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Helena28273452awqt
Inspiring
June 19, 2025
Question

Illustrator 2025 Mac OS 15.4.1 - Can't Save Single File PDF from Export for Screen

  • June 19, 2025
  • 5 replies
  • 1736 views

Illustrator latest update - 
Illustrator no longer saves a Single File PDF in the "export for screen" function. 
I select "all artboards" and "single file". 
Each time i get multiple pdf files from this action instead of a single file. 

    5 replies

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    September 9, 2025

    Hi everyone,

     

    Thanks again for sharing your experiences and patience while we investigated this. The product team has confirmed that the issue is now fixed, and the workflow is working fine on Illustrator version 29.7.1 and later.

    If you're still facing the problem, please update to the latest version of Illustrator and give it another try. Do let us know if you continue to see the behavior after updating, so we can check further.

     

    Appreciate your support in reporting this and helping us improve the product.

    Abhishek

      Anubhav M
      Community Manager
      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      June 23, 2025

      Hello everyone,

      Our team has confirmed the problem and is currently working to fix it in a future release. I will update this thread as I have more info. In the meantime, kindly upvote this UserVoice (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/50057574-can-t-save-multiple-artboards-as-a-single-file-pdf) and add your comments there. Doing this will help prioritize the fix, and you will be notified of any updates.

      Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

      Anubhav

        kglad
        Community Expert
        kgladCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 19, 2025

        in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

        p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.



        <"moved from using the community bugs">
        C
        Chris21976577hm04
        Participant
        June 23, 2025

        I'm having the same issue as Helena. This is a feature I use all day, every day at work. It was working on Friday, June 20th and it's no longer working as of Monday morning.

         

        "Export for Screens" and select Export PDF as: Single File, it outputs individual artboards as if I have the "Multiple Files" radial checked.

         

        I downgraded to 29.5.1 and it's working again. 

          Ton Frederiks
          Community Expert
          Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          June 19, 2025

          You probably opened the resulting PDF back in Illustrator, which means you opened the Illustrator part of the file.

          Check the settings for the PDF export, they probably have the "Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities" checked, which means that all artboards will be included for editing in Illustrator.

          To change this for Export for Screens, you need to create a new PDF Preset file (Edit > Adobe PDF Presets and use the + icon) where is is turned off and chose that in the export for screens settings for PDF (click the cog wheel to change them).

          H
          Helena28273452awqtAuthor
          Inspiring
          June 20, 2025
          Thank you but your answer isn't helpful.

          I'm exporting an illustrator file, like i've done a million times in the
          past, using "export for screens".
          Suddenly, since the update, Illustrator exports multiple pdfs instead of a
          single file.

          My screenshots explain this error clearly. It's a bug in the new update.
          Ton Frederiks
          Community Expert
          Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          June 20, 2025

          I think you are right, Helena. I have not used that option recently.

          Tried it in 2024 and it exports a single file from selected artboards.

          In the 29.6 version it gives a separate file for every artboard.

          This looks like a bug that you may want to report here:

          https://illustrator.uservoice.com/

          Abhishek Rao
          Community Manager
          Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          June 19, 2025

          Hi @Helena28273452awqt,

           

          Thanks again for sharing the screenshots and all the details so far.

          Just to confirm, are you currently using Illustrator version 29.6? And could you also let me know the exact macOS version you're running? 

          I went ahead and tested the same workflow on my end using Illustrator 29.6 and was able to successfully generate a single PDF file using the Export for Screens option with 'Single File selected.

          If possible, could you please share a screen recording showing your export steps, so I can observe the behavior more clearly? Alternatively, feel free to upload a sample file where you're experiencing this issue. You can use any public cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc., and paste the link here. If the file contains confidential content, you're also welcome to send it via DM on the community.

           

          Looking forward to checking this further with you!

          Abhishek 

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