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bigsplashstudio
Inspiring
Feb 18, 2025 5:21 PM UTC
Answered

Images disappear after dragging and dropping to Illustrator

I had trouble dragging and dropping from Photoshop 25 to Illustrator 25, but the last upgrade fixed this.  Now after I drag and drop the image disappears a few minutes later and isn't there after saving.

    Ton Frederiks
    Ton FrederiksCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    Jul 30, 2025 8:11 PM UTC

    Resetting Preferences solves the problem. If not, leave a comment on Uservoice:

    https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/49703918-images-disappearing-after-drag-and-drop-on-mac

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    Sara36834250b6jm
    Participant
    Apr 16, 2025 2:55 PM UTC

    I'm having an issue in v29.4 with transparency masks.  I have a placed image that is a transparency mask for a solid color.  When I close the document and open it again, the placed images have shifted from their original position to the center of the document. The placed image also defaults to 100% size rather than the size it was set to in the document. The centers of the placed image and the solid color were aligned when I closed my document.  I 

    I reloaded v29.0, opened my document and it is showing as expected.

     

     

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      Anubhav M
      Community Manager
      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      Apr 16, 2025 3:19 PM UTC

      Hello @Sara36834250b6jm,

      We have seen multiple reports for this and I have escalated this with the product team. I would request you to upvote this UserVoice and add your comments (https://adobe.ly/42xRvl7...) to track updates.

      For now, try saving your image locally and then using File>Place, as Ton suggested. Then, share your observations.

      Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

       

      Anubhav

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        kathja_4120
        Participant
        Apr 4, 2025 6:15 AM UTC

        When I open the file  it only shows what's on  the artboard? 

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        Ton Frederiks
        Community Expert
        Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        Apr 4, 2025 7:17 AM UTC

        If this is about disappearing screendumps, see:

        https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/49703918-images-disappearing-after-drag-and-drop-on-mac

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        Daniel33437466s359
        Participant
        Apr 3, 2025 5:39 PM UTC

        I have never had this issue before. I dragged in some images into AI and closed the document. When I open the document up again ALl the linked images are still showing they are linked but they are invisible. If I embedd the images they skew and/or get really small. Any idea how to fix this?

          

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        Anubhav M
        Community Manager
        Anubhav MCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        Apr 3, 2025 4:40 PM UTC

        Hello everyone,

        I have escalated this problem with the product team, and they are investigating it. Kindly upvote this UserVoice and add your comments (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/49703918-images-disappearing-after-drag-and-drop-on-mac) to track updates.

        For now, try saving your image locally and then using File>Place, as Ton suggested. Then, share your observations.

        Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

         

        Anubhav

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          Geny1973
          Participating Frequently
          Apr 25, 2025 1:55 PM UTC

          just updated to 29.5 and the problem is still active

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            defaultc32duoqme02z
            Participant
            Apr 3, 2025 11:32 AM UTC

            PLEEEEEASE for the love of god sort out the missing screenshot issue!!! Losing my mind here!!!!!!!!!

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              Anubhav M
              Community Manager
              Anubhav MCommunity Manager
              Community Manager
              Apr 3, 2025 12:39 PM UTC

              Hello @defaultc32duoqme02z,

              Would you mind sharing more details, like the version of the OS/Illustrator, if this happens with all files, and a small screen recording of the problem, so I can better assist you?

              Looking forward to hearing from you.

               

              Anubhav

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              Ton Frederiks
              Community Expert
              Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
              Community Expert
              Apr 2, 2025 10:32 PM UTC

              There have been reports about disappearing images after drag and drop into Illustrator, saving the .ai file and opening it again.

              I have been able to reproduce that with screen dumps and dragging from a Browser.

              This is another variation, dragging a layer with transparency from Photoshop to an Illustrator artboard, saving and opening the file makes it disappear or gives some distorted lines.

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                Anubhav M
                Community Manager
                Anubhav MCommunity Manager
                Community Manager
                Apr 2, 2025 9:12 PM UTC

                Hello @bigsplashstudio,

                Would you mind sharing more details, like the current version of the OS/Illustrator/Photoshop installed on your computer, if this happens with new files as well, and a small screen recording of your workflow and the problem, so I can better assist you?

                Looking forward to hearing from you.

                 

                Anubhav

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                bigsplashstudioAuthor
                Inspiring
                Apr 2, 2025 9:37 PM UTC

                Illustrator 29.4 & Photoshop 26.5.  If I drag & drop an image from PS to AI, it will go blank in a few minutes or after saving and reopening.  The bounding box is there, but no image.

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                  Timur342771060g07
                  Participant
                  Apr 2, 2025 5:17 PM UTC

                  Hi everyone, has anyone experienced a problem with images disappearing after saving in the latest AI 29.4?  It only happens to images that were dragged from the browser.  This first happened to me in version 29.3, but after the update, I still have this problem.

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                    Ton Frederiks
                    Community Expert
                    Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
                    Community Expert
                    Apr 2, 2025 6:36 PM UTC

                    It also happens with screendumps. No workaround exept saving the image and placing it.

                    https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/screenshot-disappears-in-illustrator-29-3-and-up/m-p/15237401#M439060

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                    Geny1973
                    Participating Frequently
                    Mar 28, 2025 2:17 PM UTC

                    Hello!

                    My co-workers and I have the same problem since we installed illustrator 29.1 and I just updated to 29.4 and I still have the same problem.

                    If I do a screenshot of an image and slide (drag and drop) it on a document, it is not linked, it is embeded, it shows up for a while then disappears. If I place it it's fine it will stay, it's only when we drag and drop. The frame of the image is still there but there is no preview anymore. If I close that document and go back to it... the screenshot disappears also. We had to go back an older version 29.2.1 for it not to do that anymore. What else could we do? We've been waiting for the update and now that it's here that bug is still there

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                      Anubhav M
                      Community Manager
                      Anubhav MCommunity Manager
                      Community Manager
                      Mar 28, 2025 3:05 PM UTC

                      Hello @Genevieve98A2,

                      Could you share some more details, like the system report (macOS/ Windows) and a small screen recording of the problem, so I can check this with the team?

                      Looking forward to hearing from you.
                      Anubhav

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