errors when placing images "The file is in an unknown format and can't be opened" in Illustrator

[Cristian23293754pq74]

In the last couple of months, errors show up when placing images, or dragging and dropping. "The file is in an unknown format and can't be opened". The files are .jpg images mostly, I have to open them in photoshop and save them as .png

[Monika Gause]

Which version and system is it?

Can you please tell us where those JPGs come from? And maybe some specifications? Bit depth, size, compression methods?

[Cristian23293754pq74]

I work in a printing center, the images come from clients and are usually taken with phones

I tried placing images that worked in the past, and now I can't do that anymore, only if I change them to .png

I have the creative cloud annual license, so it is updated (vs. 27.2, 64b)

Specifications: 72 to 96 dpi, 24-bit depth, size ...depends from 1080px to 2048px, compression method...idk how to find out, it doesn't show in properties-> details in windows

[Monika Gause]

JPEG exists in a variety of flavours, so maybe those just don't fit what Illustrator can do. I suppose you could also save them as JPGs from Photoshop.

If you wish the developers to take a look at it, then I would suggest to make a bug report/feature request at https://illustrator.uservoice.com

The engineers would need some samples to analyze them.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Cristian23293754pq74,

I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing errors when placing images in the last few months. It can be frustrating when something that used to work suddenly stops functioning properly.

To help resolve this issue, would you mind providing me with a screenshot of the error message that you're receiving? Additionally, it would be helpful if you could share some of the image files with me via direct message so that I can forward them to our product/engineering team for further investigation.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best,
Anshul Saini

[Cristian23293754pq74]

hello,

I've sent the screenshot via direct message, and a couple of files that can't be placed in illustrator, hope it helps and can get an answer

[Anshul_Saini]

Thank you for sending the error screenshot and JPG images via direct message. I was able to replicate the same behavior with the JPG images you sent.

I have forwarded the JPG images to our product and engineering team for further investigation. Please allow us some time to investigate the issue and find a solution.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation in this matter. We will update you as soon as we have more information.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[Anshul_Saini · Accepted solution]

Hi @Cristian23293754pq74,

Thank you for your time and patience while we investigated the issue you reported. After consulting with our product team, we have found that the behavior you experienced is expected due to the current file format read handler for JPEG and PNG being different, and our software decides the file format based on extension only for performance reasons.

As per our investigation, the image files you shared have a JPG extension, but its encoder is PNG, which is why you were encountering the error message. We have included a screenshot of the file you shared below to provide further clarity.

Also, we are pleased to inform you that our product team is working on implementing a new decoder that will be able to open both JPG and PNG files, regardless of the encoded format.

In the meantime, before importing images into Illustrator, you can try changing the JPG extension to PNG or vice-versa, depending on the encoded format.

Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[Cristian23293754pq74]

Hello mr. Anshul Saini,

Thanks for your answer.

Hopefully this will be resolved in future updates. Glad I could help find a bug 🙂

Thanks again,

All the best.