Illustrator application window moves behind everything when I try to move it (mac)

[charlesc41889467]

It's a little difficult to explain this properly, but whenever I try to move the Illustrator program window to another part of my screen, it instantly moves behind every other program window I have open. Even if I just move it a teeny tiny bit...boom... now it's behind all the programs I have open. It is very annoying and I can't find a solution anywhere. I dropped in "before and after" screenshots if they help at all. You can see the "Pathfinder" toolbar is still in front of the Chrome window so it's definitely a weird glitch. The issue doesn't happen with any other Adobe program either. I have updated to the latest vesion of AI a few times and still no luck. I have a 2021 Macbook Pro. Anyone have a solution? Thank you.

[Monika Gause]

THere are hints in this reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/AdobeIllustrator/comments/12pkoji/bug_illustrator_window_keeps_moving_to_ba... 

Switching from Application frame to application bar and back - does that help?

[charlesc41889467]

hey thank you so much for the very quick response. I just tried the Reddit page suggested solutions but unfortunately they only work momentarily. When you try using any other application the issue comes right back again and no one has a solution yet. It makes it difficult to work when your job relies on AI, that's for sure! 

[Monika Gause]

Do you have any spaces or any of these things set up?

[charlesc41889467]

I'm not sure what you mean by that. Could you explain further? 

[Monika Gause]

Mac OS has all these things to organize the desktop, such as Spaces and whatever it's called.

[charlesc41889467]

oh I get it now. No, I don't have anything like that set up, but it's something weird with Illustrator only because no other Adobe app has this issue, and no other non-Adobe app does either, it's just Illustrator. If you look at the two screenshots I put in with my post, you can see that the Pathfinder window is still in front of the Chrome window even though the Illustrator window is behind everything. That makes me believe that it's a glitch of some sort that is AI-specific. 

[Monika Gause]

Does that only happen with Chrome?

[charlesc41889467]

no, the same thing happens with any program. So let's say I have Chrome, Notes, and AI open at the same time and I go to type a note in the Notes app and then click back to AI and reposition the program window a little bit up on my screen, it will again shoot to the back but the Pathfinder window will still be in front of all other apps (in this case, it will show up in front of the Notes app in the correct position). I attached another screen shot to show you this exact scenario in hopes it helps explain the specifics of the issue better. very strange...

[Monika Gause]

This looks like Customer Care should take a look at it.

you can reach out to them at https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html  (the chat is in the bottom right) 

[HanSter]

Same thing happens with me and I can't find a fix. Very frustrating.

[Kristinr58]

The same thing is happening to me. I had hoped the latest update would have fixed it, but it did not. Drives me nuts!

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @HanSter @Kristinr58 @charlesc41889467,

I can understand how frustrating it can be when you're unable to move the Illustrator window properly on your Mac. To further investigate and provide you with the appropriate solution, could you please share the Apple System Report (SPX file) with us? You can generate the report by following the instructions here: [https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/system-information/welcome/mac#:~:text=Save%20a%20system%20rep....

Additionally, could you let us know if you're using a multi-monitor setup? If so, please provide us with the resolution and make/model of the monitor you're experiencing the issue with.

In the meantime, I recommend updating Illustrator to the latest version, v27.6.1, and macOS to version 13.4.1. This may help resolve the issue. If the problem persists, you can try renaming the UXP & CEP folders from the following locations and running the application in an admin user account to see if that makes any difference:

• Rename the CEP & UXP folder to CEP.old & UXP.old from the following locations:
  /Library/Application Support/Adobe
  ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe
• If that doesn't help either, uninstall the application using the CC Cleaner tool and reinstall from the Creative Cloud Desktop app if not done previously.

Note: Location starting with this "~" sign indicates the User Library, which is hidden. So, you need to copy & paste the exact path in spotlight search or from Finder Menu > Go > Go to Folder > Paste the location in the dialog box like this:

This information will help us investigate the issue further and provide you with the appropriate solution.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[shanice24820425yiyc]

Hi Anshul I was told to send you messages . I've also sent files to sharewithai so they can be looked at. Would you be able to access them and have a look please? They are from the beginning of the week. Thank you 

[briano74252447]

I've got the same probem too.

Only Illustrtor?

[Anubhav M]

Hello @briano74252447, @charlesc41889467, @shanice24820425yiyc, @Kristinr58,

Thanks for your patience. Our team has made some improvements to alleviate this problem in the latest Pre-Release of Illustrator. Would you mind trying the Pre Release version of Illustrator 27.8 to check if it helps resolve this problem?

To install the Pre-Release version, kindly try the following steps:
> Go to https://www.adobeprerelease.com/
> Sign in with your Adobe ID
> Navigate to Available Programs and click on Join for Illustrator CC
> Open Creative Cloud and press the (Cmd + Option + R) and choose relaunch.
> After relaunching, go to Apps and choose Prerelease from the Left Pane and install Illustrator (Prerelease)

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[Kristinr58]

Hellow Anubhav,
Thank you for providing the pre-release version of Illustrator. This seems to be working well on my computer, and the Illustrator window is no longer going to the back of other windows.

Just an fyi, I do get a weird magenta background occasionally when I first move the Illustrator window from my secondary monitor to my Macbook Pro (I recently updated my computer to the M2Max).

Thanks for your help.

Best,
Kristin Rothgery

[tuminshiang]

Hi @Anubhav M 

I also have the same issue (Mac OS 13.5), and I have installed Illustrator version 27.8, but it didn't solve the problem. I tried reinstalling Illustrator version 26.0, but it didn't work either. The issue also occurs with Photoshop, and it's really frustrating.

Looking forward to your response. Thank you.

Shaun

[OneMinuteDigital]

Thank you for this, but I installed the prerelease and the problem is still happening. Illustrator windows keep going behind Chrome and Finder windows on Mac. It's making me crazy, disrupting work flow. 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @tuminshiang, @OneMinuteDigital,

We're sorry to hear that you're continuing to have trouble with Illustrator. Would you mind trying to run Illustrator under a different administrator account (Windows / macOS) and checking if it helps?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[Kristinr58]

Hello,
For the most part, this bug fix seemed to take care of the problem. But just today, I noticed that as soon as I opened Photoshop, the problem with the Illustrator window going behind other windows happened again. Also, the Photoshop window did the same thing.

Thank You!

Kristin

[OneMinuteDigital]

I made a new admin as you suggested and it seems to work but I don't know if it would not break over time as it does on my regular admin. After restarting, it works for a little while before it starts doing it again. I just installed the new pre-release update and the problem persists.

[andyp85260690]

I'm running 28.7 but getting the exact same issue. Has there been any progress/updates on this yet?

[gabearthur]

I am having this exact same problem for months now? Has anyone found a fix?

[common design]

This may help, I was on with an adobe dev 2 times yesterday and they could only fix it temporarily. BUT i was watching what happened each time they took over the screen to fix, and it could be as simple as this... It only seems to happen with me now if my workspace is on Essentials Classic. Check whether this is the same for you, and if so create a new workspace that is bespoke to you. 1. the issue doesn't happen 2. you have your perfect workspace