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graphicd22604340
Inspiring
October 1, 2019
Answered

"There was an error opening this document. This file cannot be found"

  • October 1, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 74669 views

I updated my Illustrator this morning (v 23.1?) and now whenever I Save-As my files to PDF, and check the box View PDF After Saving, Acrobat opens but then displays an error message, "There was an error opening this document. This file cannot be found," even though it saved exactly where I told it to, and I can subsequently open it through File Explorer just fine.

After running a couple tests, I found out the error is only happening with files on which I use certain work templates (proofing designs for customers), which have never given me any trouble before.

I already uninstalled and re-installed Acrobat to no avail... would uninstalling and re-installing Illustrator result in loss of all my pinned files, preferences and scripts? Are there any other ideas or solutions?

I also discovered I am not given the error when Acrobat is not initially open and Illustrator opens it as the PDF is created. If Acrobat is already open, the error is given.

 

      Correct answer graphicd22604340
      In my case, I am receiving the error when saving to a mapped network drive. I do not receive the error when saving to Google Drive File Stream.
      MAYBE SOLVED!? Go to AI Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard > UNCHECK optimize File Open and Save Time on Slow Networks (Beta). Confirm if it works for you!

      4 replies

      J
      Jay.B
      New Participant
      January 18, 2024

      I solved my problem. Was getting the same error.

      Found out that Adobe Reader is giving these errors when opening files through mapped network drives.

      No problem in opening them through the direct path.

        A
        andyholliday
        Participating Frequently
        October 23, 2019

        I'm also having this exact problem all of a sudden and no suggested fixes i've seen so far

        G
        graphicd22604340Author
        Inspiring
        October 23, 2019

        The AI Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard > UNCHECK Optimize File Open and Save Time on Slow Networks (Beta) did not fix it? 

          A
          andyholliday
          Participating Frequently
          October 23, 2019

          YES! Thanks so much. I'd not seen this fix. Worked a treat!

          qwertysmith
          qwertysmith
          Participating Frequently
          October 7, 2019

          I have the same problem since the update. I also find that the name of the file in Acrobat is now displayed with a prefix (ai15704658569_[name of my file]). The file itself does not have the prefix. 

          G
          graphicd22604340Author
          Inspiring
          October 7, 2019
          Yes! I found if I close Acrobat entirely, then export a PDF from Illustrator, it WILL open the first time, but with that weird prefix you mentioned. If I try it a second time, it just gives me the error message.
            ls_rbls
            ls_rbls
            Community Expert
            October 6, 2019

            Hi,

             

            I have had this issue before when working with the same file using two different Adobe Acrobat products, like Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Pro (or even with just with Acrobat Pro by itself).

             

            In this case I had to make sure that the file is not being opened simultaneously with both programs , or being synchronized to a cloud storage service simultaneously by both programs as I am opening the file.

             

            Additionally, in Adobe Acrobat Pro, under Preferences---> Categories---> General...  I have unchecked " Show Online storage when opening files", "Show online storage when saving files" and "Open PDFs from last session".

             

            I've also observed that when I save a file that I just edited with Acrobat Pro, for example, the program performs the Save As function correctly but that doesn't means it will exit  my current active document automatically.

             

            Unless I specify during the Save As method to change the filename (not just the directory where I want to save it in) the file will remain actively opened in my Acrobat Pro until I exit. That is one of the scenarios noted.

             

            On the other hand, I've also noticed that I get this message if I save the file to another folder but with the same filename. 

             

            When I get this message in this last scenario it appears like the warning is given because the  Save As operation performed a "move" of the file from the previous folder to another folder rather than duplicating the filename from the current folder that it was originally saved in to another folder destination (meaning that it is not saved  in the current directory that you are working with anymore).

             

            For testing purposes only --- It seems like your best solution is to sure you exit the document in Illustrator (and even close the Illustrator porgram completely) as soon as you finish Saving As ,  then try opening the Saved As file with Acrobat Pro.

             

            Another possible soultion is to to check in Preferences---> Security Enhanced ---> Sandboxed Protections  ...turning Off Protected View, enabling/disabling Enhanced Security AND/ OR setting up trusted documents/trusted sites under Privileged Locations

              G
              graphicd22604340Author
              Inspiring
              October 7, 2019
              Hi ls_rbls, thanks for your reply! Unfortunately, neither of the solutions you presented have fixed the issue. And I don't quite follow the test you suggested, my problem has never been with simply opening a file manually in Acrobat, that I can do just fine, but I'm trying to use the time-saving measure of telling Illustrator to automatically open the file in Acrobat after saving. Does that make sense?
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