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GABRIEL22829565mgx2
GABRIEL22829565mgx2
Participant
April 27, 2026
Question

My Illustrator 26 files will not open, Can't Open the illustration. The file is locked or in use. ID: -54

  • April 27, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 37 views

None of my Adobe Illustrator files will open and I have recieved this error that says “Can’t open the Illustration. The file is locked or in use. ID: -54

 

I tried everything, I restarted my laptop, I tried opening files on Adobe InDesign which worked perfectly but somehow it does not open in Illustrator.

      4 replies

      Candeaje
      Candeaje
      Participant
      April 29, 2026

      I got the same issue, i can’t open all my files that’s in Cloud.. it says that “Can’t open file, The account you signed in with doesn’t have access to this file. Contact owner for more info”

      I’m clearly the only owner and i’ve tried logging in and out, nothing works… Please help! All of my work are stored on the cloud.

      Macbook Pro OS Tahoe 26.4.1
      Adobe Illustrator version 30.3

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

        Hello ​@Candeaje 

         

        I’m sorry to hear you’re having similar trouble with Illustrator. Our product team is currently investigating this issue. Would you mind trying the following steps and letting us know if they help:

        • Go to System Settings > General > Login Items > Enable CC Library.
        • Relaunch Illustrator

        If it’s already enabled, remove it from the items, re-enable and then quit and relaunch the Creative Cloud Desktop app and Illustrator to see if it helps.

        If the problem persists, try enabling Full Disk Access for the Creative Cloud Desktop app from system preferences, restart your computer and relaunch to see if it helps.

        If the steps above failed, try the following steps and let us know how it goes:

        • Close all Adobe applications
        • Remove the Creative Cloud Desktop app, Core Sync, CC Library 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
        April 29, 2026

        If the files are Illustrator version 26 files have you tried opening them in the current version (30.3)? It’s possible to have more than one version of Illustrator installed on the same computer.

        Will the files open if they’re copied to a different storage volume, such as an external hard disc drive?

        GABRIEL22829565mgx2
        GABRIEL22829565mgx2Author
        Participant
        April 28, 2026

        Hi there,

        Thank you for reaching out,

        I am currently using a MacBook Air which operates on macOS Tahoe Version 26.4.1. I have issues opening both illustrator files on my laptop. I was using it at university and I tried it at home as well and they both seem not to work, most of my illustrator files do not utilise fonts which are stored in my files within my laptop.

        Thanks,

        Gabriel

          Anubhav M
          Community Manager
          Anubhav MCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          April 28, 2026

          Hello ​@GABRIEL22829565mgx2 

           

          Thanks for confirming the details. Could you confirm whether the file is stored on an internal/external drive/network drive, or in a cloud-synced folder like Google Drive/Dropbox, or if it is saved as a Cloud Document? Please include a screenshot of the error message and a sample file (if it’s stored locally), so we can better assist you.

           

          Looking forward to hearing from you.
          Anubhav

          Harshika Verma
          Community Manager
          Harshika VermaCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          April 27, 2026

          Hi GABRIEL22829565mgx2,

          Thank you for reaching out, and sorry for the trouble in opening the Illustrator file. A few more details would be super helpful for further investigation.

          • Would you mind telling us the details of your operating system and the version of Illustrator installed on your machine?
          • You mentioned you have issues with all 26 Illustrator files, right?
          • Is there anything common among these files, such as being stored at a particular location?
          • Are you using any common font that might be causing issues?
          • Are you opening the file from a remote location, such as a network drive, synced storage, or an external drive?


          We will try our best to investigate the issue and help you further.

          Thanks,

          Harshika
           

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