Participant

Question

“Can’t copy the objects. There isn’t enough memory. ID: -108”

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
August 13, 2026
16 replies
314 views

I'm getting “Can’t copy the objects. There isn’t enough memory. ID: -108” in Illustrator, even when copying a simple shape like a rectangle. It happens across different files.

Has anyone experienced this or found a fix?

P

ParsaSann

Participant

been having the same problem for a few days now, on different files. i had a macbook m3 pro 18gb ram and the problem was there. i switched to an m5 pro with 24gb ram new out of the box, the error is there. theres no way such small file (29mb ) is short on memory.

please update if there was ever a fix.

Harshika Verma

Community Manager

Hi ParsaSann,

Thank you for reaching out. We understand how frustrating it can be when an issue prevents you from getting your work done. We’ll do our best to investigate this and help you find a resolution.

Could you please confirm whether you’ve tried the troubleshooting steps suggested in this article? If you’ve already tried them and the issue persists, would it be possible for you to share the affected Illustrator file with us via private message? This will allow us to test the file on our end and investigate further.

Additionally, could you please let us know:

Does the issue occur with all files or only with a specific file?
Which version of Illustrator is currently installed on your machine?

These details will help us narrow down the cause and determine the next steps.

Looking forward to your response. We’ll be happy to assist you further.

Thanks,
Harshika

lakunadesign

Participant

I’m having the same issue all of a sudden. I’m unable to copy the item and I’m also unable to successfully drag the item into the smart object layer of a mockup psd file. I’ll restart and it’ll work once or twice and then it happens again.

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @lakunadesign

Following up to check if you're still running into this problem. If yes, please try the suggestions in this article and let us know if that works.

Anubhav

Scripturient1899

Inspiring

Same issue here. I’ve already tried everything @Anubhav M suggested — resetting preferences, restarting Illustrator, restarting the computer. I can get one or two Cmd+C functions out of it after restarting Illustrator, but then the message comes back.

My machine is still fairly new and I’m only using about 2/3 of its hard drive space. I routinely work on multi-GB files, with Illustrator, Bridge, and Photoshop open as well as Outlook & Teams, and I’ve never had this problem before now.

Harshika Verma

Community Manager

Hi All,

We are sorry to hear that you're experiencing an error when copying objects in Illustrator. Would you mind telling us the version of Illustrator installed on your machine? Does that happen with all files or with a specific file?

Please try the suggestions in this article and let us know if that works.

We will try our best to help you.

Thanks,

Harshika

Marvelous_mentor4542

Participant

I have the same problem. Also I have 64 GB RAM and already restartetd Illustrator and my PC, it only got worse. I already cleard my cache. Nothing helps …

J

Josh288141958s15

Participant

Been having the same issue. Tired all the usual fixes mentioned ITT and none worked. I reverted back to 30.6 and that seems to have solved it so far. Will edit if I come up against it again

L

Lisa250648905zj7

Participant

I am also having this issue with simple text or graphics - restarting illustrator or the computer is only temporary. It’s not using all memory or CPU, as my IT guy at work checks every time - hoping to get a fix for this soon?

M

mhd6

Inspiring

I’m having this problem too. This did not occur so frequently before the 30.7 update.

Running a 2023 iMac, Apple M3, 16 GB, Tahoe 26.5.2

M

mhd6

Inspiring

I tried reseting preferences. And the error occurred again shortly after…. and this was just a simple shape with text. Previously, I could go all work week and never see this error unless I was working with gigabytes.

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @efficient_brain7827

I hope the problem is resolved by now. If not, please try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/not-enough-memory-illustrator-cc.html) and let us know how it goes.

Anubhav