InDesign Will Not Open PDF or PNG files

June 24, 2018 5:19 PM

I can't find an answer on Google or Adobe's site, and Adobe's customer support is closed. Hope me, Metafilter! If I try to open a PDF or PNG in InDesign, I get an "this is an unsupported file type" message.

I'm on a Mac running 10.13.5 High Sierra, and the 2018 InDesign app.

posted by Atrahasis to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Best answer: Indesign opens InDesign files... I'm not sure why you would use it to open a PDF or PNG. Are you confusing Illustrator with InDesign? Illustrator files can be PDF files and I believe you can also open pngs/jpgs. But why are you trying to do this? Make a new indd file, then place into the page the PDF or jpg or PNG file.
posted by KMoney at 5:26 PM on June 24, 2018 [4 favorites]

Best answer: First thing: restart your computer. This is always the first step in computer troubleshooting, and it works an alarming amount of the time.

Are you trying to open the PDF or PNG directly in InDesign? Try opening a new InDesign file and using the Place command to place the PDF or PNG on the page.

If the PDF is multiple pages, check the “Show Import Options” checkbox in the Place dialog box, and you’ll be prompted to select which page of the PDF gets placed.
posted by ejs at 5:27 PM on June 24, 2018 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, KMoney and ejs! Using the Place command worked. This is an e-book cover template, and somehow, the instructions neglected to mention this key point.
posted by Atrahasis at 5:37 PM on June 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

You can open a PDF in Illustrator - it may be all kinds of messed up, but it usually works if you need to make some updates.
posted by ssmith at 5:45 PM on June 24, 2018 [1 favorite]