Configure and use the preflight panel

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to open the Preflight panel, review errors, and configure preflight options in Adobe InDesign.

The Preflight panel continuously monitors your document for potential production issues while you work. When enabled, live Preflight alerts you to problems such as missing fonts, modified links, overset text, and low-resolution images through a status indicator at the bottom of your document window.

Open a preflight panel

Open any InDesign document.

Select Window > Output > Preflight to open the panel.

Once open, the Preflight panel lists detected issues by category, such as Links, Text, or Color, and shows details and fix suggestions for each error. The panel updates continuously as you work and lets you jump directly to affected content using page numbers.

You can manage preflight profiles by embedding one per document or exporting IDPP files for sharing or backup, except the [Basic] profile. Preflight options let you control what content and page ranges are checked, determining which errors appear for the active document.

Configure preflight options

Select Window > Output > Preflight.

Select the panel menu icon and then select Preflight Options.

Select the profile to use as the default for new documents from Working Profile.

Select Embed Working Profile Into New Documents if you want the working profile embedded automatically in new documents.

Select Use Embedded Profile or Use Working Profile in the When Opening Documents section to use the document's embedded profile or the specified working profile when opening documents.

Select All Layers, Visible Layers, or Visible & Printable Layers from Layers to specify which layers to check for errors.

Select Non-Printing Objects to report errors on objects marked as non-printing in the Attributes panel or on parent page objects where Hide Parent Items is applied.

Select Objects On Pasteboard to report errors on objects placed on the pasteboard outside the page boundaries.

Select OK to save your preflight options.

Tip

Exclude hidden layers from preflight checking to prevent errors on elements you don't intend to print or export.

Specify a page range for preflight checking

Select Window > Output > Preflight.

In the page range field at the bottom of the Preflight panel, type the page range you want to check, such as 1-8 or 3, and so on.

Errors on pages outside this specified range are excluded from the error list. The page range syntax follows the same rules as the Print dialog box: use hyphens for consecutive pages and commas to separate individual pages or ranges.

Note

Specifying a page range doesn't disable preflight for other pages. It only filters the errors that appear in the Preflight panel.