Illustrator Layers are expanded when opening.

[bradrollo]

I haven't had much luck googling this, because I am not certain of the proper terminology to ask the question.

When I open a file, one or more layer are opened/expanded in the layer tab on the side of the screen.  I can close the layer, make modifications, and save; but when I open it up, the layer is always opened.

It doesn't happen with every file.  But on the files that do have this, it's always like this.

Any ideas? It's rathe annoying, especially with larger art files.

[keepmehandin]

Closing sublayers is a routine chore when opening some of my more complex files which I have been building up over several years. The fact that this routine has become mindlessly automatic suggests that it could be best done by a computer—come on Adobe, sort this bug out!

[wkjeiwoi]

this is beyond ridic...

the entire reason for having layers to begin with is to help the user organize her/his work. this bug nearly unravels that helpful functionality and gives the user another chore to do.

I personally noticed it in CS4/5, it continues in 6, and I presume, cloud users are seeing it, too.

You expect this sort of thing in shareware apps, not industry-standard tools.

[homoludic]

I totally agree, this should be fixed asap

[haligaliharun]

Please Adobe fix this. Cloud updates are nice and useful if we can have this relationship where we clients ask for stuff and you update the software ... constantly, not every few years. I understand that you have to prioritise but here it looks like that lots of people are asking for this simple fix ...

[wkjeiwoi]

I second haligaliharun's comment and add that it would be nice if such a fix were extended to CS6 non-cloud users, too.

This is a serious, workflow-damaging problem that has been going on for years. Fixing this problem is  more needed than any new features, IMHO.

Thank you!

w

[bluchair]

i too have been using illustrator since version 8. i seem to recall this issue appearing along the way in cs2. if memory serves, at that time it only happened when you closed a file with sublayers twirled OPEN but since cs3 this no longer has been the case.

the simple truth is that once a function is built into the software and the user is encouraged to take advantage of it so as to IMPROVE work flow, save time etc. then the function should actually do that. the function should work. as it stands, this is not/has not been the case with layers and sublayers in illustrator.

those of us who depend on illustrator for our daily work do not need a work around. what we need is a true and proper FIX. this issue does not appear in photoshop or inDesign, so why is illustrator left to suffer?

one more thing... i wonder how many people are quietly agonizing over this self-same issue with no interest in posting a comment on it? or worse, what if they do tell all their design friends about this issue and then began to look for sofware alternatives?

just sayin...

[chrisgieger]

I'm still dealing with this issue on a daily basis as well. I find it amazing that a patch has not been release to fix this bug since it began - or at least since this thread was started back in March 2012. Given the ease of upgrades with Creative Cloud, I would think a patch would have arrived long ago.

So dissappointing.

[CarlosCanto]

Given the ease of upgrades with Creative Cloud

I thinks what's easy is the delivery of the upgrades, not the actual upgrades.

[SatinderBains · Accepted solution]

This issue is fixed in 17.1 update released for Illustrator CC

Satinder

Illustrator Team

[wkjeiwoi]

So, we non-cloud Illustrator users will continue having this problem?

[CarlosCanto]

wkjeiwoi wrote:

So, we non-cloud Illustrator users will continue having this problem?

hmm....I bet my mustache that we non-CC users might as well not hope for a similar fix.

[homoludic]

Thanks for fixing that issue, however does that mean as a CS6 user I am left with this bug? I would deeply appreciate an update for CS6 as well...

[chrisgieger]

Well, so far, so good. I upgraded to 17.1 and all my collapsed layers remain collapsed when I re-open my files.

I do feel for those that are using non-CC version of AI. Especially since this bug has been an issue for so long.

[wkjeiwoi]

I have a feeling that this issue in CS6 will not be addressed. Adobe has moved on, and the Creative cloud has captured their interest and energies.

I would love to be wrong on this...

[jp_123456789]

It’s been over two years since Adobe claimed this bug would be fixed. Illustrator 2017 still opens layers when files are opened. How many more years do we have to wait for this old bug to get fixed?

[SpitzDogs]

I am having this issue of my layers opening when I open my file for the first time and I am running Illustrator CC 2018.  What am I doing wrong?  Is there a setting I missed?  It was originally a CS6 file but I saved it as a CC2018 file.

[Samelot]

In my project I've been needing sub-layers to arrange an easier way to export to PSD. I have different parts of my text (2 or 3 parts) that I arrange each in a layer. So my hierarchy for a single piece of text might be:

layer

     layer - foreground

     layer - background

(Seems to be the only way of grouping two layers together.)

This grouping exists on an artboard, which gives me further control of my exporting. I've tried to group the foreground and background objects in a group but that removes the objects from their respective layers, compressing my eventual export to PSD.

The inconstancy of how grouped items unwind is just sloppy and adobe has to fix this now please. It would make much more sense if clicking on the arrow, so that it rotates facing downwards, supports a more contingent function. It just gets confusing and really distracting when things do not work as they should.

[SoloAnt]

This issue is happening again for me with 18.1.1. Anyone else having this problem?

[Severon2]

Same issue.   This drives me insane, because as a UI Developer with tons of art boards in a single file, it inhibits my work.

[Invoke2015]

I don't see a fix. I am running version 20.0.0 and every time I open any file all the sublayers pop open. In a file with hundreds of layers this gets incredibly tedious. Why can't Illustrator remember the state of my layers when I save? Photoshop does.

[raymassie]

Version 22.1 and this is still an issue.