Corrupted file (crashing After Effects)

[NBrenn5e04]

Hi!

I've been working on an ai file which is in use on After Effects, and yesterday when I tried saving the file after a small change I had an error (Something along the lines of 'can't save, file is in use'). After I closed AE, I was able to save the Ai file.

Today when I open up the AE file and work on it for a while on another scene, and then go back to look at yesterday's work (comp), suddenly I can't even preview my video before it crashes and shuts down ( PDF document error (1074397201) 50::29 ). It's not a pdf, it's a vector image file. Same as the hundreds I have been working on in the past year. My ai file seems to be corrupted and I can't figure out why or how to fix it.

I had a few copies / collected folders and I am able to open up the original ai file, but when I go to the copy in the collected package folder I can't open it (the preview just shows this message:'the file you are attempting to preview could harm your computer. If you trust the file and the source you received it from, open it to view its contents.' but it never let's me open it)

Things I tried:
-Replacing it with the original file and that didn't make any difference.
-Making a new ai file from scratch, and copy-pasting the vector images from the original file. I also unticked the 'Create PDF Compatible File'  then ticked it again, and somehow that seemed to fix the issue, I could open the new file in the ai package (no idea how it fixed that!?), I could view the comp in AE, I relinked the files from the new ai file, I saved and packaged it up again, and after reopening the file, it breaks again as soon as I drag the preview bar on AE over the comp with the corrupted file.

If anyone has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it as I need to send this file off for work very soon!

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi there,

Sorry about the trouble. Thank you for sharing the detailed information. I would suggest you to try the steps shared in these posts (https://community.adobe.com/t5/after-effects-discussions/after-effects-error-there-was-an-error-proc...) (https://community.adobe.com/t5/after-effects-discussions/after-effects-error-there-was-an-error-proc...) and let us know how it goes.
If solutions given in this post doesn't help resolve the issue, I will request you to share a few more details like:

• OS and version of Illustrator and After Effect
• Is the issue related to a specific document? If yes, could you please share the document with us (Share all the assets, including linked files, fonts, packaged files, and original files for both Ai and AE)? You can upload it to the Creative Cloud (https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/share.html) and share the download link here or via DM.
• Where are you saving the files (Network Drive/ System HDD/ Shared Folder on System/ External HDD)?
• Are there any recent changes made to your system? For example, any antivirus, system updates, or web extensions installed recently.

Will be looking forward to your response.

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini

[NBrenn5e04]

Thanks very much for your reply! I think my issue is solved by changing the file location or shortening the file name!

[NBrenn5e04 · Accepted solution]

I think the issue was that my file names were quite long, after all! I can't believe it, but seems to have solved to paste the folder onto my desktop! Just wanted to share this in case it helps someone else.

[Anshul_Saini]

Glad to hear that, @NBrenn5e04.

Please feel free to reach out if you run into any other questions or issues in the future. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini