Adobe InDesign support

Adobe support

Before you update to a new version of Adobe InDesign, InCopy, or InDesign Server, verify that the censhare version and Adobe plugin that you use support the desired Adobe version.

The tables below show the compatibility of operating systems and platforms with the Adobe plugin versions as per censhare version and VFS. 
We recommend you to use the latest available Adobe plugin version as well as version parity between the censhare Server and the censhare clients to avoid unexpected results. In general, the plugin with the highest number includes all the functionality of the previous versions.

For details on the Adobe plugin functionality and installation, see Adobe plugin. 

VFS support

For details on VFS installation, see VFS Installation and operation - SysAdmin.

Installation on macOS

Monterey and Big Sur

censhare provides the Adobe plugin for ARM64 native and ARM64 Rosetta/X64 platforms. See the below tables for compatibility.

Rosetta 2 enables a Mac with ARM64 to use apps built for a Mac with an Intel (X64) processor.  To start an app in Rosetta, go to the Programs folder in the client computer, right-click the app icon, and select Information. In the General section of the dialog, select Open with Rosetta (more information). Also, see the installation guide.

Please note, that the official support of Monterey for censhare will be released with the next major censhare release, but we do not expect any critical issues. You can use Monterey but will do so at your own risk. If you encounter any issues, please create a support ticket.

Adobe InDesign plugin 2023 known issue on macOS

The new Adobe InDesign plugin 2023 is fully functional. However, you need to be aware of its unusual behaviour on macOS. Windows users are not affected. 

We provide workaround instructions for different use cases. Two use cases represent two different user roles – end user and admin – but suggest that both users work with the InDesign desktop application. 

InDesign Server 2023

InDesign Server 2023 works perfectly with the censhare Render-Client and does not require any workaround.

End user setup: InDesign desktop and censhare Client

• Setup description

You use InDesign desktop to edit InDesign documents on your local machine. For this, you access documents in the censhare Client, open them, and proceed in the InDesign application. 

• Starting to work

Please run the Adobe InDesign application before you open any InDesign documents from your censhare Client. Then, in the censhare Client, use the dropdown menu on the asset to open it (right-click → … → Open with → Adobe InDesign). You‘ll see a progress bar in your censhare Client. Now, please switch to the Adobe InDesign application manually by clicking on its window. The document will be opened normally.

• Editing ID documents

The plugin works normally as long as the InDesign window remains in the foreground. As soon as you send it to the background, the plugin may stop working. It helps if you bring the InDesign application back to the foreground. 

Admin user setup: InDesign desktop and censhare RenderClient

• Setup description

You have an InDesign desktop application installed on one machine that is then accessed by users through the censhare Web client. As an admin, you are responsible for enabling end users work. In this case, the plugin connects the censhare Render Client (installed on the same machine) and the InDesign application.  

• Working with ID2023 non-interactively

The plugin may stop running after the InDesign application was sent to the background even once. We found out that it helps to clear the InDesign cache. We developed a bash script that takes care of clearing the InDesign cache safely and keeps all preferences that you applied during your last working session. 

Clearing the cache by running the script before (re)starting InDesign is mandatory. 

However, you should never run the script while using/running the InDesign application. If it is already running, stop it before using the script, run the script, and only then run the InDesign application again.

The script is called clean-indesign-cache.sh . It is delivered as a part of the dmg archive available on our Download Portal. When you unpack the archive, you will see two plugins and the aforementioned bash script. Plugins need to be moved to the Applications → Adobe InDesign 2023 → Plug-ins folder as usual. The bash script can be moved somewhere else but not in this folder. You can start it any time:

• by clicking on it or
• by calling it from your CLI tool

The script can also be used for other non-interactive working modes when no physical user does anything actively in InDesign.

How to find your distributable

Adobe plugins are available on our download portal. The easiest way to find what you need is to use the All Plugin Versions filter.

The name of any downloadable archive contains a year that corresponds to the Adobe version you have. Select values in the filter with a suitable year and then download the proper archive from the list.

An example of how to find 2023 plugins for macOS with the Apple/ARM chip:

Some plugins have more than one version. We always recommend to take the highest one.

For compatible censhare versions, consult the tables below. 

Installation on Windows

Supported Windows versions for censhare Client and censhare Render Client:

• Windows 10 and newer (Windows 11 recommended)

The censhare Render Client is also supported on:

• Windows Server 2016 and newer (Windows Server 2022 recommended)

The censhare Render Client can be installed in the equivalent server versions. The minimum version is Windows Server 2016.

However, you need to check the exact compatibility in the tables below.

Newer versions of censhare clients do not require a Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable installation on the client computer. Newer versions include 2024.1.0, 2023.1.1, 2022.2.3, 2022.1.3, 2021.2.10, 2021.1.11, 2020.3.12. This includes later versions for each mentioned version here.

VFS version 2017.0.34.104 has been tested with the censhare Clients on Windows 10. VFS version 2022.0.8480.0 has been tested with the censhare Clients on Windows 11. 

Therefore, we highly recommend using the same combinations.

Compatibility Matrices

macOS

Adobe 2024     Adobe 2023     Adobe 2022     Adobe 2021 

Windows

Adobe 2024    Adobe 2023    Adobe 2022     Adobe 2021

Windows 11 and Adobe InDesign

The official Adobe documentation does not recommend installing Adobe versions below 2022 on Windows 11.

For more information, see this page.