Random letters scattered all over artboard

[cmba]

I'm on Illustrator 27.7. I noticed unwanted letters randomly getting spilled all over my artboard. Like alphabet soup but without the soup. I can't click on them or edit them, as if they were locked items, but they don't show up in the Layers. But if I toggle visibility for certain layers, these unwanted letters will toggle with it. And if they actually happen to be in the artboard, they will show up in the export.

A temporary fix I do is to cut an entire layer and then paste in place, but that's pretty annoying.

[Geek Girl 70]

Thank you! This worked perfectly! And such an easy solution. That rarely happens. ha ha

[Geek Girl 70]

@SYL22150620 thanks. This works perfectly! And such a simple solution. That rarely happens. ha ha

[SYL22150620]

Select All and shift everything over a notch. It seemed to have solved the issue for me! 

By @SYL22150620

Edit to add: scattered letters came back after a while and it seems shifting the entire content is a temporary fix. It does not permanently solve the issue! 

[Lori22680309p95x]

I did the same, Selected all, shifted one pixel over and the random letters disappeared.

Lori Noble

[Tararrr]

This glitch is still happening in June 2024! 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Tararrr,

Sorry to hear about this experience. Would you mind sharing some more details, like the exact version of the OS/Illustrator, a sample file (https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/share-your-files-in-6-simple-steps/td-p/12967...), and a screen recording of the problem (https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/screen-record-an-issue-on-windows-amp-macos-f...), so we can investigate this further?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[Kayla262159905tab]

Still happening in July 2024!!

[Monika Gause]

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@Kayla262159905tab  schrieb:

Still happening in July 2024!!

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Which system and which version is it?

Are you opening an old file?

[Kayla262159905tab]

MacBook Pro,
Chip: Apple M1 Pro,
macOS Sonoma Version 14.4


No, this is a new file created yesterday.
This glitch has happened to me before a few months ago as well. There have
since been OS updates, but still seems to be an issue. It doesn't happen
often but I am not sure what causes it. It does seem to be more likely to
happen with larger files though as I believe the files it's happened with
had several artboards.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Kayla262159905tab,

We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. Would you mind sharing some more details, like the exact version of the OS/Illustrator, details of your workflow, a public link to a sample file after uploading it to Dropbox/Google Drive/etc., and a screen recording of the problem (https://adobe.ly/46pH7gY), so we can investigate this further?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[Kayla262159905tab]

My Illustrator is the the most up to date version. I unfortunately cannot share a sample file as I work at a marketing agency and cannot do that.

The problem looks like the screenshot that was shared earlier in this thread, basically alphabet soup around the canvas.

-Kayla

[creative explorer]

@Kayla262159905tab one of the final things before saving a file is removing stray points and paths. Try this?
go to Objects - Path - Clean Up

Do watch your screen if it does accidentally remove something that you do want. 

[Kayla262159905tab]

I selected all of my artboards and moved them down slightly, saved and
exited the program. Opened the file back up and it seems to be fixed for
now, not sure what that was all about haha.

Seems to be okay now! I didn't try your fix though but if it happens again
I'll try that too. Thanks!

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Kayla262159905tab,

We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. I tried replicating this behavior on my end but could not do so. Would you mind sharing some more details, like the exact version of the OS/Illustrator, a public link to a sample file after uploading it to Dropbox/Google Drive/etc., and a screen recording of the problem (https://adobe.ly/3LGbRkc), so we can investigate this further?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[Ton Frederiks]

The most up to date version is currently 28.6, do you use that version?

[creative explorer]

@Ton Frederiks if you read @Kayla262159905tab first post, she said she is on the latest version

[Ton Frederiks]

Yes, it is always better to specify exactly which version you are using. Updates do not get rolled out everywhere at the same time. So for some the latest version may not be the latest version.

Kayla, do you use the 28.6 version and has the problem happened with a new document you created in that version?

[Kayla262159905tab]

Yes