Illustrator file does not appear correctly when imported to InDesign

Community Expert

Ddi you disable the Save in Background preference in Illustrator?

Inspiring

How is this STILL an issue! Adobe please sort it out ASAP!

H

H Chinaski

Inspiring

I also have this issue. Version 30.3. Never used save in background. Random elements get the wrong z-index when files are placed in InDesign.

It usually works to open the .ai file again and change something, then change it back, and save. Then it looks as it should in InDesign.

Community Expert

First, update to Illustrator 30.4. Will it make a difference?

H

H Chinaski

Inspiring

Will try, thanks.

Inspiring

I’m still having this issue on version 30.3 and 21.3. I’m having to export png’s from illustrator to place slowing my workflow so place get it fixed ASAP.

Community Manager

Hi @richardl28109603,

Sorry to hear that you’re still facing this issue. Just to confirm, are you opening the affected AI file in Illustrator 30.3, saving it again in that version, and then placing or relinking that newly saved file in InDesign before testing?

If you’re still seeing the issue after doing that, could you please share a short screen recording demonstrating the complete workflow, starting from opening the AI file in Illustrator through placing or relinking it in InDesign and showing the rendering issue?

If possible, please also share the packaged InDesign file so I can investigate this further and take it up with the product team. If the files are confidential, feel free to share them with me via DM using any cloud sharing platform like Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar services.

Looking forward to your update.
Abhishek

Inspiring

It’s still not fixed!

Graphite6190

Inspiring

Hello, I also have this problem with Images that are within clipping masks in illustrator being moved when placed in Indesign. I am using Ilustrator 30.3 and Indesign 21.3

What I see in Illustrator (an image inside a clipping mask with a separate black outline shape)

What comes out in Indesign (clipped image is misaligned with black line)

Graphite6190

Inspiring

Would be good to have this fixed, I have deadlines! Super, super inconvenient.

Community Manager

Hi @Graphite6190,

Sorry to hear you’re still running into this, especially with deadlines coming up.

Just to confirm, are you testing this after opening the file in Illustrator 30.3, saving it again, and then placing that newly saved file in InDesign?

Since this is urgent, I’d recommend disabling the Save in Background option from Illustrator Preferences under File Handling, then saving the file again before placing it in InDesign to see if that helps.

Also, if possible, could you please share the affected file after packaging it via File > Package so I can test it further on my end? If the file is confidential, feel free to share it via DM using any public cloud sharing platform.

Please let me know how it goes.

Abhishek

Community Manager

Hi @jefc302 , @hatshatahsththstst , @brandonmiltgenSZ , @vlovegrove and everyone,

Thank you all for continuing to share your observations and confirming the behavior across different setups.

I checked this with the product team, and they’ve confirmed that this issue has been addressed in the latest Illustrator release (v30.3). Files created or saved using this version should no longer show these rendering anomalies when placed in InDesign. However, older Illustrator files may still show the issue until they are re-saved using the latest version.

Could you please try updating to Illustrator 30.3, then open your affected AI files, save them again, and place or relink them in InDesign to see if the issue is resolved?

For reference, this was also being tracked here:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/51032623-file-links-breaking

Please let me know how it goes after trying this, and I’ll be happy to assist further if needed.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

J

jefc302

Participating Frequently

I just checked the latest AI (v30.3) and the preview is still not correct after placing/linking after an update/save of the AI file in Indesign. I turned off Save in background preference in AI and is working again. The AI file only has vector graphics no images.

Community Manager

Hi @jefc302,

Sorry to hear that you’re still running into this, and thanks for testing and sharing the update.

To help investigate further, could you please share the affected Illustrator file after packaging it via File > Package so I can test it on my end and take this forward with the team? It would also really help if you could share a short screen recording showing the workflow, first opening the file in Adobe Illustrator to confirm how it looks there, and then placing it in Adobe InDesign and highlighting where the issue appears.

If the file is confidential, you can share it via DM using any public cloud transfer service.

Looking forward to your update so I can dig deeper into this.

Abhishek

J

jefc302

Participating Frequently

Still happening on AI 30.2.1 and ID 21.2 (March 26, 2026). People on Reddit have said they've gone to print not knowing the image placing issue. This boggled my mind for a week and couldn't figure this issue out...I got resolution with copying and pasting but wasn't aware this was the resolution only for it to come back on the same file. Copying an element then pasting it back into the same file works as a temporary fix but why is this even needed? WTF adobe! Adobe keeps giving reasons to hate it and this has been the case for a very very long time.

Community Expert

So did you try to disable the Save in Background preference in Illustrator?

J

jefc302

Participating Frequently

Yes, this seems to work 🤞

Community Manager

Hi everyone,

Thank you for continuing to share your observations on this issue. I’ve raised this internally with the InDesign product team so they can review the behavior further, and I’ll update the thread as soon as I have more information from them.

In the meantime, to help us investigate this more accurately, could you please share a sample Illustrator file where the issue occurs after packaging it via File > Package in Illustrator? This ensures that all linked assets and resources used in the file are included for testing.

If the file is confidential, you’re welcome to share it with me via DM here on the community. You can upload the packaged folder using any public cloud sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar and send the link privately.

Looking forward to your update so we can review this with the team.

Abhishek

hatshatahsththstst

Known Participant

Currently and still having this issue - using 30.2.1 on each. Working in 1 layer doesn’t work, but embedding the image fixes the problem. Seems to happen (to me) only with linked images.

Community Expert

Did you disable the ‘Save in Background’ preference in Illustrator?

hatshatahsththstst

Known Participant

I did, this fixed it after forcing a save-as /overrwite on the file.

Inspiring

I’m still having this issue, missing linked images and vectors once placed into InDesign. I’m updated fully to the latest Beta version without any success. Adobe need to sort this out ASAP!