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hannad3722757
Participant
April 20, 2020
Answered

Large file won't place as link in Illustrator – "Try Replacing this with another valid link"

  • April 20, 2020
  • 14 replies
  • 18710 views

I am trying to place a linked file onto my Illustrator artboard and everytime that I try to place it I get the following pop up after it tries to place. I've dragged the file from my desktop onto the page and it allows me to embed the file, but when I try to "unembed" and link the file, I get the same message that "illustrator cannot read the file. Try to replacing this with another valid link"

 

I have resaved the file as a different color format in PSD to see if that would help, it didn't. I also tried restarting. Uninstalling illustrator and reinstalling it. 

 

Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

    Correct answer RalitsaM

    Mine already is in RGB. 567KB file (PNG).

     

    And nothing has worked so far. Has this been fixed for you? I'm still running 2021 version and first time facing this issue.


    What fixed it is downgrading to version 25.0 – I finally placed a png file without any issues. I believe this shouldn't be a problem in version 27.0 and up, but I'm still on an older OS so this was the only option for me.

    14 replies

    J
    Justin2933350612u3
    Participating Frequently
    October 14, 2025

    Yep, same tired issue here in 2025. Do alot of large format graphics, not sure why this is an issue with this file. PSB or Tiff (below 1gb) - doesn't link or re-link. Requires yet another Adobe workaround - opening the tiff in Illy and it works, which defeats the whole purpose of links and makes so much sense (sarcasm). That or try and older Illy version, or rebuild in InDesign which is a pain and adds to your workflow even more. Yay!

    J
    Jenn5FF3
    Participant
    January 19, 2024

    I am having this issue in AI 28.1... although I didn't have it a few months ago. When I drag in large billboard-size images onto an artboard (or go File, place) all I get is an empty box. If I open the raster file in AI then I can copy/paste into my layout. However, I often put a gradient mask over the image to fade it into the background and when I try to do that on these large images, only a tiny sliver of the image shows up w/ the gradient, no matter what size mask box I draw. 

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 19, 2024

      There is currently an issue with embedded images and opacity masks.

      C
      Carlos Daniel23741687f8t8
      Participant
      November 30, 2022

      I have this problem only with PNG files. If I create a new jpeg version of the file, the place problem dissapear.

      K
      kalbrandon
      Participating Frequently
      December 28, 2021

      None of the options shared here for me worked. I got the file as small as ~13MB, and the error persisted. I also tried both RGB/CMYK, Baseline Optimized, Baseline Standard Low (0), and with/without ICC Profiles to no avail.

       

      Ultimately, due to time constraints and no other option, I rebuilt the entire file in InDesign and published from there. Hope this solution helps anyone in a pinch, until Adobe resolves this issue.

      mrsdavi
      mrsdavi
      Participant
      March 24, 2022

      Nothing worked for me either until I converted to RGB and that did the trick. Too bad this prints in CMYK. Infuriating!

      R
      RalitsaM
      Participant
      October 28, 2022

      Mine already is in RGB. 567KB file (PNG).

       

      And nothing has worked so far. Has this been fixed for you? I'm still running 2021 version and first time facing this issue.

      D
      default13sm4hfilm5m
      Participant
      August 23, 2021

      I'm not sure why you have to do this, but when working with .psb files, when you go to save the .jpeg from Photoshop and you get the options window that comes up. Click on the Baseline Optimized option. Then it will work when you go to place the image Illustrator. 

       

        .
        .:karen:.
        Participating Frequently
        November 22, 2021

        @default13sm4hfilm5m That worked!! Thank you so much!

        R
        Ray Lambert
        Inspiring
        April 19, 2021

        This is a work around to the problem.  There is definitely a bug in the import feature of Illustrator, but you can "OPEN" the .tif, or .jpg or whatever, just like you were opening any other file.  When the file is opened into Illustrator, you may copy and paste it into the document you like.

        Inconvenient, I know, but whatchagonnado until they fix this annoying bug?

         

          SiDobe11
          SiDobe11
          Participant
          March 11, 2021

          So it appears this is still an issue. I'm surprised they haven't addressed this yet. Luckily for me, I haven't encountered it again, but man, what a pain. You can't just use an embedded image by opening it in illustrator and copying and pasting, it will make your .ai file enormous. 

           

          I hope Adobe gets this one figured out. Is there a way to tag them in here somehow so they start becoming aware of the issue, or my guess is they are, but they just have bigger fish to fry.

           

           

          Ton Frederiks
          Community Expert
          Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          March 11, 2021

          You can report it here:

          https://illustrator.uservoice.com

          A
          Anonymous
          March 11, 2021

          I'm having this issue as well since the last update, it doen't have anything to do with file size as the file i'm trying to place is only 35kb & the other is only 94kb. 

           

          So frustraing as I have customers that need this job completed. 

            R
            Rafey263532377eps
            Participant
            January 4, 2025

            open that pic in paint then save it then use it

             

            R
            Ray Lambert
            Inspiring
            February 22, 2021

            I make a LOT of murals that I lay out in Illustrator.  This has got to be a bug because, you can't "place" a very large .tiff file, but you can "open" it into Illustrator.  Then you can copy it into whatever you want to use it for.

            Thats how I get around this weird bug.  Open, then copy and paste(embedded) into your document.

              Met1
              Met1
              Legend
              February 23, 2021

              I've been getting this with converted PSB (Photoshop Big) files.

              Whether I save out of PS as jpg or tif, Illy will not import, says invalid file format.

              Solution has been to open converted file in Preview and do a new SaveAs. (I'm redrawing everything so the quality is not an issue. It's a pain though!)

              SiDobe11
              SiDobe11
              Participant
              March 11, 2021

              @Met1  What do you mean by "open converted file in Preview and do a new SaveAs"? What is the converted file and where do you get it from? Thank you.

              D
              Danielle5FAE
              Participant
              January 23, 2021

              I am having this same issue. It seems to be a 2021 Illustrator glitch/ issue. I cannot open PNG files that I made in Illustrator, it is absurd. I have tried the Full Disk access suggestion and quiting and re-opening. 

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