AI file shows Text Import Options and opens blank — need help recovering file

Thank you for your guidance.

Whenever I try to open this AI file, Illustrator shows the “Text Import Options” dialog box instead of opening it normally. Because of this, none of my designs/artwork inside the file are visible.

I understand this may indicate file corruption.

I will share the file with you now — kindly check it from your side and please help me recover the missing artwork/designs if possible.

Looking forward to your support.

I'm experiencing the same issue whenever I leave a file open in Illustrator and put my computer in sleep mode. If any power incept happens, the files get corrupted even though I save the file before putting my computer into sleep mode. The auto save is on, but no hope of recovering the file.

Was the .AI file created by Adobe Illustrator or was the file exported by a rival vector graphics application, such as Affinity Designer, CorelDRAW, etc.?

Hi @gaurav31055435ijzq,

Thanks for reaching out and sharing the details. I know how stressful it is to suddenly see a corrupted file, especially when you need to recover important work.

When you see the “Text Import Options” dialog box on opening an AI file, it usually means Illustrator is unable to recognize the file as a valid AI document and is trying to open it as a text file instead. This is often a sign of file corruption.

Please confirm the version of Illustrator you're using and the details of your operating system. Also, let me know if this is happening with just this file or with other files as well. If you have any backup copies or previously saved versions, please try opening those.

You can also try placing the corrupted file into a new Illustrator document using File > Place, to see if any artwork can be recovered. Another option is to try opening the file on a different system or different Illustrator version, as this sometimes helps.

If possible, please share the file with us (you can DM it if it's confidential), so we can check if we are able to recover any content on our side.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek 

@gaurav31055435ijzq if the file is corrupted, there isn't much you can do. By any chance you have a back-up of this file? It's always better to rename your Illustrator files (or even other working files) with different versions; this way if you have a corrupted file, the versions will give a peae of mind.