I have the same problem on a MacBook Air 2017, High Sierra 10.13.6. I’m using Illustrator CC (v 24.2).

When creating a new document or opening an existing document in Illustrator, I get a black screen (see attached).

Like we pay you for a service get it together y'all always have some issues... and we know youre sitting at home like the rest of us! I have assignments due. I even uninstalled and re-downloaded youre wasting my VALUABLE time

Photo attached is my lunch screen and nothing happens when I use the 'File' dropbox and push 'NEW' but a black screen

Same Problem!

When creating a new document or opening an existing document in Illustrator, I get a black screen (see attached). I have to resize the window to be able to work.

When opening or creating a new file on Ai, there is a black screen. I need to resize window to be able to start using it.

Have this problem all the time. Usually when Mac laptop is put to sleep and waken back up when Illustrator is open.

When the existing file open from file browser, one empty window also open same time.

This exact issue is happening to me, was there a fix? I am using CC .

Solved: I created a new illustrator file from scratch. Then from the existing file where my artwork is invisible, I copied them over to my new file and it appears!

Solved: Even I have faced this issue. You just want to save the file and close the illustrator then open it again. If you facing problem still, restart your system then open it. It will absolutely work.

When opening a document in Illustrator on my iMac is only showing a gray screen. The tab bar has the file name but will not show the artwork in that tab. I can select all the art and copy from that tab and paste in a different tab and the artwork will show up there. Usually the only fix to get this to work is to quit Illustrator and restart it. This only works for a few documents and then it starts all over again. I just updated to the newest version yesterday 8/21/2019.

I'm working on an old piece of junk Apple at work. It's 4 years old so it's outlived its average lifespan 4 times. Any time I put any heavy load on illustrator, suddenly I can't switch between files. I can still see and edit the last one I was on before the error occurred, even if I click on other tabs, I can still only see end work on one. Also, no panels will open anymore. I have to force quit illustrator every time and this loses me about a half hour of working time every day.

Please help me how can i open this file

When I opening illustrator It shows me this black screen. I tried unistall and re install, even tried the last 2 versions but the problem is still there. Please help

@Hatsu Kei0000 Thanks! Disabling "GPU Performance" in Preferences worked.

If anyone has missing or hidden artboard. Just type Shift+Ctrl+H or got to the View - Show Artboard. I am using Illustrator CS6. Or if your grey (outer Artboard Area) has turned white. Then it should be Overprint Preview, to deactivate it type Alt+Shift+Ctrl+Y or Just got to View- Overprint Preview. Thank you.

Yes! This is happening more often for me. I think it is the file size or quantity that are causing it. I have had it happen with only a few large files, and also many smaller files open simultaneously. The problem, as you mentioned, is that you can't resolve this without exiting and closing all open files. If there were changes made, you can no longer see any open files to confirm you need to save those changes (only their tabs with a big grey work area, no artboards).

To repeat in my own words in case it makes it easier for Adobe to address...
I have multiple files open. I can switch between each by using their tabs. I open another file. Its tab shows up, but the artboard for the file does not, its like I am stuck on the previous file I was working on. I can click the tab for the new file but I am still seeing the previous open file. Eventually all files display as blank (no artboards, no artwork) but everything still responds. You have to exit Ai all together before it will go back to normal, forcing you to close all open files and HOPE you are saving changes you wanted to save as you can no longer see anything in the work area.

System is a MacBook Pro 2015, MacOS 10.14.4, Ai version 23.0.3

Try: Window>Arrange>Float All in Windows

What is the deal with Adobe and this issue?! So very annoying.

macOS High Sierra, then Mojave 10.14.3
iMac 2017
Processor 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 24 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
Graphics Radeon Pro 570 4096 MB

Our art department team was running High Sierra when the below issue first started happening (when we first updated to Illustrator 2019, so we updated our OS to Mojave. The problem persists. When we go back to the 2018 version, the problem resolves.

We tried a clean reinstall. We used the uninstallers, deleted all preferences, restarted our systems, ran CC Cleaner and reinstalled Creative Cloud, but it didn’t resolve it. We also made sure to do the latest Illustrator 2019 update.

Throughout the work day, Illustrator (and Photoshop) will stop opening files at random times. It has happened both when other file tabs were open and right at the beginning when no other files are open. It will show the name of the file at the top of the tab, but there will be a blank gray screen. The only way around it is to quit and restart the app. We end up having to do this every couple of hours, slowing down productivity.

Sometimes it will blank out files that were already open. If they haven’t been saved and we have to quit the app, it asks us if we want to save…but we don’t know for sure whether or not we want to save it because we can’t see what it looks like. This could cause printing errors. I've seen similarly titled posts but the descriptions don't sound quite like what's happening for us.