How to fix a corrupt InDesign file
Clients sometimes call me with tales of woe of misbehaving InDesign files. Sometimes the bad file will open, but crashes every time they turn to page 3. Or the file crashes when they save. Or the text is all scattered willy-nilly across the page. Sometimes a corrupted file won't even open. When a file goes bad, and you don't have a recent backup copy, what do you do? Here are two things to try.
Export to inx/idml
This method will only work if the bad InDesign file will open. With the bad file open, choose File > Export. Select InDesign Interchange (INX) for the Format. Specify a filename and a location to save the file to, then click the Save button. This will produce a file with an .inx extension, which is sort of like a list of instructions on how to put the file together. Next, close the corrupted file, and open the .inx file you just created. InDesign will read through the instructions in the .inx file and rebuild a new, untitled InDesign file. The new file should look just like the original file, but hopefully without whatever is causing the file corruption. I've seen this work wonders many times! If you have InDesign CS4, and this doesn't fix the file, try the steps above again, but choose InDesign Markup (IDML) for the file format.
The Markzware solution
Q2ID is a great program from Markzware that converts QuarkXPress files to InDesign format. (I previously wrote about this here). Markzware also makes a product called ID2Q that converts InDesign files to Quark. Why am I telling you this? It just so happens that people have discovered that sometimes ID2Q will open and convert InDesign files that InDesign itself can no longer open. So if you use ID2Q to convert the corrupt file to Quark, and then use Q2ID to convert the file back to InDesign, you might be in business.
If you don't want to purchase both products, you can hire Markzware to try the fix for you. See the offer from the Markzware Blog below:
Fix your Bad Adobe InDesign Files! Markzware, well know for it’s QuarkXPress fixing XTension MarkzTools and conversion tools, such as the ever-still popular Q2ID (Quark to InDesign) Plugin is working on a tool that hopefully one day will make fixing bad or not opening InDesign files a cinch. Till then, we have a nice service (no cure-no pay. $99) where will will attempt to fix your flaky InDesign CS documents. Just email sales@markzware.com with the document (if less than 15MB) or email us for our FTP details if larger. Even if you do not want to pay, we would still love to see your strange InDesign files for our R&D.
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16 comments:
This worked beautifully! I exported a damaged (but openable) InDesign file using the InDesign Interchange format, and reopened it without any problems.
Thanks a million for posting this!
--- J.Lenius
Thank you sooo much! I thought my assignment was doomed! This is one happy uni student! :) :)
Excellent! Thanks for sharing such a great tip!!
Thank you so much. I was ready to create my hi-res pdf for the printer and the file kept closing out on me. I went into panic mode. I thankfully found your post and was so thankful. The tip worked great and I was able to move forward with the file without any issues.
Thank you! I've spent hours trying to figure out why InDesign now crashes if I so much as look at it wrong, and nothing I'd tried had worked. Your solution was so simple, elegant, and EFFECTIVE! Thanks a million!
DUDE! You are the MAN!
Oh my goodness, you have saved me HOURS of work! I even installed a new hard drive because I thought that was the problem (I needed one anyway.) Thank you, thank you!!!!!
LOL I am just like everyone else. 2:00am and you have made it that I can go to bed! Thank goodness for the INX file!!
Praise be to Allah. Thank you, brother. Your tips saves my several hour's works. Thanks!! :)
inx option worked a treat! Thank you.
what about an unopenable file, i have a magazine type document due in a few weeks and im screwed if I cant fix it. I cant even open in design once I tried opening the file the first time...
Regarding an "unopenable file". Carefully read the solution under the heading "The Markzware solution". This workflow often repairs unopenable files.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! :oD
Thank you Soooo much!! it opend!
but question, does this mean that i need to fix some things int he file so that it will not get damaged again??
for example i thought it might be the type that i used has an issue...so shd i change the type now?
Thanks Again!!!
Thanks a lot!
I was desperate and there were you with that great solution. I owe you one, thankyou!
@Fida: Once you've exported to inx/idml and reopened the file, usually whatever caused the file to be damaged will be repaired, in my experience. But it's always a good idea to save archive versions of complex files that are a work in progress, so that you can return to a known good copy if something goes wrong.
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