Skip to main content
Sam00se
Sam00se
Participant
March 2, 2026
Question

Performance issues in Illustrator when using Alt + Scroll to zoom

  • March 2, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 121 views

Hello! I’ve got this issue where my illustrator app (up to date) freezes for a few moments any time i specifically use the alt + zoom function. If i press Z and then drag left or right, the zoom is perfectly smooth, but for some reason the alt zoom just completely freezes up my illustrator for like 5 seconds at a time. 

I’ve got a 4080 super graphics card that i have toggled on and off in GPU performance, GPU view, turned animated zoom on and off, and even set illustrator as a high performance application in the nvidia control panel, as well as uninstalled and reinstalled the application. 

Would love to know if anyone else has had this issue! Ultimately i can do without it i guess, but i’ve been using this zoom reflexively for an absurd amount of time, maybe 7 years at this point, and for some reason on this machine i’m currently working on its messed up. Thanks! 

      3 replies

      mallorysd
      mallorysd
      Participating Frequently
      April 19, 2026

      Thanks for the response, I found a fix online regarding cache in roaming app data, but can’t seem to locate that. I’m in Illustrator 2026 and I don’t see the same windows settings that are listed in your linked fix.

      Anubhav M
      Community Manager
      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      April 20, 2026

      Hello ​@mallorysd 

       

      Would you mind trying to manually reset Illustrator's preferences and checking if it helps:

      For Windows

      - Close all Adobe applications.

      - Go to Location C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Adobe

      - Rename Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Illustrator 30 Settings folders to Adobe Illustrator.old and Adobe Illustrator - 30 Settings.old

      - Relaunch Illustrator from Creative Cloud

       

      Disclaimer: Please note that renaming preferences folders will remove all the custom settings, and Illustrator will launch with default settings. You can also save a backup of the folders in case you want to. The location is mentioned above.

       

      Looking forward to hearing from you.
      Anubhav

      mallorysd
      mallorysd
      Participating Frequently
      April 6, 2026

      Yup, I’m experiencing the same issue. It’s so annoying.

      Anubhav M
      Community Manager
      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      April 6, 2026

      Hello ​@mallorysd 

       

      I’m sorry to hear that you’re having similar trouble with Illustrator. Could you share more details, such as the version of the OS/Illustrator installed, whether this happens with all files, and a brief screen recording of the problem, so we can better assist you?

      Also, try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/optimize-illustrator-performance.html) and share your observations.

       

      Looking forward to hearing from you.
      Anubhav

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 2, 2026

      You are scrolling with a mouse?

      There are issues with certain mouse drivers.

      someone could solve it with a preferences reset: 

       

      Sam00se
      Sam00seAuthor
      Participant
      March 2, 2026

      so i actually realized that the scroll zoom alone wasnt the issue, anything that interacted with the scroll wheel made my illustrator act up. I had reset preferences inside illustrator, but it turned out i needed a manual reset. I used this post! Illustrator 30.0 Mouse wheel scroll causes lockup/crash/freeze | Community

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices