Illustrator CC flattened all of my layers into one when i reopened the AI file

[Sarah Goone]

I had an AI file with many layers (at least 80) that I saved, and then when I reopened it the next day, everything was compressed into just one layer. 

The only thing i could think may have affected this is that I exported a JPG of the file before closing the program. Maybe I had checked a box that caused it to flatten the AI file as well? 

There are also now clipping masks on all of the objects in my composition, which I definitely did not create. Any reason why this would happen? How can I prevent this from happening in the future? 

Thanks!

[Mario Arizmendi]

Are you sure you are not saved the file as pdf and without "preserve illustrator editing" capabilities unchecked?

[Monika Gause]

This might happen when the file gets corrupted and only the PDF part of the file is still OK. Where has the file been saved?

THis might also be just some misbehaving of Illustrator (has happened with some version). Have you restarted the computer (a couple of times)? Rebuilt the preferences?Is this the latest version 24.0.1?

[silk-m]

Hi,

Are 2020 and CC 2019 installed on the PC?
If the file is saved in 2020 format, the layer will be flattened when opened in CC 2019.
Did you get this warning when opening the file?

[Paige265475805xbu]

I am having the same problem and I got that pop up aswell. Is there anyway to fix this? 

[Anubhav Majumder]

Hello @Paige265475805xbu,

Sorry to hear about this experience. Would you mind checking if you have multiple versions of Illustrator installed on your computer? If yes, kindly remove the older version and check if it helps.

If the issue persists, kindly share a few more details, like the exact version of the OS and Illustrator installed on your computer, so that we can investigate this further.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Anubhav