Urgent: Studio for InDesign and InCopy 2025 version 20.0.4 build 18 has been withdrawn and must not be used in production

The latest release of Studio for InDesign and InCopy 2025, version 20.0.4 build 18, introduces a backward compatibility issue between versions 20.0.4 and 20.0.3. As a result, InDesign, InCopy, and InDesign Server 2025 may crash when opening a layout that was last saved using Studio for InDesign and InCopy 20.0.4 build 18 while version 20.0.3 (or another earlier version) is installed. 

Because of this issue, version 20.0.4 build 18 was withdrawn from HelpCenter.WoodWing.com last Friday. An updated replacement build of 20.0.4 will be released later this week.

It is important to understand that any layout opened and saved in InDesign with Studio for InDesign and InCopy 20.0.4 build 18 installed is affected. These layouts can still be opened successfully when 20.0.4 build 18 is installed, but they cannot be opened with earlier or later 20.0.x versions. Attempting to do so will cause the application to crash.

Workaround

The only reliable workaround to preserve affected layouts is:

1. Open the layout using Studio for InDesign and InCopy 20.0.4 build 18.
2. Export the layout as either:
   1. a Package, or
   2. an .idml file.
3. Open the exported .indd or .idml file using another supported 20.0.x version of Studio for InDesign and InCopy 2025.

Technical details

The issue was introduced by the fix for:

EN-96747 The page synchronization message should only appear in case of a mismatch of planned pages, not for production pages.

The implementation for this fix extended the document’s persistent metadata. Unfortunately, this change introduced an unintended side effect: documents modified with build 18 are no longer compatible with other versions of Studio for InDesign and InCopy 2025.

Regrettably, this issue was not detected during internal regression testing.

In the upcoming update, the code change related to EN-96747 will be reverted. We will further investigate whether EN-96747 can be resolved in a future patch with a safer implementation and without compatibility impact.

We apologize for this situation and the inconvenience caused.

WoodWing Development