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Rachel Blevins
Rachel Blevins
Participant
March 6, 2026
Question

Issues with Illustrator after downloading Illustrator Beta

  • March 6, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 59 views

I am experiencing a persistent "Broken File Association" issue across my Creative Cloud suite. After installing and subsequently uninstalling the Beta versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, my OS no longer recognizes .ai or .psd files.

Symptoms:

  • Blank Icons: All .ai and .psd files appear as "blank paper" icons rather than the standard Adobe app icons.

  • Broken "Open With": Double-clicking a file does not launch the application. Instead, it triggers a system "Choose an app" pop-up.

  • Missing from List: The current, non-beta versions of Illustrator and Photoshop do not appear as options in the recommended "Open With" menu.

  • Current Workaround: I am forced to open the applications first and use Ctrl + O to browse for files, which is severely impacting my workflow.

Troubleshooting Already Attempted:

  1. Manual Association: Attempted to "Always use this app" via the system right-click menu (failed to register).

  2. Reinstallation: Uninstalled and reinstalled the stable versions of Illustrator and Photoshop via the Creative Cloud Desktop app (did not restore icons or associations).

  3. Beta Cleanup: Verified that all Beta versions have been fully uninstalled.

Request: I need assistance in repairing the registry/launch services so that the stable versions of Illustrator and Photoshop are correctly recognized as the default handlers for these file extensions.

      2 replies

      idk_lbk
      idk_lbk
      Participant
      April 28, 2026

      It would be nice to know if Adobe is addressing this issue. I am having similar issues and I’m not one of the subscribers who has turntable in the most recent updates.   
      have you solved this problem?

      Anubhav M
      Community Manager
      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      May 1, 2026

      Hello ​@idk_lbk 

       

      I’m sorry to hear you’re having similar trouble with Illustrator. Would you mind trying the following steps and checking if it helps:

      • Close all Adobe applications
      • Remove the Creative Cloud Desktop application, CCLibrary, CoreSync and Illustrator using the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool (https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html)
      • Reinstall the Creative Cloud Desktop application (https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/creative-cloud-desktop-app-download.html)
      • Reinstall and Relaunch Illustrator

       

      Looking forward to hearing from you.
      Anubhav

      B
      Community Expert
      Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 6, 2026

      I had something similar happen around a year ago. I ended up having to use the Adobe CC Cleaner tool to remove the regular Illustrator installation and beta version of Illustrator to get the file association properly restored.

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