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J
JOR_G
Participant
May 5, 2021
Answered

Flickering cursor in illustrator

  • May 5, 2021
  • 13 replies
  • 1992 views

Does anyone know how to fix this issue; when I open illustrator, my cursor starts flickering and I can't click any options or can't go to preferences... I experience this problem also in photoshop, but only when it has problems exporting a file. Here is a link to a youtube upload of a screenrecording i just made, maybe it helps visualising the problem: https://youtu.be/A1E3JkHBgyw 

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    Correct answer JOR_G

    Hi,

     

    So, apparently I just solved the problem... I just uninstalled illustrator from my E: disc (storage disc) and reinstalled it on my C: disc (system disc). Now the problem is solved, but can someone explain to me why there are problems of I install it on my storage disc's? I would rather install it on my storage disc to safe space on de system disc. I work on windows, if this helps.

     

    Thanks in advance,

    Jorre

    13 replies

    B
    BillC
    Participating Frequently
    February 9, 2024

    Latest upgrade to Sonoma and this issue has actually got worse. The flickering occurs in every Adobe app - particularly bad in Photoshop now (Photoshop wasn't really affected when this bug first arrived many, many years ago).

    It seriously affects my workflow as I keep having to close files and restart the computer to fix it. It goes away for a while then returns usually after interaction between programs - e.g. copying and pasting something from Illustrator into Photoshop or visa-versa... but not always so it's difficult to discern the cause.

    The bug has been reported many times over the years to both Adobe and Apple but for whatever reason no attempt has been made to fix it. Many people have reported it over the years so surely it can be replicated by Apple or Adobe technicians.

    ----------------

    Mac Pro 2019 3.3 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon W

    AMD Radeon Pro 580X 8GB

    160GB 2933 MHz DDR4

    BenQ PD3200U Display 32-inch (3840x2160)

      Anubhav M
      Community Manager
      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      February 12, 2024

      Hello @BillC,

      We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. Would you mind trying to run Illustrator under Safe Mode (Windows / macOS) and checking if it helps? Also, try running Illustrator under a different administrator account (Windows / macOS) and share your observations.

       

      Looking forward to hearing from you.

       

      Thanks,

      Anubhav

      B
      BillC
      Participating Frequently
      February 26, 2024

      Hi Anubhav,

      Thanks for getting back to me and apologies for the late reply.

      None of the suggestions work I'm afraid, I've actually tried everything that's been suggested online over the past 8 or more years that this bug has been affecting Adobe apps. 

      To be honest I've just been trying to live with it up until now... as it's much worse than ever. Closing or hiding Photoshop worked in the past as a temporary (very inconvenient) fix but now nothing works apart from restarting the computer. This fixes it for a while but then it returns for no apparent reason.

      I've attached a screen recording but I'm sure you'll have seen many other recordings from others who have the same issue.

      I did find this link on MacRumors: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/weird-cursor-behavior.2230749/post-28968427

      This suggests changes to system files which I'm not comfortable in attempting but maybe it will give you a steer towards a fix?

      Thanks,

      Bill

        3
        3scoops_
        Participant
        November 22, 2022

        My cursor will not maintain rotation symbol or any other when hovering near anchor points. i.e. when I go to rotate a line, the cursor flickers from the pointer to the rotation symbol, making it difficult to see what I will grab once I click.

         

          Stackola
          Stackola
          Inspiring
          August 31, 2023

          same

          M
          moellerart
          Participant
          June 23, 2021

          I habe the same problem:

          If there is one document open in psd, the cursor flickers in different other programs – it changes its form from the tool to the normal MAC cursor very quickly. This problem occurs ind indd, illustrator, safari, mail eg. when i close all doks in psd the problem is gone. BUT: I´m workin parallel with all programs, interactive, so i cant always close documents to erase this problem.

          Please Adobe fix this problem – in my opinion the problem is bases partially to the tool settings in PSD!

          iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020) 3,6 GHz 10-Core Intel Core i9, Catalina, Adobe CC latest, AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT 16 GB

            Srishti_Bali
            Srishti_Bali
            Legend
            June 7, 2021

            Hi there,

             

            Sorry about this trouble. Please press CRTL+E (toggling GPU/CPU preview) and let us know if that helps resolving this issue.

             

            Regards,

            Srishti

              J
              JOR_GAuthor
              Participant
              July 5, 2021

              Hi,

              For me it does not work... i also uninstalled the program and reinstalled it as an older version but the problem remains. at the moment I'm trying to do my work in photoshop but it is really frustrating because I need illustrator.

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