Illustrator Crashes when Saving

[Chili1010]

I am using the most up-to-date version of Illustrator on Windows 10 on my Asus Laptop. Whenever I try to save, the program freezes, and when I click on any part of the window, I get a chime like there is a window that I can't see that needs attention. No window appears in the tile view on windows 10, and I have tried both unplugging my laptop from my external monitor and changing the resolution of my computer to try to find the missing save window.

I can "Save a Copy" just fine, but if I try to 'Save' or 'Save As' my only option is to force quit Illustrator. Can anyone help me solve this issue? I cannot seem to find any documentation on this, and it has been ongoing for over a month at this point.

[Bobby Henderson]

Have you tried resetting the workspace? The command is under the Window menu>Workspace>Reset (your chosen workspace).

[Bill Silbert · Accepted solution]

When you last updated Illustrator did you reset your preferences? Using old preferences after an update can often lead to unexpected behavior. Try resetting your Illustrator preferences. this will restore the program to its defaults and, hopefully, fix the issue.

To reset preferences on Windows:

You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching Illustrator and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version number]\ Settings\<Language>. Make sure that Illustrator is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

[Chili1010]

Manually deleting the preference folder worked. Thanks!

[Bill Silbert]

Happy to help.

[mooreg13]

Hi there, 

I am running into a similar issue when I try to save files in general. I can open the file and make the edits I need, and then when I go to save, save as, or export, the program freezes (this is happening in InDesign and Illustrator), and I have to force quit the application. I have tried to uninstall and reinstall, I have reinstalled the operating system I am running, and nothing works. I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

[Monika Gause]

Where are you saving files?

Are all linked images available?

Are all fonts OK?

Is a printer connected, set up as the default printer and turned on? 

[mooreg13]

I'm saving files on my computer. Nothing has changed and all applications and up to date. 

[Monika Gause]

How about a printer and your fonts?