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InDesign is leaving anomolies/shadows from illustrator figure updates

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
March 23, 2026
25 replies
261 views

Hello! Opening illustrator files from InDesign, working on them, saving them and going back to InDesign. The links are all updated, but sometimes it’s leaving anomolies, like double shadows of the figure in. Friends are having the same problem, one had the cursor x/y measurements from the illustrator file appear in InDesign - which wouldn’t even have saved into the file? Anyone else had this problem?

Pictures - show the x/y (illustrator on the left - inDesign on the right) and the double calendar which is most definitely not there in the illustrator file!

Correct answer Abhishek Rao

Hi @Jzee , @Alison Mackey,

Thank you for your patience while we checked this with the product team.

The team has confirmed that this issue was identified and addressed in Illustrator 30.3. Files created or re-saved using this version should no longer show these rendering anomalies when placed in InDesign. However, older Illustrator files may still exhibit the issue until they are re-saved using the latest version.

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

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

If you're still experiencing the issue in Illustrator 30.3 or any later version, please share a short screen recording showing the complete workflow up to the point where the issue occurs, along with the affected files.

Please package the files using File > Package so that all the required linked assets are included. This will allow us to reproduce the workflow accurately and investigate further.

In the meantime, as a workaround, in Illustrator go to Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard, disable Save in Background, then re-save the affected AI file before placing or relinking it in InDesign.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

D

Dom.B

Participating Frequently

I’m having the same problem. It happend in Files I got from a client (about a month ago) and on a new created file (yesterday).

In the saving options I have the following active: PDF-compatible file, icc-profile, comprimation.

I could erase the anomalies when I «saved as» and replaced the old file. or when i created a new file. Sometimes just saving kills the anomaly, but not relatable.

The Version of InDesign doesn’t matter, i got the same issue in CC2025 and CC2026. Relinking doesn’t solve anything. I would guess, that the “preview” from illustrator is wrong.

The Anomaly is exported, when i create a PDF or a print.

MacOS 26.4.1
Illustrator V 30.6

leo.r

Community Expert

Did you try to disable Save in Background in Illustrator: Preferences > File Handling?

J

JzeeAuthor

Known Participant

@Abhishek Rao - sorry all updated and I’ve had another blip

Z1006-Galindo 64x36 L Poster 01 Folder.zip

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Jzee,

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

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Jzee,

Thanks for sharing the file and details. I checked this with the team using your sample, and the issue was reproducible with the original file. However, after re-saving the same Illustrator file in the latest version (v30.3), the issue no longer appears.

This suggests that the fix is working, but it requires the AI file to be opened and re-saved in Illustrator 30.3 for the correction to apply. Older files may continue to show the issue until they are re-saved in the latest version.

Could you please try re-saving the affected Illustrator files in v30.3 again and then relink/update them in InDesign to see if that resolves it on your end?

Best,

Abhishek

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

With latest updates and Save in Background turned off, I’m seeing layer anomalies, too.

Mike Witherell

A

Alison Mackey

Participant

I have been having this problem too, only in the most recent updates. Illustrator files placed in InDesign (File > Place) keep showing up with artifacts/objects in different positions from previous saves. It’s maddening. I have been using this same workflow for years with no issues.

leo.r

Community Expert

@Alison Mackey Did you try to disable Save in Background in Illustrator: Preferences > File Handling?

J

JzeeAuthor

Known Participant

Hopefully Adobe will fix this glitch soon! I’m hoping for a bug update :-) Sorry it’s happening to you, glad it’s not just me!

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

And in addition to what Bob said, your friend is also File > Place-ing the Illustrator file into InDesign? Not drag n drop? Not copy n paste? Not taking a screenshot?

Mike Witherell

J

JzeeAuthor

Known Participant

We are all linking the illustrator file in place in InDesign - not dragging and dropping etc. So illustrator file linked, make the changes, save the illustrator file - go back to indesign. It’s just done it on another job. Screenshot with one man in illustrator, go to indesign - links are all update to date - double man appears….

leo.r

Community Expert

Disable Save in Background in Illustrator; Preferences > File Handling. Will it solve the issue?

J

JzeeAuthor

Known Participant

Will try this!

J

JzeeAuthor

Known Participant

Sorry Bob! I mean there is an illustrator file linked into InDesign - but I’m doing the editing in Illustrator, saving it and it’s updating in InDesign. It’s saying it’s linked ok, but it’s leaving the funny images in InDesign. Am I making sense?!

BobLevine

Community Expert

Ah, okay.

Then let’s back up a bit. Are InDesign and Illustrator fully updated? What operating system and is it fully updated? Are you saving the Ilustrator file with its default settings for the PDF portion?

If you export a PDF of this from InDesign does it look okay or does it export this way? We need to eliminate screen anomolies.

J

JzeeAuthor

Known Participant

Sequoia 15.7.3, yes all adobe fully updated. Illustrator files being saved with default ai settings - I’ve not changed any. If the anomolies are appearing in indesign, they export to pdf too. It’s doing it on a number of different files - so not just one file. And other team members have been having odd anomolies too with that latest version of indesign - not sure what system they are running. I can update to Tahoe if needed

BobLevine

Community Expert

Why are you opening Illustrator files in InDesign? While technically possible, InDesign is only reading the PDF portion of the file and if you’re expecting perfection in this, you’re going to be very disappointed.

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