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[Le Monsieur]

I just want to let everyone (and especially Adobe, obviously) know that this is still an issues in Illustrator v 26.3.1 on Windows. I installed Illustrator v26.3.1 fresh on a recently installed Windows 11 computer, and I encountered the same problem on my first attemt to save an .ai file.

The work-around that worked was unchecking BOTH "save in background" AND "export in background". Unchecking either one on its own still produces the error.

So if Anshul is right and it was fixed in v26.2.1 it has either regressed in v26.3.1 or it was fixed in the Mac branch of the code, but not in the Windows (11) branch of the code.

Either way it's still an active bug in Illustrator v26.3.1 on Windows 11.

P.S. The suggested "go to File and Package" etc message on the error dialog doesn't work. The "Package.." option is greyed out.

Last observation: This is a really bad bug to ship your software with, Adobe. You can't expect your customers, who pay a premium price for a premium product, to hunt down weird work-arounds to do something as basic as saving a file. And from the articles I found on this issues while looking for an answer it has been a bug for quite some time. That is, honestly, unacceptable. I hope you prioritize getting it properly fixed.

[Casamia]

The only thing that works is saving as a PDF and reopening after restarting Illustrator. If you have the latest version (2025) at least, the PDF will be intact.

[John24472726qybf]

This is STILL an issue with Illustrator 29 (2025). In fact, I just updated to the new performance and bug fix update, Illustrator 29.4, last night, and the first file I opened this morning, I got the same error code. Usually, I can save the file as an eps and then come back and save as an ai file later. But this time, when trying to save as an eps, I got a new error, "Can't save the illustration. Not enough memory was available, or the object was too complex." Well, I have about 250GB of free space on my Mac and it's a 1.5MB file. The file has a few super-simple vector art illustrations (solid colors with probably less than 100 anchor points combined) and a word typed out in about a dozen different fonts (all Adobe fonts) — that's it. Not complexed. 

[Isha23605472m0yc]

i am facing the same problem right now! i tried to make new files and making the same stuff there as well but it constantly doesnt let me save it the dialogue box keeps asking and saying email a packaged file to them but to send them the file it needs to let me save it! whic does not happen so what are we supposed to do? and its not even like my file is heavy its literally text with offset path on it thats all majorly that with one png in the background! please let me know a fix of this 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Isha23605472m0yc,

Could you check if Illustrator behaves this way with all files or files from a specific folder location (internal/external/network drive or a cloud-synced folder like Google Drive/Dropbox/etc.), so I can better assist you?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[John24472726qybf]

I can tell you when it happens to me. Completely random. Files that have saved fine will suddenly start doing this out of the blue. And all of my files and any links to my files are local. No links to a server, or any cloud-synced source. I work only off of my own hard drive. When a file is finalized, I update it to a server. 

I have gotten these files to save by saving the file as an eps, quitting out of Illustrator, trashing the Illustrator preference file from my Library (I'm working on a MacBook Pro), then opening Illustrator, opening the eps file I just saved, and saving it as an ai file. But other times, this doesn't even work, because when I go to save the eps, I'll get an error that says there is not enough space on my drive to save the file. The files are a few MB, and I always keep from 200-300 GB of free space on my hard drive. In these instances, I have to force quit and lose my work.

And usually, when I don't get the error we've been discussing when saving a file, I get a different error that says, "Illustrator is unable to save this document 'name of document' due to some unexpected errors." The fix for this one appears to be just saving it again. It saves on the second attempt. 

[Isha23605472m0yc]

It is happening with all my files i have uninstalled and installed again, updated my software too but it still shows me the same thing can i talk to someone from your team to fix this?? let me know asap because all my work is on hold right now because of that

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Isha23605472m0yc,

Could you share a link to a sample file after uploading it to a file sharing service, along with a screen recording of your exact workflow, so I can check it on my end, so I can better assist you?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav