Expert: InDesign Pro - 4/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: I RECENTLY PERFORMED AN UPDATE FROM ADOBE'S WEBSITE FOR INDESIGN CS2, AND WHEN I REOPENED A DOCUMENT I WAS WORKING ON PREVIOUSLY, ALL THE TOOLS WERE MISSING, AND THERE WAS NO OPTION TO SHOW THEM IN THE MENU BARS.  ALSO, SEVERAL OF MY PALETTE OPTIONS SEEM TO BE MISSING FROM THE "WINDOW" DROP DOWN MENU.  I HAVE TRIED RE-INSTALLING THE UPDATE, RENAMING MY INDESIGN DEFAULTS AND SAVED DATA FOLDERS FROM THE PREFERENCES FOLDER (AS INSTRUCTED BY ADOBE'S HELP SITE), AND NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK. I HAVE MOVED THE EXISTING PALETTES AROUND, AND THEE IS NOTHING BEHIND THEM, BUT THE THING THAT WORRIES ME THE MOST IS THAT MY TOOLS ARE ALL MISSING, SO I CANNOT WORK AT ALL.  I APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME!  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

ANSWER: Hi Kelly, thanks for the question.

I'm hoping this one is the easy answer.

The Tab key is the shortcut for Show/Hide All Panels. It isn't in any of the menu options, but if you simply press the Tab key (making sure your type tool isn't active in a text frame), it should bring your tools back. You may have just accidently hit it (like so many of us have in the past).

This shortcut is great for temporarily getting the working area cleaned up of panels for a clean view or your work.

If this isn't the culprit, let me know and we'll look harder.

Thanks, and good luck!

Scott

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Scott,

I just want to start off by thanking you so much for taking the time to answer my question.  Believe me, I did every Google search I could think of before I took the time to bother someone else with my problem.  I did as you said, and tried the Tab key, but to no avail.  It hid and then reopened the existing palettes, but my toolbar did not reappear, and I still have no options in my "Window" drop-down menu for my tools or for the additional palettes that have disappeared.  Currently, the only palettes I have available are the Character, Pathfinder, Color, and Info Palettes.  I cannot access any tools (the toolbar that is usually located on the left side of the screen, with the selections arrows, type tool, etc.), or any swatches, gradients, transparency, etc.  I have no idea how to proceed, except that for now I cannot use the program at all, without having access to any tools.  I genuinely appreciate your time and help, as I am just a designer, not so much the trouble-shooter.  :)  Thank you so much!

ANSWER: Thanks for following up, Kelly.

One of the nice things about InDesign is how customizable it can be. However, it can also be the cause of a lot of frustration. Let's try this next––under the Window menu, choose Workspace and then [Default]. Or you might have to choose Reset Workspace. If something has caused your menus to change settings, either of these should bring it back to the default.

Let me know if it works. If not, we'll try again!

Scott

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Scott,

I am so sorry that this issue is taking so long to resolve. I apologize for not mentioning in my first question that I had already tried choosing the Default Workspace option.  When I do that, the only palette that loads on the screen is the info palette and nothing else.  I hate to keep bothering you with this, but I am also quite interested to find out how this problem could be solved, so I could troubleshoot it for myself or others in the future if needed (if we ever do solve it).  Once again, I greatly appreciate your help, and when you are tired of coming up with suggestions, please just tell me to go buy CS4 already!  :)  Thanks again, Scott!


Answer
I will update this answer once we solve it.