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LBGroup
Participant
September 3, 2025
Question

Lost a saved file after a crash

  • September 3, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 79 views

Was working on a complex file and knew that my next move was risky so I saved my file. A few minutes later after the file has saved I did a little too much and somehow lost the saved file as well. HOW? 

I actually have a screenshot showing the file with the saved file name from before the crash and now its completely gone. Im sorry but paid adobe products are absolute garbage in 2025 and pirated versions work way better and never crash.

1 reply

creative explorer
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 5, 2025

@LBGroup wow...you know we have a pretty good bunch of profssionals who likely disagree with you.... if you think this is 'junk' go ahead and use the 'pirated' software... chances are you probably are using it by the sounds of it. And enjoy the malware too! 

But to try to solve your answer, where did you save this file in the first place? On your MAC? If so, check your the "Recent Files" List. Even if you think the file is gone, go to File > Open Recent Files. Illustrator keeps a list of recently opened files, and you might find it there. Also, Illustrator has an auto-recovery feature. While it's primarily designed for crashes, it's worth checking. Also, have a look in the 'Finder' to see if there is a temporary file. And if so, re-open it and resave it with a different name too. 

If you saved to the cloud, do a search on that. Check the online version of the folder. Cloud services often have a "Trash" or "Deleted Files" section, and they also maintain a version history of files, allowing you to roll back to a previous save. 

If by chance you are saving to the Cloud, and your there was a slight drop in your internet connection, you may have a corrupted file. That isn't on Adobe, that's your internet provider. And I should know, because I have a crappy internet provider but that's a different story!

I give you credit that you had an idea that it would crashed. Good intuition. I would have made a back-up to that. personally, bcause of my crappy internet, I solely work locally and when I need to make back-ups, that's when I sync to to the Cloud. Hopefully you are able to get files back! 

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