Adobe Illustrator and InDesign Not Working Properly with macOS High Sierra - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Adobe Illustrator and InDesign Not Working Properly with macOS High Sierra

by

Adobe this week recommended customers using its Illustrator and InDesign software hold off from updating to the new macOS High Sierra operating system. Illustrator and InDesign have not been updated for High Sierra and there are some incompatibility issues that prevent the apps from working properly.

With Illustrator, users are seeing errors after upgrading to the new Apple File System. Illustrator pops up errors during installation, and, for already-installed software, there are problems with launching the app, opening a file, and creating a document. A separate problem leads to color management issues, while a third affects the rendering of Brushes, Live Corner widgets, and more.

adobeillustratorindesign
While there are workarounds for the GPU issues in Illustrator, there is no fix for the problem with APFS. Adobe says its engineers are working on a complete solution for a future Illustrator CC update.

As for InDesign, the cursor appears as a pixelated box, also a problem with no current solution. Adobe engineers are working on a fix to correct the problem as soon as possible.

Adobe recommends customers test their software on a non-production partition to make sure the update is compatible with current hardware and drivers before committing to a macOS High Sierra install. The company also says customers may wish to remain on an older version of macOS until the issues are addressed in updates.

Following the release of a new Mac update, there are often problems with software for a few weeks as developers work to add in support for new features and address incompatibilities.

For other apps that have issues, take a look at our forums, where MacRumors readers have compiled a comprehensive list of apps that have bugs or are incompatible with the macOS High Sierra update.

Other major apps that don’t work properly right now include Autodesk AutoCAD 2017, Civilization V, DiskWarrior 5.0, Ulysses 3, 2Do, and Transmit Version 5, among others.

Also of note, Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 is no longer being updated and is not compatible with macOS High Sierra. Microsoft does not plan to add support for the High Sierra update.

Tag: Adobe
Related Forum: macOS High Sierra

Top Rated Comments

mudflap Avatar
111 months ago
Once again Adobe has no excuse. They had access to the High Sierra betas just like any other developer, for months. They could've had all their apps ready to go the day 10.13 was released. But no. Because Adobe.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dan9700 Avatar
111 months ago
Developer's have 3 months to test and get the software ready and its never enough that when its ready for prime time they have issues what do they do for 3 months when its in beta?!?
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheWatchfulOne Avatar
111 months ago
Adobe this week recommended customers using its Illustrator ('https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/illustrator-and-mac-os-high-sierra.html') and InDesign ('https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/indesign-and-mac-os-high-sierra.html') software hold off from updating to the new macOS High Sierra operating system. Illustrator and InDesign have not been updated for High Sierra and there are some incompatibility issues that prevent the apps from working properly.
I, on the other hand, recommend users update to High Sierra and find some non-Adobe graphics software to use. Permanently. But that's just me.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nrose101 Avatar
111 months ago
Developer's have 3 months to test and get the software ready and its never enough that when its ready for prime time they have issues what do they do for 3 months when its in beta?!?
100% agree this is all Adobe's issue. Not really that surprising since most of their software is buggy as hell and they never take time for quality control.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
111 months ago
If only Apple somehow had a program where people were able to try, test, and verify software before general release, poor Adobe and the starving children there wouldn't be in this position. And if Apple did have such a program... well, heck, that would mean Adobe's just plain incompetent if they didn't take advantage of such an opportunity.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
111 months ago
I agree with the previous posters. Adobe has been saying this was Apple's problem, but developers know far in advance when a release is coming, so I believe Adobe dropped the ball on this.

And we were told the subscription business model was to speed up the release of patches, fixes, etc. Still waiting.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
Apple Logo Sketch Feature

Apple Has Now Unveiled Eight New Products This Month

Tuesday March 17, 2026 9:25 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping eight new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and now the AirPods Max 2 this week. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone 16e, but it gains Apple's...
ios 26 4 yellow

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for iOS 26.4

Wednesday March 18, 2026 11:56 am PDT by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update. Apple Music - Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your...