Issues with saving files with patterns applied

[Chloé_]

Hi everyone, 

I am experiencing significant issues with saving Illustrator files where I have used a pattern that I created. 

1. I made an original pattern for the first time and saved that swatch

2. I created an 8.5 x 11 file and loaded the new pattern swatch

3. I've made a rectangle with that swatch 

4. I scaled down the swatch so that we could see more of the pattern

5. When I try to save, the program essentially crashes. I get the rainbow wheel and then ages later, it tells me that it's unable to save due to "some unexpected errors"

6. I went through the process of resetting preferences and still have the same issue.

7. It looks like when I don't scale the pattern, it will save but it takes forever to save.

Can anyone help me figure out what is going on? I am working on Mac OS sonoma and have Illustrator 2024. This is my first issues ever and I have never seen Illustrator work as slowly as it has been since I have been working with patterns. 

Thank you

[Monika Gause]

Can you show the pattern?

Or at least tell us how many paths there are inside the pattern?

And how many repeats of the pattern there are in your object?

And how much RAM you have installed?

Do you reboot the computer regularly?

[Chloé_]

It's a complex pattern with many paths (see part of the pattern attached below). I think that the scale I wanted was 50% so the repeat would be around 4? I do shut down my computer almost every night and the specs for my Mac or below

[Monika Gause]

If there is not a lot more of that kind of detail in your pattern, then it should work better. That is detailed, but very complex.

Where are you trying to save the file? On your harddisk? If not, try that.

Generally Illustrator can have issues saving to remote disks (networked servers) or to thumb drives.

Does Illustrator have full disk access on your computer?

Can you save other Illustrator files without problems?

[Chloé_]

Thank you Monika! I will test out what you are suggesting. I simplified my pattern and removed repeated elements in my tile (I realized that I can let the pattern tool take care of repeating those elements for me) and it saves normally now! I still want to try out what you suggested because I don't want to be limited and want to be able to create complex patterns, but it's good to know that I will maybe run into issues when I have tooooons of complexity and paths.

[zerly]

Hi Chloe!

I am having the same issues with illustrator when saving my larger scaled and layered patterns.  I too reset preferences, but it hasn't solved the problem.  Additionally, the newest update caused constant crashes when I was creating my patterns and Adobe tech support was not able to figure it out, so I uninstalled the latest illustrator version and reinstalled 28.2, however, the saving takes forever. Has your issue been resolved?

Thank you!

Zerly

[Anubhav M]

Hello @zerly,

We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. Would you mind sharing more details, like the exact OS version, the folder location where you're saving your work, and if that location is on a network/removable drive or a cloud-synced folder like Dropbox/Google Drive/etc., and if Illustrator behaves this way with all files so that we can better assist you?

Additionally, for help with crashes, kindly try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://adobe.ly/3IZeTOT) and see if they help. Also, kindly submit the crash report using your Adobe email address and share it here for quick tracking. Steps are shared here: (https://adobe.ly/3IYwird). We appreciate your time and patience in helping us resolve this issue.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav