Solution
Last updated on
Feb 19, 2025
Issue
InDesign runs slower than usual.
Solutions
Before you try the solutions below, ensure the following:
- Check the minimum system requirements for the latest version of InDesign.
- Install the latest version of InDesign.
- Check if the issue is related to a specific document/ tool/ feature. Try creating a new document and see if the issue persists.
- If no, then the document may be corrupt.
- If yes, check if the issue occurs with a specific tool/ workflow. - Are the files saved on Network Drive/ System HDD/ Shared Folder on System /External HDD?
We always recommend saving the files locally. When you save and open files across a network or from removable media, many variables affect application performance. Internal hard disks have faster access/ speeds than network servers (that is, a hard disk accessed over a network) or removable media. In case you are saving the files to the network or removable media, then try saving the file to Desktop and see if that works.
- If the problem is recent, check for any changes made to your system. For example, any antivirus, system, or application updates, or web extensions installed recently.
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Description |
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Disable thumbnail previews in the pages panel |
Open the Pages panel options and deselect Show Thumbnails, which is turned on by default. |
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Disable the Always Preview Images With Documents preference |
Go to Preferences > File Handling and then deselect Always Save Preview Images With Documents. |
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Reenable Patient User mode |
Go to Preferences > Interface and then set Live Screen Drawing mode to Delayed or Never. |
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Disable or reduce the Active Preflight profiles |
Go to Window > Output > Preflight and then deselect Live Preflight.
Alternatively, ensure that you select only the smallest number of the most important preflight rules.
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Reset preferences |
Preference settings are saved each time you quit the application. Corrupt or damaged preferences can cause slowness and unexpected behavior. For more details, see Set Preferences. |
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Troubleshoot GPU related issues (macOS only) |
Toggle between GPU and CPU preview modes to identify if GPU performance is causing the slow performance. For more details, see GPU Performance InDesign. |
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Remove old or corrupt Fonts |
Corrupt and damaged fonts may result in the slow performance of an application. For more details, see Troubleshoot font issues |
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Reinstalling the application |
If the steps shared above did not help and the application is still not working properly, you’ll need to reinstall the application.
Windows: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<version> C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\<version> C:\Program Files\Adobe macOS: ~/Library/Caches ~/Library/Preferences Finder > Applications
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Advanced troubleshooting steps |
These are generic steps that help you in testing the app in Safe Mode and Hidden Admin Account/Root user account on the device to fix the issue. For more details, see Advanced troubleshooting for launch issues. |
Resetting the preferences removes all the custom settings and InDesign launches with default settings. We recommend you to tRefer the community article for best practices to optimize performance.
