Unable to save (Unexpected error) in Illustrator CC2020

1. Well, it's now five years later and I'm having this same issue with Illustrator 2024. The bug has never been fixed. I have tried every solution on this thread, and none work. I have uninstalled and manually trashed everything Illustrator-related in the system library and reinstalled. The problem is still there. Adobe either refuses to fix the bug or doesn't know how to fix it. 

Hello,

I'm having the same issue. I've been looking at so many forms on here and tried so many solutions and I'm still getting the error. I've started a ticket for this if you are still experiencing issues. 

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/39408124-illustrator-v24-0-1-unable-to-save-due-to-some-un

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about your experience.
This issue is caused due to one of the PDF preset using custom Flattener preset. Users who run into this issue can try the following and update us in the comment.

If you do not use custom Adobe PDF presets/joboptions or not heard of it then follow the below steps

1. Navigate to user presets folder
   Win: %appdata%\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Settings
   Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe PDF/Settings
2. Rename the folder to “Settings old” and create a new empty folder “Settings” in the same place
3. Launch Illustrator and check if you can save the document

If you use custom Adobe PDF presets then follow below steps

1. Go to Edit > Adobe PDF Presets
2. Check PDF compatibility of PDF presets that are not default
3. Make a note of presets that use PDF compatibility version 1.3
4. Quit Illustrator
5. Navigate to user presets folder
   Win: %appdata%\Adobe\Adobe PDF\Settings
   Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe PDF/Settings
6. Move the presets identified in step 3 out of this folder
7. Launch Illustrator and check if you can save the document

This issue is fixed in beta build and details are availabe here:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/38961718-v-24-generic-error-while-saving-files-disappear

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Ashutosh

When you updated to 2020 did you use the option which pops up to import previous settings and preferences? If so try trashing your Illustrator preferences and see if a totally clean version of Illustrator works better.

To delete preferences:

The User Library folder in which Illustrator’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that Illustrator is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N).With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe Illustrator <Version #> Settings” (earlier versions of Illustrator might just say “Adobe Illustrator”) and the file called “com.adobe.Illustrator.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When Illustrator is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching Illustrator and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version number]\ Settings\<Language>. Make sure that Illustrator is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.