Missing "Replace all" feature when updating links

[theshowe]

Updated to the current illustrator 28.5 and I am now missing the replace all when I open a file and have to replace links. 

Also when I do replace the link it doesn't find all the missing links that are in the same folder. It used to update automatically when missing files were in the same folder. 

This is very frustrating when doing press sheets with multiple files and I've used this feature frequently as I've had to use the same file as a template and update multiple images it was an easy way to change out artwork from one image to another. 

[Anubhav Majumder]

Hello @theshowe,

Sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind trying to click on Replace and then checking the box for "Search for Missing Links in this folder" when selecting the missing file to check if it helps?


Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[theshowe]

Yes I see that feature in the links palette and that works fine.

However, the replace all feature is very useful when setting up press sheets in prepress. If I have 50 links ganged up of file Link 1 and I need to replace them all with a different version ie Link 2,  I now have to manual select each one and replace that 50 times. With the replace all feature I can just hide the original link 1 then when it asks to relink I can click replace all and relink all 50 at once.

[Ton Frederiks]

Yes the Apply to All option when selecting a different image worked fine, but that functionality is lost.

Giving the new image the same name as the old one could be a workaround.

[Bill McGinley]

That is not an acceptable solution. That would cause potentially hours more work and create file integrity issues. A much more pleasing solution would be restoring the REPLACE ALL button to its original functionality. 

[Ton Frederiks]

It is not a solution, it was suggested as workaround, like reverting to a previous Illustrator version or using InDesign, that can replace all the same linked files with another from the Links panel.

[Bill McGinley]

I appreciate the info on a workaround, however if I had to do it that, or ask others to do it I would lose confidence in the integrity of the files as there would be files created with the same name but different content. That would jeopardize my entire database of files. I would really rather not do that.

[jakec33415554]

Giving the same name to an image or a file negates job numbers in a work environment and destroys the integrity of archiving jobs.  The "Apply to All" feature MUST be brought back.  

For example, in a production environment when you're printing business cards that run 24 cards up on a 12" x 18" press sheet, updating each file 24 times is totally not acceptable.  This is a loss of time in the real world work environment.   

Common sense must play a part in updating these applications.  A fast paced and busy print shop needs certain features like the "Apply to All" feature.

[Ryan L Eakins]

You can't give the file the same name if you have different versions and you want to create multi layouts. This is a monumental mistake that needs fixed. NOW!!!!

[Ryan L Eakins]

I have MASTER layouts I use every day. I copy and rename the document according to the project I am working on. Then after the first layout is created and saved, I duplicate it multiple times accoding to the amount of versions I have for that project. I would then move the previously placed item to a different folder to break the link and Illustrator would ask to locate this linked item. This is when you selct the next version and select "Apply to All" and you next layout is complete. Save and Close... move to the next. Now you have taken a very simple taks and made it a combersom mess. Going from seconds to link items to several minutes making this a highly unproductive way to work. 

FIX THIS NOW!!!

[Ton Frederiks]

See this Uservoice report to vote:

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/48434444-linked...

[Anubhav Majumder]

Hello @theshowe,

Thank you for your feedback, and I apologize for any inconvenience. Our team is actively investigating the issue and will share more information as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience during this time.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[Ryan L Eakins]

Glad to see you are on top of this... When can we expect this to be resolved?

[Dana37163074evrp]

Could you please let us know when this feature will be restored? It is greatly missed and needed for productivity.

[theshowe]

Agreed I had to workaround today. Save out for CC legacy and open in Illustrator 27.9 as it's still there. Still a pain. 

[Ton Frederiks]

It is still there in 28.4.1

[Anubhav Majumder · Accepted solution]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for your patience. The Product Team has informed us that this was intentionally removed because of the relinking option. You can learn more about it here (https://adobe.ly/3Vs2LvE).

However, we will pass your feedback to the team. You can also upvote and share the feedback directly with the Product Team on this UserVoice: (https://adobe.ly/4emTpdg).

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[theshowe]

Can we please have this back. Clearly it's an incredibly useful feature, especially when doing prepress. Even if it's through the link feature, which to be honest, is less useful, but would at least make it usable. 

[Monika Gause]

You need to vote in Uservoice if you want it back. That's the only place where your vote counts.

[richardesignerUK]

I just voted on Uservoice. It's only got 20 votes. 😞  

[richardesignerUK]

I thought this was a glitch - so I'm glad that someone else has also encounterd this. Usually when you re-link to one image 'Illustrator' know to re-link to all the other missing links in that folder. Not now though. It doesn't seem to do that aanymore and the 'replace all links' buttom is now missing. This is a real pain when you have to individually relink 100 images 😞

[theshowe]

at least there is a workaround for finding the other image links in the same folder by using the links palette. When opening the file and it's searching hit ignore. Then in the link palette relink one and check the "search for missing links" it's less convenient but at least it works. 

The replace all there isn't much unless you start giving everything the same file name and having them in a bunch of different folders. Not convenient. 

[richardesignerUK]

Thanks for that 'theshowe'. I'll give that a go. I'm surprised more people havent complained about this missing feature. Seems bizarre that Adobe should remove it?  

[richardesignerUK]

It's definitely weird using Illustrator at the moment. Especially with regard to linked images. Usually Illustrator will link to images that are in the same space i.e. withing the same folder. However if I open an Illustrator file where the links have moved Illustrator asks to re-link those missing images. However, as I said before, you have to replace each link one by one. It doesnt know to re-link to all the links that might be in the same space. Whats even more bizarre at the moment is if I open an Illustrator, file where the links are in the same folder, if I tell Illustrator not to connect to the links it then ignores me and connects to all the links in that folder. It's really messed up! Why did they mess about with this? Its almost like Adobe gave this job to someone new who doesnt understand the way designers use Illustrator and linked images. The only way around it is as 'theshowe' said above. When you re-link to an image, click on the 'search for missing links' (it's at the bottom of the windown that opens when you relink to the first image). That works OK - but its not as good as the previous way of doing things. Adobe please fix this. 

[James Stuart26633656ph3d]

I have noticed "replace all" is missing and it's having a big impact on my time. We create many different artworks for different countries, each containing multiple linked images. We use low resolution images during development which have "LR" in the filename to keep everything light. When we have sign-off and are ready to send files to our suppliers, we swap the low res files for the high res versions. Normally, "replace all" does this for all artworks when I open them at the same time. Now I have to manually replace each linked image across every version of the artwork. Keeping the same filename is not an option as we wouldn't know which is the low res / high res without checking the filesize. Please, please bring this feature back, or solve this for these types of workflows in another way. Using InDesign is not an option as we have content plugins that we have to use for Illustrator. Thank you.