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freehandvet
Participant
December 2, 2022
Question

Illustrator File type corrupted?

  • December 2, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 1863 views

I copied several Illustrator (.AI) files from a thumb-drive to my computer's (iMac 2017 High Sierra) hard drive. I have tried to open them from 1) the Finder and 2) Bridge.

Illustrator becomes active, but, instead of the file opening I see the image offering 'Text Import Options'.

Illustrator handles the files as if it's text or code.

Does anybody know the reason or the solution?

Thanks

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

Mike_Gondek10189183
Community Expert
Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
Community Expert
December 6, 2022

Is your thumb drive formattted as mac or win?

Does the file open directly from thumb drive?

Does the file open where it originally came from?

    F
    freehandvetAuthor
    Participant
    December 11, 2022

    Thank you for your reply. The thumb drive was provided to me from someone not using any Mac hardware.
    It had never been a problem previously though. 

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 11, 2022

    Thumb  drives are generally not a secure way of storing data. Use them to transport a copy of a file to somewhere else (and hope that it works). But never keep the only version of a file on  a thumb drive.

     

    Yes, I learnt it the hard way.

    Anshul_Saini
    Community Manager
    Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    December 5, 2022

    Hi @freehandvet,

     

    Thanks for reaching out. As Monika said, This generally happens when the file has gotten corrupted. Would you mind checking if the files aren't just an alias or a shortcut file? If not, then please recheck if it is copied properly.

     

    However, if the size of the file is < 1 MB, then it is corrupted and can't be recovered. If that is not the case, please share the file with me here or via DM, and I will try to recover it.

     

    I will be looking forward to your response.

     

    Thanks & Regards,
    Anshul Saini

      F
      freehandvetAuthor
      Participant
      December 11, 2022

       The files were not an Alias.

      Thank you for your reply.

      Anshul_Saini
      Community Manager
      Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      December 12, 2022

      Thanks for confirming that, @freehandvet. Would you mind checking if copying to the local drive helps and confirming the file size? Most likely, I think the thumb drive was pulled before the file could be copied. Hence, the text import options dialog when opening it in Ai.

       

      Also, would you mind checking with the person if he has a backup of the file and if it is opening at his end?

       

      Regards,

      Anshul Saini

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 2, 2022

      Usually this happens when the file is corrupt, which wouldn't be a surprise with files on thumb drives actually. Thumb drives are not meant as a backup option. They are for transporting files.

       

      Try and use a different computer to copy the files from the thumb drive (maybe just the interface is toast).

       

      If that still doesn't work, mayb @Anshul_Saini can help with your files. There's not a lot of hope though.

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