Illustrator -- PLEASE fix the multiple file opening issue

[ds76421298]

Caveat: I don't have time to try and find how many others have commented on this, so apologies if this has been posted already. However, if it has, clearly no actions have been taken to correct it at all. It's been going on for at least 1-2 years now. 

Here's the summary of the problem:

You're working in AI. You have one or multiple files open. 

Next, you go and open a new file that is DIFFERENT from the others.  (doesn't matter WHAT way you open it)

That file 'opens,' but its content mirrors exactly what is in the file YOU ALREADY HAVE OPEN. It has the correct file name, but the contents have been 'magically' replaced with the contents of the file you were already working in. Needless to say, the first time this happens, it's incredibly confusing, and probably results in a lot of users losing their saved work. It's been going on so long I've gotten used to 'looking' to see if files open correctly. 

Good lord, can we plesase find a fix for this? It's so incredibly frustrating. I have to close out all my docs, quit AI, then re-open, and try again. Apolgies for the all-caps emphasis, but wanted to make sure I was explaining this correctly. 

[ds76421298]

Argh. This continues to be an issue. 

[ds76421298 · Accepted solution]

I am going to come here every single time this happens and note it as a reply. This is really ridiculous that it hasn't been addressed yet. 

So, yep, first time today, and it's only 10:54 AM my time. 

[ds76421298]

Wow, that was fast. SECOND time today. I have already quit AI once. This time I only had one file open, yet it couldn't open a second. Insert expletive of choice here. 

[Kurt Gold]

The silence about the case may be just because no one can reproduce the issue you are trying to describe.

You are mentioning good lord, but you don't even mention which version of Illustrator you are using.

As per your description, I can imagine that you are talking about a user error for some reason. Or at least some kind of misunderstanding, whatever it may be.

I know that sometimes there are pretty strange bugs that only appear under certain rare conditions, but to catch them some more clarifications are required, usually.

[ds76421298]

Thanks for your (curt) reply. I think I summed up the problem adequately enough, and I can assure you it's not 'user error.'  It sucks and it happens a lot. I've experienced it throughout the last 5-6 updates of Creative Cloud. 

It's frustrating, and that's why I posted it. 

[Kurt Gold]

Usually, a real bug can clearly be reproduced by providing step-by-step instructions.

Do step A, do step B, do step C etc. and you can see the unexpected behaviour. It is (or may) then something that can be reproduced.

Unfortunately, you have not provided clear instructions so far. You are just claiming that something weird happens, but apparently no one can confirm that behaviour.

Perhaps you may want to clarify, so one can better understand your issue.

[Ton Frederiks]

Looks like a real bug to me but hard to replicate step by step.

Has been reported many times, like here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/problems-opening-documents-it-s-really-open-but-it-is-hid...

and on Uservoice:

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/35744281-with-multiple-...

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/39501754-not-loading-ot...

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/37797394-files-preview-...

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/36894217-illustrator-sh...

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-bugs/suggestions/39922408-panels-are-mix...

[Kurt Gold]

Very interesting.

Could you ever reproduce it, Ton? With step-by-step instructions or no instructions?

[Ton Frederiks]

No, it happened to me once when clicking on different document tabs changed the document, but showed the same content.

I did quit Illustrator and have not been able to reproduce it or have seen it after that time.

[Kurt Gold]

Well, then it might obviously be a very tricky issue (or bug).

I have not seen it so far.

[Ton Frederiks]

It is like flying saucers some see it but most don't.

[ds76421298]

It's gotten to the point where this issue is happening several times a day, so I'm going to do my best to provide steps to reproduce as well as provide a screen recording so the 'disbelievers' can see this for themselves. As has been noted by others, however, this issue is exceptionally arbitrary and seems to only affect a percentage of Illustrator users. My other note is that I believe this issue happens when Illustrator has been open and running for at least 2 hours or so. It's not a bug I see happening upon initial launch. 

I am running the latest version of AI (24.2.3) on a mid-2016 MBP (OS 10.13.6 High Sierra), but I have experienced this issue for at least the last 2-3 years on other MBPs and previous versions of AI.

Steps to reproduce:
1. Have AI open on your machine for a while (how long? I have no idea) with at least one native (.ai) file open. 

2. Open a second native .ai file (whether via the file menu, double-clicking the file, dragging it onto the dock icon, etc.) 

3. This is where the error happens. You will see a tab for your new open file with the correct name of the file. However, the actual file contents will mirror the contents of the file you already have open. 

4. At this point, AI starts to bog down, and very quickly becomes unusable.  If you close both files and try to open any new file, you are presented with the empty grey background of the authoring environment, but no actual file content. 

Here is a link to the video I created: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1inA_FIsRsind8-bbuMO_RX2GHyekMiyP/view?usp=sharing

[ds76421298]

Egads. It's utterly perplexing to me that more people don't experiecnce this, since it happens to me at least 3-5 TIMES A DAY.