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_Ben_Grefsrud_
Participant
September 4, 2008
Question

HELP! Illegal operand error - can't open file! (v.2)

  • September 4, 2008
  • 25 replies
  • 57963 views
I have a file that I've done about 40 hours on since last duplicating it. It's been saved multiple times, and successfully. Now, however the file seems to be corrupt. I'm getting the following error message when opening it:

Cant open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.
Offending operator: ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

After i last closed the file, i've defragged my hard drive because it's been sluggish. Ive also deleted a couple of random temp files that I'm now thinking may have been in regards to the Ai file. Does anyone have any ideas on what i can do to open this file (preferable) or anything else?
Thanks in advance for any help or info you can provide!
Ben
(ps-this is my second posting of this - frantically trying to fix this and didn't pay attention to what i was typing. i forgot to mention a few things so i just resubmitted rather than constantly adding messages. thanks for understanding ;)
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      D
      DesignScout
      Participant
      October 21, 2009

      This just happened to me on a huge project! I was able to recover everything, except for the fonts were no longer in text boxes, and the clipping paths had to be recreated. Here's what I did:

      Open a new doc in illustrator. Place the corrupted file into the new document. Select the file that is placed and choose Object, Flatten Transparency. Leave all of the defaults. Then remove the clipping mask on the flattened object by clicking command shift 7. You should then be able to click into the group, or simply ungroup to get at your design.

      I hope this helps!

      Scout

        B
        Bo_Liubakka
        Participant
        March 17, 2010

        Design Scout-- Very helpful; I appreciate that!

          _
          _Blake_Tannery_
          Participant
          March 9, 2009
          thanks for the suggestion, SDA. but the font name is C&C Red Alert, which is why i know (or think i know) it's an issue with the font.
          S_D_A_
          S_D_A_
          Inspiring
          March 9, 2009
          @Blake Looks like you're trying to open a Red Alert Map ? I think there is a Photoshop plug-in for these. Might wanna use Google or your fav SE to find it. Then try opening the file. All I can suggest if your sure you replaced the font or removed it.
          _
          _Blake_Tannery_
          Participant
          March 9, 2009
          oh. i thought i would add that i am a mac user. in case it makes any difference. CS3.
          _
          _Blake_Tannery_
          Participant
          March 9, 2009
          AAARRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

          here's mine:
          Offending Operator: '%AI3_EndEncoding TrueType'
          Context:

          [/_C&CRedAlert[INET] 0 0 0 TZ
          %AI3_EndEncoding TrueType

          I can see that it's a font issue. i've uninstalled the font. still wont open. so i opened the code in Word and cannot find the linesearched for endcoding and truetype, etc. (not that i would know what to do if i found iti guess i thought i might delete it??)

          anyone?? Teri??
          M
          media•ist
          Participant
          August 18, 2009

          I am also getting this Error.

          Offending Operator: '%AI3_EndEncoding TrueType'
          Context:

          [/_C&CRedAlert[LAN] 0 0 0 TZ
          %AI3_EndEncoding TrueType 

          The stupid thing is, I didn't like the font, so I stopped using it in the document. It shouldn't even be in the file anymore, but still managed to corrupt it.

          I opened the file in textEdit but I can't find the string for that font.

          I can't even find the '%AI3_EndEncoding TrueType' string.

          I have placed the file into a new illustrator document, but it breaks apart all of my layers into a million groups.

          So Im trying to leave that as a last resort.

          Any body else have any luck?

          W
          Wade_Zimmerman1
          Inspiring
          August 18, 2009

          You might try opening it in Acrobat and saving with a new name and then opening that in Illustrator.

          Jacob Bugge
          Community Expert
          Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          March 7, 2009
          >what is that mean????

          It means that the file is corrupted. Unless you can place it in a new document, or Teri turns up with the solution, the file is probably lost.
          N
          natanori
          Participant
          March 7, 2009
          hi I've similar problem too.

          Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal or misplaced operator.

          Offending operator: "U"
          Context:

          % ;
          %
          9 () XW
          LB
          %AI5_EndLayer--
          U

          what is that mean????
          I have a PC, windows Vista platform and Illustrator CS4.

          pleeeeease help!!!
          _
          _Robin_Ankerich_
          Participant
          September 26, 2008
          We are having similar problems in one of our labs at school.

          Cant open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.
          Offending operator: "BRK/Stranded-(BRK 0 0 0 TZ
          %Al3_EndEncoding True Type
          %Al55J_Tsume: None
          %Al3_BeginEncoding: _Submarine Submarine
          [/_Submarine/Submarine 0 0 0 TZ
          %Al3_EndEncoding True Type
          %Al55J_Tsume: None
          %Al3_BeginEncoding: _Swiss911BT-Extra

          Any suggestions?
          Jacob Bugge
          Community Expert
          Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          September 19, 2008
          This would be one for Teri.
          _
          _Mike_Lonardo_
          Participant
          September 19, 2008
          Hi all,
          I'm having a similar issue - layers are missing now. I'm using Illustrator CS3 on XP. I saved my file (often!) yesterday but today when I opened it I got:

          Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal or misplaced operator.
          Offending operator: "U"
          Context:

          U
          % /ArtDictionary:
          %;
          %
          9()XW
          U

          I've tried placing it in a new file, opening with older versions of Illustrator, as well as Photoshop, etc. One thing I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere is that if I open Illustrator, and File->Open, the whole layout appears in the preview window (including the missing layers).

          Thanks all,
          mike
          S
          sherrim15839244
          Participating Frequently
          June 6, 2019

          I am having similar issue, if I try to open file it says it is damaged and can't be repaired but I can see entire contents intact in folder window preview panel prior to attempting to open.  I tried placing in new file, opening in other programs even paid to repair apps to fix only to get minimal content when I manage to open it and get error messages such offending operator Ae etc.... for one and a different offending operator 5d ....  for the other app I used .  Any suggestions.  thanks

          ps if I could just recover the completed pattern swatch I placed in swatch palette It's all O really need

          Monika Gause
          Community Expert
          Monika GauseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          June 6, 2019

          If even the recover services can't recover it,then chances are slim.

          Is the pattern only in the panel or have you applied it to an object and is that object in the embedded PDF?

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