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Joshua23037443fip8
Participant
March 1, 2023
Answered

Illustrator top main drop down menus not working

  • March 1, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 14571 views

Illustrator for some unknown reason until today is not working properly after 3 years, the main dropdown menus at the top are now not working at all. Sometimes the effect will drop down but I can't select anything.

All other drop-down menus work and all buttons work. it's taking the biscuit as I got assignments to do.

 

Is there any fix?

I have already tried disconnecting monitors, deleted remnant files and re-installed illustrator, reset preferences and updated drivers. apparently, 10 series are not supported but it was working fine until now.

 

System: win 11, gtx 1060 6gb, 5600x, 16gb ram.

Two monitors and small tv are connected.

    Correct answer Joshua23037443fip8

    Hello @Joshua23037443fip8,

     

    Thanks for confirming that. It seems another program might be interfering with Illustrator. You might need to disable/remove the program and check if it helps.

     

    Also, try running Illustrator under a different administrator account (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-a-local-user-or-administrator-account-in-windows-20de74e0-ac7f-3502-a866-32915af2a34d) and share your observations.

     

    Looking forward to your response.

    Regards


    After doing the safe mode and then changing back to normal boot, illustrator (as well as InDesign) has started to work properly, however, I don't know if this is a temporary fix, or has fixed it entirely. If it happens again I'll post back here, and go through the admin profile to see if any of the programs are the cause. I'll give this a 3-month span of time. if there are no changes then, it can be taken that booting to safe mode and back is a possible fix.

    3 replies

    K
    Katie296760321bhd
    Participant
    May 13, 2024

    I having the same issue and it's driving me bonkers. Mac M2 Pro, running 14.2.1, Illustrator 28.5. I reinstalled Illustrator, reset preferences, restarted in safe mode. It works for a few minutes and then the menus stop working again.

      W
      watergraphics
      Participating Frequently
      May 28, 2024

      I have same issue --I've found that I can still click on the "ILLUSTRATOR" drop down menu and select (any item)--I select "SETTINGS" -> "GENERAL" and without selecting item (hit cancel).  After I do that step, all drop down menus are activated again... it's a weird work-a-round but it's how I manage to not throw my Mac against the wall 🙂

        Anubhav M
        Community Manager
        Anubhav MCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        May 29, 2024

        Hello @watergraphics, @drewdrewdesign,

        We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. Would you mind trying the suggestions shared above to check if they help? If not, kindly share more details, like the exact OS/Illustrator version and a screen recording of your workflow, including the problem encountered, so we can investigate this further.

        Looking forward to hearing from you.

         

        Thanks,

        Anubhav

        Anubhav M
        Community Manager
        Anubhav MCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        March 3, 2023

        Hello @Joshua23037443fip8,

         

        We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. We are here to help and would like to suggest trying to update the OS/Illustrator to the latest version (27.3.1) and running Illustrator under Safe Mode and checking it if helps.

         

        Looking forward to your response.

         

        Thanks,

        Anubhav

        J
        Joshua23037443fip8Author
        Participant
        March 6, 2023

        I've rebooted it into safe mode with networking and illustrators drop downs worked  and worked on InDesign (also had the problem with it on there as well)

        Anshul_Saini
        Community Manager
        Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        March 1, 2024

        i am having the smae problem and its really annoying. updated to illustratror 24 is it bug?


        Hello @handtoeye,

         

        I understand that you're experiencing issues with the top main drop-down menus in Illustrator, and you're wondering if it's a bug. Let's try a few troubleshooting steps to address this problem:

        • Ensure that you're using the latest version of Illustrator (v28.3) and that your operating system is up to date. 

        • Corrupted preferences can sometimes cause unexpected behavior in Illustrator. Try resetting your Illustrator preferences to their default settings. 

        • If you're not using the latest version of your operating system, consider updating it. Sometimes, system updates include fixes for such issues.

         

        I hope one of these solutions helps resolve the issue for you. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to ask.

         

        Best regards,

        Anshul Saini

          Monika Gause
          Community Expert
          Monika GauseCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          March 1, 2023

          Can you try and set a different monitor as the main monitor?

          Or even disconnect 2 of them? Just to see whether the monitors are causing the irritation?

          Also: what kind of driver are you using for the graphic card? If it's a gaming driver, use a studio driver instead.

          J
          Joshua23037443fip8Author
          Participant
          March 2, 2023

          i have already disconnected the monitors as previously stated, but I will try switching the main monitor, im currently using game ready drivers (though was never a problem before) i'll switch to studio ones after i have tried switching main monitors, and reply if anything has or has not changed.

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