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Illustrator will not let me edit or select anything in my file.

New Here ,
Oct 20, 2018 Oct 20, 2018

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I have an issue with one of my Illustrator files, it will not let me select or edit anything in the file. I have tried the same file on a different computer and same thing. I tried renaming the file, restarting my computer. There are no locked layers. Nothing seems to help at all, I cannot do anything. I also tried updating Illustrator (the problem started before I updated), but it's still doing the same thing. Does anyone have any ideas what the problem is?

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correct answers 2 Correct answers

New Here , Oct 30, 2018 Oct 30, 2018

I couldn't figure out how to properly select my question as answered, but yes it turns out I had locked all the objects on my art boards and forgot about it!

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New Here , Jan 31, 2023 Jan 31, 2023

F7 key and unlock layers panel
Unlock a selection Alt + Ctrl + 2/ Option + Command + 2

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Adobe
Community Expert ,
Oct 21, 2018 Oct 21, 2018

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Have you restarted the computer?

Does it work with a newly created file?

Does it work when you go to View > Show edges?

Does it show selected stuff in the layers panel?

Which version and system is it?

Please show screenshots of artwork and layers panel.

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 27, 2019 Nov 27, 2019

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Show edges worked! Weird... but problem solved...

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Advocate ,
Oct 21, 2018 Oct 21, 2018

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Be sure you you have Show Bounding Box (CTRL+Shift+B) option selected

Be sure your object are not locked - Use CTRL+Alt+2 to unlock all on your page

Tyr to use CTRL+H command to show/hide eadges of your object

Be sure you have vector object instead one bitmap file

maybe it helps?

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New Here ,
Jun 10, 2020 Jun 10, 2020

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Thank you so much 

i dont know how but my objects were locked so i wasnt able to make any changes and work on it

 

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New Here ,
Oct 30, 2018 Oct 30, 2018

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I couldn't figure out how to properly select my question as answered, but yes it turns out I had locked all the objects on my art boards and forgot about it!

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New Here ,
Mar 21, 2019 Mar 21, 2019

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I'm having this problem, but in a different way. After a recent Illustrator update, 'Unlock All' or Opt+Cmd+2 doesn't work the way it used to. About 1/4 of the time, I'll use the keyboard shortcut, and I still can't select something I locked earlier with Cmd+2. I have to go to my layers palette and sometimes dig down into the multiple layers to unlock it manually.  It's very annoying.  Anyone else experiencing this?

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New Here ,
Jan 31, 2023 Jan 31, 2023

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F7 key and unlock layers panel
Unlock a selection Alt + Ctrl + 2/ Option + Command + 2

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New Here ,
Feb 09, 2024 Feb 09, 2024

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It worked. Thanks.

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