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defaulth6mr28fadwdg
Participant
March 11, 2025
Question

I have a .aid file from a recovery file, but illustrator refuses to open it - help!

  • March 11, 2025
  • 6 replies
  • 540 views

My illustrator crashed and reverted my file back to a VERY early version. I found the .aid files for the file, but it won't open the file. It says "This is an unsupported file type." I tried to change the .aid file to an .ai file, and that also didn't work. I can see the content in a .txt file, but that doesn't do me much good when Illustrator refuses to open it. 😞 Can anyone help?! This is hours worth of work!

6 replies

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Isabel26998015uf3f
Participant
April 29, 2026

I have also just had this problem and had the .aid file. No idea if this will help someone else, but I was also finding that Illustrator would not open the file no matter which way I tried to open it (via the application, via get info, via right click open with etc etc..).

 

I actually was able to get it open via Illustrator, with File > Open, then enabling All Documents instead of All Readable Documents. Suddenly the file was no longer greyed out and I was able to open it. 

 

Probably just luck, but this might help someone else. 

thetalesofj
thetalesofj
Participant
April 28, 2026

This just happened to me. I’m not understanding how a recovery file isn’t able to open. What’s the point of even having this??

Anubhav M
Community Manager
Anubhav MCommunity Manager
Community Manager
April 28, 2026

Hello ​@thetalesofj 

 

I’m sorry to hear about your experience. If Illustrator cannot automatically recover the file after relaunching, the file is likely lost. We understand this may not be the ideal outcome, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.

 

Could you confirm whether the file was saved on a network drive, a removable drive, or a cloud-synced folder like Google Drive or Dropbox? Storing files in such locations can sometimes lead to corruption issues. To prevent this from happening in the future, we recommend saving your work locally first and then manually copying it to your desired backup location.
 

Additionally, were you experiencing crashes in Illustrator when this issue occurred? If so, we suggest trying the troubleshooting steps outlined in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/fix-crash-on-launch-issues.html) to see if it resolves the problem.

 

To avoid similar situations in the future, we advise saving multiple copies of your active work locally or saving them as cloud documents.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or need assistance. We're here to help.
 

Anubhav

thetalesofj
thetalesofj
Participant
April 28, 2026

The file was saved locally and I’m using the latest version. I wasn’t experiencing any crashes until Illustrator suddenly closed. In addition, a workaround that prevents users from saving on their local device is completely insufficent.

M
Mariela_Hristinova
Participant
April 14, 2026

How is any of these answers helpful?!

It is the year 2026 and this junk software has been crashing for years and years!

I have the AID files and they are not opening. 92MB a file. The info is there. But no, nothing worked. Only someone who does not work in the creative field could give advises like “make sure you save your file as often as possible”. The work flow does not work like this. Nobody should be thinking of how their program might crash every minute instead on focusing on the real work that pays for this crappy software. I can’t be respectful, no. The crashes have no logical reason, nor are my files huge. Even after fresh restarts of the OS, it continues, even after updating, even after reinstalling. Soon we will be all switching to Figma. It has never failed me. Ever. 

Anubhav M
Community Manager
Anubhav MCommunity Manager
Community Manager
April 14, 2026

Hello ​@Mariela_Hristinova 

 

I’m sorry to hear about the frequent crashes in Illustrator. Could you confirm the exact version of the OS/Illustrator installed on your device, and if this happens when working with specific files or when using particular tools/features, so we can better assist you?

Also, kindly submit the crash report using your Adobe email address and share it here for quick tracking. Steps are shared here: (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/crash-next-steps.html).

We appreciate your time and patience in helping us resolve this issue.
Anubhav

Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
Community Manager
March 11, 2025

I’ve recovered your file @defaulth6mr28fadwdg and shared the download link with you via DM. Please check it and let me know if you have any trouble accessing it or if you need further assistance.

 

Best,

Anshul Saini

R
RussF1rst
Participant
April 14, 2025

Ok, but how does anyone else with the same issue solve this problem?? I'm also having the exact same issue with Illustrator "refusing" to open .aid files from a recent crash, and would like to be able to open the files myself. What is the error that is occuring?

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 14, 2025
@RussF1rst  schrieb:

Ok, but how does anyone else with the same issue solve this problem?? I'm also having the exact same issue with Illustrator "refusing" to open .aid files from a recent crash, and would like to be able to open the files myself. What is the error that is occuring?

 

The Help and engineering people have tools at their hands that are more advanced and probably hacky to use.

 

The secret is to never get yourself into such a situation.

Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
Community Manager
March 11, 2025

Hi @defaulth6mr28fadwdg,

 

I understand how challenging it must be to lose hours of work, and I can imagine how frustrating this situation is.

 

As Monika mentioned — and she’s absolutely right — recovery files are helpful but shouldn’t replace regular backups. That said, I’m here to help you recover what we can.

 

I received your DM with the .aid recovery file link, but the link is currently set to private. Could you please update it to the public so I can access it and explore possible recovery options?

 

We’ll do our best to help you get your work back. Looking forward to your response.

Best,

Anshul Saini

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 11, 2025

@Anshul_Saini can you please help?

 

Generally: Before doing anything with the recovery files: make a backup of it that you do not change.

 

Also: The Recovery function should never be used as a replacement for a backup.

You have to save early, save often and save different versions of your file, preferably on different hard drives. If you are on a Mac, turn on the Time Machine. For Windows: get something similar. Things can go wrong and do go wrong. The above does not only apply to Illustrator, but should be standard procedure with all your work.

 

When you have set up all the backups you need then the recovery function can be the icing on the cake. But not more.

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