Illustrator files will not open, get text import options

[Mike_Gondek]

A couple posts on this forums regarding this topic, but no answers.

Our files are from Dec 2008 on a server, and when opening .ai files get this:

Choosing OK results is a blank file. The .ai files have a good looking amount of mb to them (eg: 1.9mb). The other non .ai fiels are fine.

I cannot even open the code in text wrangler, content recovery mode (shift opt command, with /enableContentRecovery 1) does not produce a _file.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @troyb79416876,

We are sorry to hear about the trouble you are facing. Many users have reported this. Downloading the files to the desktop & working from there directly helps them out. Our apps do work with network drives.

However, it involves a lot of factors that are beyond our control (https://adobe.ly/3SDLopK).

I hope it helps you out.

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[Activate5F85]

Hi, I am facing the same issue and sent you files. Could you help me to fix them? Thank You!

[SaraBequette]

This happened to me today! Unfortunately, moving the file did not help me. So weird. And frustrating. 😕 I've been using this file for a long time. And all of a sudden today, it's like... nope. Start over! 😞

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @SaraBequette,

Sorry to hear about this. I know how frustrating this is. This error generally pops up when the file has gotten corrupted or opened directly from a network drive/ folder. If the file size on the disk is < 1 MB, then it is corrupted and can't be recovered. If not, please share the file with us here or via DM, and we will try our best to recover it.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks & Regards,
Anshul Saini

[soad29090154t9cg]

This happened to me today! Unfortunately, moving the file did not help me. So weird. And frustrating. 

 I've been using this file for a long time. And all of a sudden today, it's like... nope. Start over!

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @soad29090154t9cg,

I am sorry to hear about this. I hope you were able to recover the file. Would you mind confirming where the file was stored (Network Drive/ System HDD/ Shared Folder on System/ External HDD)? If the file was not stored locally, then I would suggest you move/ sync/ download it locally on the Desktop and see if that helps.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know. We will be happy to assist you.

Best,
Anshul Saini

[BenHardisty76]

Can you see if this file is recoverable please? 

https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/09bc732b-f8c9-45e9-4793-773f76f1bb44

[Monika Gause]

---

@BenHardisty76  schrieb:

Can you see if this file is recoverable please? 

https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/09bc732b-f8c9-45e9-4793-773f76f1bb44

---

This post is practically invisible in this messed up thread. 

@Anshul_Saini  can you please try and help?

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @BenHardisty76,

Thanks for sharing the file. I checked the file, and it's empty. This file seems like a proxy or alias/ shortcut file. Would you mind confirming where this file is saved (Network Drive/ System HDD/ Shared Folder on System/ External HDD)?

Looking forward to your response.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[BenHardisty76]

Can you see if this is recoverable please?

[Marcel26835088zkzg]

This happened to me just now. The thought of starting over is so overwhelming I have a migraine already.

[Monika Gause]

@Anshul_Saini  can you please try and help?

Marcel: Come up with a backup strategy. Save your files early, regularly, often. Make backups. Lots of them. Get additional disk space. An external harddisk will always be cheaper than having to recreate your file. There even are tools to help you with backups, such as Time Machine on the Mac and similar products for the PC. If you can't remember to save regularly in Illustrator, there is the free plugin Autosaviour Free.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Marcel26835088zkzg,

We are sorry to hear about this. I can understand your pain. As I have mentioned above, this error generally pops up when the file has gotten corrupted as it wasn't saved/ stored properly or opened directly from a network drive/ folder.

Would you mind sharing a few details on the file which is giving this error? Where was it stored? When was the last time you opened it? Any other key detail?

Also, If the file size on the disk is < 1 MB, then it is corrupted and can't be recovered. If not, please share the file with me here or via DM, and I will try my best to recover it.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks & Regards,
Anshul Saini

[julianac81810455]

I just lost a very important document the same way, Illustrator sucks!!

[ns9185985]

I know this question is marked as answered, but I was getting exactly this behavior with several SVG files. It turns out, my problem was caused by the file extension being capitalized, i.e. .SVG instead of .svg.

I spent quite a bit of time looking for an answer, so I'd like to share that info here since it was one of my top search results.

Here's the SO thread that helped me out: https://superuser.com/questions/125564/adobe-illustrator-cant-open-svg-file

[kristib35240292]

Another Solution - I had the same issue but the problem wasn't a corrupt file or server related (since my coworker could open the file just fine). I was opening the .ai file via Adobe Bridge, and had recently updated Bridge and selected to import all preferences from the old version. Thinking that might be the issue, I uninstalled Bridge and then re-installed it, but this time without importing anything from the older version. And it worked! I was able to open the .ai in the 2020 version without issue.

[vikramgmail.coml84328771]

not open this file and show the blank solve the propblem step by step...

[Gooseman]

I had this issue with one of my files when my tablet battery died as I was saving it.

I tried accessing the recovery data of illustrator, but nothing showed up. Luckily I use Dropbox and was able to use it's version control to restore the file. Hopefully that helps anyone that happens to have Dropbox 🙂

[user1141051 · Accepted solution]

I had the same issues with files saved in my OneDrive cloud, even when moving them onto my desktop, I got the same error. I went into my Timemachine backups, copied a version of the file across from that to my desktop and managed to open it that way. I had to relink all the linked files in the document, but at least I didn't have to recreate the file. 

[Julie24956618x8h9]

I am pretty sure this is absolutely an issue with Dropbox or perhaps some other way you have your files backup/syncing and working in the Cloud. I had to manually go into Dropbox, download my folders and files I needed, then work locally to get them to open. I am tech-challenged so don't ask me anymore questions about this, but I know it worked. Even Dropbox claims there are these issues for MAC users.

[troyb79416876]

I am getting this issue with every file I created over a week ago.

Text import options popup, click ok, the file is blank, however previews in my finder.

Just upgraded illus a week ago to 26.4.1.

Mac OS 12.5

To say I am very concerned right is an understatement.

Tried to open many files, all from the last year, to last week.

urgent help required here.

[kristin25658982jxyf]

Hello, this has just started happening to me.  My files are saved in Dropbox and I was trying to open them in AI.  I kept getting the same import error message.  The reoslution is to open the file in preview on the mac first and then open it in AI, this soreted the issue for me. 2022

[mahbub26000899r1ga]

I need the solution. I'm facing the problem. Is it possible to fix the problem?

[Anshul_Saini · Accepted solution]

Hi @mahbub26000899r1ga,

Sorry about the trouble you are facing. This generally happens when the file has gotten corrupted or while opening a file from a network drive/ folder/location. Downloading the files to the desktop & working from there directly helps out in some cases. Also, sometimes files shared using google drive or similar services, or an external drive can corrupt an AI file. Sending the Illustrator file under a compressed zip file can help.

I hope it helps you out.

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini

[zillah2021]

March 2023, this just happened to me as well. I think it's because we had a power cut just as my file was saving. I upload all my files to Google drive, which is what I suspect caused the file to corrupt - it was trying to upload it as my computer shut down. Luckily I was able to get an eariler version from the version history in google drive otherwise I would've lost a whole day's work.