Align Tool Doesn't Work - Illustrator 30.3 on Windows 11

Question

Another day, another Illustrator surprise!

Editing production vector art, copying that art into another AI file, vector object will not center to artboard, instead, moves in a direction by what looks like smaller and smaller increments. Vertical center moves to the top of the artboard (only one artboard in the newly-created file) and proceeds to move incrementally each time center is clicked. It’s one vector object, not grouped, not a compund path.

Is it the file? No. More than one file exhibits this behaviour, and they’re known-good files.
When did this start? Last update, looks like.
Can I make a video of the problem? No - read the words, that’s what word are for.
Does Safe Mode eliminate the problem? No.
Does uninstalling and re-installing solve the problem? No.
What version? Version 30.3.
What OS? Windows 11
Are the video drivers updated? Yes.
Does this problem recurr on a different OS? Oh, I have to have multiple platforms to run Illustrator? Good to know. Hold on, let me go out and buy a Mac. Okay, I have it now. Yes, happens on the Mac, too.

It must be the file, clearly the user’s fault. Of course it is. Couldn’t possibly be an Adobe problem. Wait, let me buy more stock. Okay - done. Still doesn’t work.

Here is my work-around. Export a PDF from the problem file(s), place in a newly-created AI file, center to artboard. Problem solved! It only took 1.25 hours to work through the troubleshooting, install, re-install, etc., so, not bad for a five minute task, right? Therefore, Adobe owes me $156.25. Cash only, no gift cards.

Illustrator bug? Probably. If not a bug, then a design and QA failure. Let me guess - unplug my modem for 30 seconds, right?

Bill Silbert · Answer

You say that this problem started after updating Illustrator. If when updating you chose the option to import previous settings and preferences then that could be the source of the problem. Using old preferences that were aligned with the older code of a previous version often creates performance issues with the newer version. Try resetting your Illustrator preferences. This will restore the program to its defaults. Hopefully better performance will ensue.

To reset preferences on Windows:

You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching Illustrator and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so:

On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version number]\ Settings\<Language>. Make sure that Illustrator is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

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