Packaged InDesign files lagging when more than one open

[Kate_Bee]

InDesign has become unusable due to lagging when more than one InDesign document is open, but ONLY if these are from packaged files. As standalone documents before packaging they work fine.

I have been doing a lot of testing and simplified it down so much that I can just have one text box with a few words in the document (default Minion Pro font) and I still get lagging.

Lagging includes:

Can't select text straight away

Typing text

Moving objects is difficult

Wheel spinning on and off

Delay selecting tools

= basically unusable!

This is not an issue if only one of the packaged documents is open. Unfortunately my job requires more than one file open a majority of the time.

It has taken almost 4 weeks to understand this is the exact issue and I'm at a loss. Any ideas on how to fix?

[Eric Dumas]

Can you confirm the version of the software and operating system you are using?

There are no major differences between a packaged .indd file and the 'non-packaged' ones, assuming you are using the .indd file.

The difference is in the location of the linked resources (images, fonts...). Depending on the location and size of all this information it might require too much read/write processes for your computer to handle easily.

One option would be to open the .idml and save as .indd to make the file a little lighter. Are you opening the packaged files from a network drive, an external drive?

If this is a recent issue, do you remember what has changed/upadted that might have caused this issue?

[Kate_Bee]

Thanks for the response.

FYI to anyone having similar issues, I have since discovered that deleting document fonts from the packaged folder brings everything back to normal.

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

Are the Packaged files on a server? If yes, try moving to your desktop to see if the issue persists.

[Kate_Bee]

I have the same issue on the server and local.

[Kate_Bee · Accepted solution]

FYI to anyone having similar issues, I have since discovered that deleting document fonts from the packaged folder brings everything back to normal.

[wlrayburn]

I literally just posted about the maddening slow downs with more than one document open and it showed me your post. I suspected it was a font issue, but haven't had time to investigate myself. I'll give your solution a test.
...
That actually works. That is a serious bug that needs fixed right away.