobe Fonts/Creative Cloud, and 2.) Through downloading from Google Fonts or other sources, double clicking the font file, and installing them via Font Book, which is the default app on a Mac. (I have a 2019 iMac running Big Sur, version 11.2.1.) I can assure you that I am not adding them within a program's application folder, not sure why that was assumed. I can also say with surety that the fonts are not corrupt. They work fine in other programs, and they work fine in InDesign after the program is relaunched after the crash. It just seems like something around adding new fonts is triggering a crash now, every single time a font is added. (I suspect this may have started around the time I updated to Big Sur.) Either way, I am still curious if other people are experiencing this issue, if Adobe is aware of it, and if it will be remedied anytime soon.

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