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Illustrator Flickering Workspace Background

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Whenever I move my mouse on some of my Illustrator files, the background grey flicks between two shades of grey really fast and it hurts my eyes. I've recently just converted over to a new Apple Mac Mini with an M1 chip, so I don't know if this has anything to do with it (not sure if the issue is related to GPU or not). It also happens when I zoom in and out too. The only way to make it go away is to close and reopen the document. It will be fine for a while and then it will start up again. Again, not on on all documents, and not all of the time, just sometimes and it's just a minor inconvenience! I've attached a little screen recording as an example.

I've done lots of searching and I can't find any resolutions yet, I'm thinking it's just a bug. Unless I'm wording this all wrong!

Screen_Recording_2021-05-20_at_1-29-18_PM.zip

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MagnusCCorrect answer

Participating Frequently

BTW, Unchecking GPU performance doesn't do anything...

When the screen goes crazy to you have to:
1. Open Settings/Performance

2. Uncheck GPU Performance

3. Click OK to close settings

4. Open Settings/Performance again

5. Check GPU Performance

6. Click OK to close settings

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LizaMurphySydney

Participant

I am having the same Issue Mac Mini with external Samsung Monitor. Really irritating having to quit illustrator after sleep mode every time. the flickering is not something you can gnore. its really distracting.

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cyclopsdx

Inspiring

Upgraded to 27.2 and the flickering problem is back. My previous workaround still works, though.

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cyclopsdx

Inspiring

Although it's still not been fixed I've found a quick workaround for stopping the flickering whilst I'm using Illustrator - Go to top menu, select View > Overprint Preview, then switch back to normal view again. That appears to resolve it for me - until the next time.

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cainamrtin

Participant

Thanks, this is much faster than closing and reopening the software 😄

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smashkirk

Inspiring

I have the same problem. It occurs in Illustrator, XD and InDesign. I'm using Macbook Pro M1 with an external monitor. This has been happening for a long time now, probably over a year.

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Ross5FB7

Participant

Is there a better solution for this yet other than disabling GPU performance? That's not really a fix...

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cyclopsdx

Inspiring

Turning off GPU Performance does fix this issue but creates a new problem - one where fonts pixelate when moving them across the screen and the frame edges become very faint. Also, a strange, grey box appears to the right-hand side of the text box. It's one or the other. Having turned GPU back on to counteract the text bitmapping issue, I am now experiencing intense headaches from the flickering/strobe effect if I am working on projects for 15 minutes or more. Surely this is quite serious - a potential health and safety issue? Shouldn't a warning notice be issued for those suffering from epilepsy? This needs to be resolved quickly!

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Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @cyclopsdx,

We are sorry for the trouble. This is not the experience we want you to have. Would you mind trying a couple of steps to see if that helps:

Use the system default resolution (No scaling or changing the dpi setting)
Use small or default UI scaling in Illustrator and ensure "scale curose proportionally" is unchecked from the Illsuatrtor preferences > User Interface.

If this doesn't help, please share the information I have requested above.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini

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Ross5FB7

Participant

I'm having the same problem on an M1 Macbook Pro 14". It's in clamshell mode linked to an external monitor.

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Pe-form

Participant

I just Googled to find a solution to this problem and found this issue.

Same problem, external screen, tried both Thunderbolt and HDMI.

Macbook Pro M1 Pro 16"

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Pe-form

Participant

I turned off GPU Performance (Preferences > Performance) and the problem went away. Even if I turned it back on the problem was gone ... for now at least.

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Lavya218748427ses

Participant

Also facing this issue with an M1 Mac Mini plugged into an external monitor through HDMI. Only "solution" I've found is to reopen Illustrator which is less than ideal.

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