indesign · HeyBraza shows you
indesign images blurry on export missing links
HeyBraza points at the red question mark or yellow triangle in the links panel and shows you the relink button to fix it.
your placed images look crisp on screen but export soft or pixelated. the usual cause is a broken link - indesign falls back to a low-res preview when it can't find the real file. here's how to spot and relink them.
short answer
blurry exports mean indesign is falling back to the low-res preview. open window > links: update anything with a yellow triangle, relink anything with a red question mark, and always place images rather than pasting them.
or do it yourself
- 1open window > links - a red question mark means a missing link, a yellow triangle means the file changed since it was placed.
- 2for a yellow triangle, select the link and click 'update link' (the circular arrow) to refresh to the current file.
- 3for a red question mark, select it and click 'relink' (the chain icon), then point indesign at the moved file - it often relinks the rest in that folder automatically.
- 4avoid pasting images in - always use file > place so the image stays a proper high-res link instead of a low-res embed.
- 5before exporting, run file > package or check the links panel so no broken link sneaks a low-res preview into your pdf.
steps last checked
let HeyBraza do this with you
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downloadcommon questions
why are my images blurry only when i export?
indesign shows a low-res preview when a link is missing or outdated - fix the links in the links panel and the export uses the full-resolution files.
what does the red question mark in the links panel mean?
the linked image file was moved, renamed, or deleted - click relink and point indesign back at the file to restore full quality.
