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O
oliverm63673561
Participating Frequently
September 17, 2018
Answered

Previously saved illustrator file now blank

  • September 17, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 11307 views

Hi,

I am having a huge issue, I saved work to *.ai file as usual and now when I try to open it, it is just blank space. I do see the data in the preview of the file but not when I open it up.

I tried removing the GPU check box, but it is still not working. I have reinstalled Illustrator and tried different computers but also no luck.

I have uploaded the file here. I would appreciate help very much!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12_Pyk1QQvpZ75-LQTpPCdAc-GP3AVPJG

Thank you,

Oliver

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Jacob Bugge

Oliver,

But since Monika mentions them, here they are, with the PDF placing and some more about backing up.

One thing often tried first is to create a new document and File>Place the (PDF contents, if any, of the) corrupted one to see how much may be rescued that way.

Here are some websites where you can see whether it can rescue the actual file, and if it can, you may pay for a subscription to have it done,

http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/buy_illustrator.html

http://markzware.com/adobe-software/fix-illustrator-file-unknown-error-occurred-pdf2dtp-file-recovery/

http://www.illustrator.fixtoolbox.com/

http://www.erepairillustrator.com/

As far as I remember, the first one is for Win and the second one is for Mac, while the third and fourth one should be for both.

Here are a few pages about struggling with it yourself:

http://daxxter.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/how-to-recover-a-corrupted-illustrator-ai-file/

http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-damaged-illustrator-files.html

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50032.html

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50031.html

http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/enable-content-recovery-mode-illustrator.html

It is always recommended to create backups with different names regularly, and to store backups in more than one place/way.

And also to save often.

If you have the Cloud, you can also set it to save copies with all the changes.

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/crash-file-data-recovery.html

and here are some other suggestions,

https://forums.adobe.com/message/9328988#9328988

3 replies

O
oliverm63673561Author
Participating Frequently
September 17, 2018

I tried all methods Jacob posted. but still no luck.

However I found this line when I opened my recovered file in a text editor, any idea what that might mean:

%_(These are the default settings when saving an Illustrator file as an Adobe PDF document. Use these settings when you plan on editing the file again in Illustrator, or when you need to place it in a layout application such as InDesign, or when the final use of the file is unknown.) /UnicodeString (/attributes/AI12PDF_Description) ,

%_0 /Real (/attributes/AI11PDF_BleedRight) ,"

O
oliverm63673561Author
Participating Frequently
September 17, 2018

Hi,

I went ahead and paid the recovery fee. The file is now bigger but I still see nothing but white space.

Monika you said, there was some text showing. How would I access that? Sorry I am full illustrator newbie.

Link to the fixed file is here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uYyNXkBsXKth80BvjtmdHPB7Z8NcvQ6f

Thank you guys very much for all your input, this is vert important to me.

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 17, 2018

I was opening your file in a text editor and it showed some content in the file. I don't know what that content was.

You don't have backup software running on your computer? Such as Time Machine or the like?

Where did you save the file? Just in order to find out what was causing this and in order to prevent this in the future. Also: what was in that file? How large was that file?

Generally: especially for important files: always keep different versions of your file. Keep them on different drives. This advice applies to any kind of file.

And think about backup software. Storage is cheap these days. Invest in a backup solution.

O
oliverm63673561Author
Participating Frequently
September 17, 2018

Was it actual readable content ? Is there anything more you can see in the recovered file?

We usually save the file to cloud and this is unfortunately my only version.

Jacob Bugge
Community Expert
Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 17, 2018

Oliver,

What is the file size (MB or whatever)?

Is there an earlier version to fall back on?

O
oliverm63673561Author
Participating Frequently
September 17, 2018

The file is 144kb and I do not have a previous version of it, unfortunately.

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 17, 2018

Did you save this directly to a server or in a synched folder? Both might go wrong.

I'm sure Jacob will post the recovery links which might or might not work.

Good luck with your file.

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