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Engraver
Inspiring
June 20, 2017
Question

No files are showing in the Recent file tab, Illustrator

  • June 20, 2017
  • 9 replies
  • 10521 views

Recently, when opening files, the Recent Files Tab is Not showing any files.

The similar Recent Files display when nothing is already open shows files.

Turned On/Off in preference.

can't seem to find a way to kick this to work again.

This topic has been closed for replies.

9 replies

Mike Craghead
Mike Craghead
Participating Frequently
January 2, 2020

Uncheck show recent > restart > check show recent > restart worked for me to bring back the thumbnail previews of my recent files in IE CC (Win10), thanks!
Oddly, while File>Open Recent has always worked, the Recent option on my welcome screen has been missing for a while:

csongetocsaba
csongetocsaba
Participant
January 16, 2020

there's a more friendly workaround:
when on the home screen (and no recent files thumbnails are shown), select a workspace (e.g. Window>Workspace>Essentials),
then
switch back to the home screen.

tadaaaam!

R
RachelHenley-COJ
Participant
November 1, 2017

Updated to the latest version of Illustrator 21.1.0 and the Recent Files pop up tab it has been gone since. I'm working on an iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5 with 16GB RAM, macOS 10.12.6. "Open Recent Files" from the menu still works.

Also, noticed that this page redirects you to the top of the page when you start to type a response. Here, I'm using Chrome: Version 61.0.3163.100. And this is very annoying as well.

T
tween40
Participant
October 20, 2017

Yep upgraded a last night and its gone altogether now - shame... Hope it comes back!

    iBabs2
    iBabs2
    Inspiring
    October 20, 2017

    Me too!! I use it in InDesign and love it!

    I am sure they will figure it out

    _
    _krism
    Participant
    October 20, 2017

    I'm experiencing the same issue. It did work for awhile. I noticed that the recent panel in the recent files work space went blank at some point over the summer after doing an update to I believe the CC apps although it could have been an OS update. I'm running macOS Sierra 10.12.6 and files are on my computer/synced to Dropbox. I did a test by saving some files directly to my machine from illustrator to my downloads folder but that didn't change anything in the recent panel either. This issue is happening on both my iMac and brand new Mac book Pro (also running Sierra 10.12.6).

    iBabs2
    iBabs2
    Inspiring
    October 20, 2017

    Hi!
    Looks like it is worse than we all thought....

    Updated to the latest version on Wedneday and the option is no longer available in the workspaces.

    I guess Adobe has not been able to fix it yet and it has become an issue for many.

    Hopefully, they will figure it out and bring it back.

    thanks everyone!

    babs

    T
    tween40
    Participant
    October 17, 2017

    I also have this problem - it was all working fine until a couple of weeks ago.

    Recent Files tab opens on the right but contains no content at all. All the files are on the computer - running Mac OS Sierra.

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 17, 2017

      tween40  schrieb

      I also have this problem - it was all working fine until a couple of weeks ago.

      Recent Files tab opens on the right but contains no content at all. All the files are on the computer - running Mac OS Sierra.

      1. WHat happened a couple of weeks ago? Did you perhaps install or update something?

      2. Did you read the complete thread and try the solutions?

      T
      tween40
      Participant
      October 17, 2017

      Nothing changed, no updates have been done for a while. As others are saying here - there are recent files showing up on opening up but not in the side window. I’ve tried all the solutions here but I can’t use the recent file window on the right.

      Jenni_Merrifield
      Jenni_Merrifield
      Participant
      August 17, 2017

      I don't believe Engraver is referring to the "File > Open Recent Files >" menu option, he is referring to the "Recent Files" panel that opens on the right side of the application window when you initially select "File > Open..." or press CTRL+O (on Windows) in Illustrator 2017. Here is a screen shot showing the panel I mean (and that I believe Engraver means):

      Notice that this panel is blank. However, if I open my "Files > Open Recent Files >" menu, there are many items available:

      The panel worked in the past and showed thumbnails of recent files along with buttons that would open the image represented by a selected thumbnail or open a file browser to locate other files. With the blank panel, there appears to be no way to actually open a file browser to select another file on your drive (although I found out by accident that hitting CTRL+O while looking at the blank "Recent Files" panel actually does launch the file browser).

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 17, 2017

      WHere are the files located and has that volume been accessible when you launched Illustrator?

      Jenni_Merrifield
      Jenni_Merrifield
      Participant
      August 18, 2017

      Monika Gause  For me, all the files I work on are located on my computer's main hard drive, so the volume is always accessible. Engraver​ will have to answer for himself.

      E
      EngraverAuthor
      Inspiring
      June 28, 2017

      thanks for the ideas,

      nothing worked.

      Reset Preferences both Manually and keyboard.

      Reset Recent item number.

      Still, Recent workspace/panel displays nothing but a gray background.

      Mac OS 10.12.5

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 28, 2017

      AFter you reset the number of files and the preferences you will need to open a couple of files.

      Mike_Gondek10189183
      Community Expert
      Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
      Community Expert
      June 20, 2017

      When posting please share what operating system you are on.

      Make sure these values are not zero

      Do not believe this  affects illustrator but cannot hurt to check.

      If you do not crash then a record of files should be added.

        S
        Sophieo8
        Participant
        January 8, 2020

        This worked for me.

          Srishti Bali
          Community Manager
          Srishti BaliCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          June 20, 2017

          Hi Engraver,

          If I get your query correctly, when you click file>open recent files> it does not show any recent file or is grayed out, however when on start screen(when no file is opened)  it shows ?

          If yes, please try to reset preferences to defaults

          For details click here How to set preferences in Illustrator

          Regards

          Srishti

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