Participant

Answered

How-to recover data from AID file

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
November 3, 2016
3 replies
19664 views

Hi,

I was just wondering how to open the .aid recovery files created by illustrator when data recovery is setup.

Thanks.

Correct answer Icon Creative

Hi

I had a problem today with a file I saved. It was a very important file with logo concepts for an important client.
I closed the saved file and tried opening it a little while later, but I got an error message that the file was unknown.

I tried searching for a recovery file in the DataRecovery folder, but there wasn't a recent one.

Luckily I had a Time Machine backup and went to the DataRecovery file and found the .aid recovery file. I checked this by opening it in TextEdit and searching for the image links that I had used.

I then tried searching the internet for a solution on how to open the .aid file, however I couldn't find one anywhere anywhere.

I contacted Adobe directly and they told me; "Unfortunately it's not possible". What is the point of having a DataRecovery folder if you can't recover the files!!!

Thankfully I discovered a solution!

1. Open the DataRecovery folder.

To check where you're folder is located, open illustrator and go to Preferences/File Handling & Clipboard/DataRecovery.

2. Create a new document in Illustrator and wait for a new .aid file to be created. If it doesn't appear after a few mins, try drawing a few shapes on the page and wait again.

3. Once the new recovery file is created, you need to crash illustrator. I opened Activity Monitor (Mac), found Adobe Illustrator, clicked on it and then chose to 'Force Quit' it.

4. Open the both the new .aid file and the one you need to recover in 'TextEdit'.

5. Copy all the text from the .aid you need to recover and paste it in place of all the text in the new recovery file and then save and close.

6. I then reopened Illustrator and the recovery window appeared. I hit ok and voila, the work I lost was recovered!

Hopefully this works for anyone else with this problem!

anon1357

Participant

Hi, Does anyone know what to do if the Force Quit does not crash illustrator, and I don’t get the recovery window when I reopen illustrator?

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @anon1357

I’m sorry to hear you’re having similar trouble with Illustrator. If Illustrator is unable to recover the file upon relaunch, the data is likely lost. We understand this may not be the ideal outcome, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Could you confirm if the file was saved on a network, removable drive, or a cloud-synced folder like Google Drive or Dropbox? Storing files in such locations can sometimes lead to corruption issues. To prevent this from happening in the future, we recommend saving your work locally first and then manually copying it to your desired backup location.

Additionally, were you experiencing crashes in Illustrator when this issue occurred? If so, we suggest trying the troubleshooting steps outlined in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/fix-crash-on-launch-issues.html) to see if it resolves the problem.

To avoid similar situations in the future, we advise saving multiple copies of your active work locally or saving them as cloud documents.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or need assistance. We're here to help.

Anubhav

D

defaultwtchl1kfdhfm

Participant

Genio!!!! Gracias por esta solución 🙂

Icon CreativeCorrect answer

Participant

Hi

I had a problem today with a file I saved. It was a very important file with logo concepts for an important client.
I closed the saved file and tried opening it a little while later, but I got an error message that the file was unknown.

I tried searching for a recovery file in the DataRecovery folder, but there wasn't a recent one.

Luckily I had a Time Machine backup and went to the DataRecovery file and found the .aid recovery file. I checked this by opening it in TextEdit and searching for the image links that I had used.

I then tried searching the internet for a solution on how to open the .aid file, however I couldn't find one anywhere anywhere.

I contacted Adobe directly and they told me; "Unfortunately it's not possible". What is the point of having a DataRecovery folder if you can't recover the files!!!

Thankfully I discovered a solution!

1. Open the DataRecovery folder.

To check where you're folder is located, open illustrator and go to Preferences/File Handling & Clipboard/DataRecovery.

2. Create a new document in Illustrator and wait for a new .aid file to be created. If it doesn't appear after a few mins, try drawing a few shapes on the page and wait again.

3. Once the new recovery file is created, you need to crash illustrator. I opened Activity Monitor (Mac), found Adobe Illustrator, clicked on it and then chose to 'Force Quit' it.

4. Open the both the new .aid file and the one you need to recover in 'TextEdit'.

5. Copy all the text from the .aid you need to recover and paste it in place of all the text in the new recovery file and then save and close.

6. I then reopened Illustrator and the recovery window appeared. I hit ok and voila, the work I lost was recovered!

Hopefully this works for anyone else with this problem!

A

aioot07

Participant

this is amazing.

it worked, but unfortunately for me, before i got to your response, i had already overwritten my original aid of the file i wanted by stupidly opening another file. i wish there was a way to turn back time.

Luke Jennings

Inspiring

If you have a Mac, you can use the Time Machine, which is included with the OS. You just need to plug in an external hard drive.

It automatically makes and saves hourly back-ups of your files.

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