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GaryC1982
Known Participant
Oct 20, 2026 9:24 AM UTC
Question

Link names missing in links palette in cc26

Frequently the link names are not displaying in the most recent versions of illustrator. I am using 30.8.2 on a 2023 Macbook pro, Apple 2 Max 64GB memory, running Tahoe 26.6.2.

 

    7 replies

    Harshika Verma
    Community Manager
    Harshika VermaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Oct 23, 2026 1:36 PM UTC

    Hello ​@GaryC1982 

     

    Thanks for your patience. The product team has resolved this issue in the latest Illustrator (beta), and it should also be available in the next general release of Illustrator. Could you try installing the latest Illustrator (beta) and let us know how it goes?

    Thanks,

    Harshika

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    GaryC1982Author
    Known Participant
    Oct 21, 2026 9:52 AM UTC

    Hi, 
    The resizing / redocking did nothing.
    If i remove thumbnails, the names reappear but they disappear again if i turn on thumbnails. A different thumbnail size makes no difference, the names are still missing.
    It happens to some files, not all. I suspect it may be a memory thing. This particular file has only 4 images (2 images both in twice), the largest being on 28mb but that image is a placed ai file with many objects that have gaussian blur effects so the rendering is quite slow in the document in which the image is placed. 
    I have another file where there is one grayscale image used 20 times and no other images, but only 6 of them have the names and thumbnails (see attached).
    IM placed the image in a new file and was able to see the thumbnail. However I then created a transparency mask and placed an image inside it to match the setup and bizarrely, the other image is missing the thumbnail when i go back to the primary layers panel, however on the original file I can see the thumbnail for the image in the mask, but not the thumbnail for the main image, on my new file it is the opposite.
    However, the common factor seems to be the affected images are either in transparency masks or have transparency masks. There doesnt seem to be any consistency over which.

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    Harshika Verma
    Community Manager
    Harshika VermaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Oct 22, 2026 1:39 PM UTC

    Hi ​@GaryC1982,

    Thank you for trying the steps suggested and sharing the additional information. We are unable to replicate the issue on our end, maybe we missed a step while replicating the problem. Would you mind sharing a sample file with me over a private message so we can investigate further and check with the product team?

     

    We will try our best to assist you further.

     

    Thanks,

    Harshika

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    GaryC1982Author
    Known Participant
    Oct 22, 2026 2:04 PM UTC

    Test files attached. Also a screen recording of when the issue occurs

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    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Oct 20, 2026 10:43 AM UTC

    Hi ​@GaryC1982, 

    Thank you for reaching out and sharing the screenshot. I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue with the Links panel in Illustrator.

    Could you please try undocking the Links panel, resizing it, and docking it again to see whether the filenames reappear? You can also try resetting your current workspace by navigating to Window > Workspace > Reset [Current Workspace].

    Additionally, please open the Links panel menu, select Panel Options, and try changing the thumbnail display size or disabling thumbnails temporarily to see whether that makes a difference.

    To help isolate the issue, could you also create a new Illustrator document, place a few images using File > Place with the Link option enabled, and check whether their filenames display correctly in the Links panel?

    If the issue persists, please check for any available Illustrator updates through Creative Cloud. You can also try resetting Illustrator preferences after backing up your existing settings.

    Could you also confirm whether this happens with all Illustrator documents or only specific files, and whether the filenames reappear after restarting Illustrator?

    If possible, please share a short screen recording showing the issue, particularly when the filenames disappear.

    Let us know how it goes. 

     

    Thanks!

    Abhishek

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    GaryC1982Author
    Known Participant
    Oct 22, 2026 2:03 PM UTC

    here is a recording. It is when the mask is applied:

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