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corysed
Participating Frequently
June 25, 2021
Question

Illustrator (2021; v25) Not Batch Processing in Background - macOS Catalina (10.15)

  • June 25, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 814 views

Hi,

 

I'm looking for advice on batch processing files in Illustrator. I'm running Illustrator 2021 (v25) and MacOS Catalina (10.15.7).

 

I have a batch process for exporting print film scans and exporting them as TIFs. (They're scanned in a film descreening format that Photoshop cannot open; Illustrator can open and export them as TIFs.)

 

A recent Illustrator update seems to have changed how batch processing functions. Unless I am in Illustrator as the the front/active app, the batch processing stops. If I click over to Finder or Photoshop or any other app, Illustrator stops batch processing. This defeats the whole goal of batch processing. 

 

This action/batch process is something I've used for years. I'm stumped as to why it no longer works in the background/not as the "live" app. I batch thousands of files at a time, so I this puts a major hitch in my workflow.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Kurt Gold
Kurt Gold
Community Expert
June 25, 2021

The issue has already been mentioned here:

 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/when-using-the-action-to-batch-files-illustrator-stops-running-if-i-click-out-of-the-program/td-p/12138168

 

It still works for me fine (latest version of Illustrator on Mac OS 10.14.6).

 

At the moment I am not quite sure what may cause the problem.

 

C
corysedAuthor
Participating Frequently
June 25, 2021

Here are the settings for my Export to TIF action.

 

 

When I run the action manually on open files, it kicks out of a TIF. When I choose "Batch" and select a folder to process a large number of files, Illustrator exports a TIF to the folder indicated—but also saves an .AI file.

 

It seems to be in this .AI process that Illustrator hangs up on the batch process and won't advance to batch the next file unless the Illustrator app is "clicked on"/the front app in use.

 

Any hunches as to how I can address this?

C
corysedAuthor
Participating Frequently
June 25, 2021

It's gotta be something about Illustrator 2021. Reverting to Illustrator 2020 (v24.3) and the same batch process chugs along in the background just fine. (Batch process still kicks out the .AI file for some reason…)

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