Skip to content

What can we fix in Illustrator (desktop)? Vote or report a bug — one problem per entry, please.

← Illustrator (Desktop) Bugs

Can't finish previewing. Could not complete the requested operation.

I applied a pattern to a stroke by accident and received this error. I'm using v25.0.1 on a PC with 16 gb RAM and a dedicated graphics card.

773 votes

We're glad you're here

Please sign in to leave feedback
Signed in as (Sign out)
Close
Close

We’ll send you updates on this idea

kt shared this idea  ·   ·  Report…  ·  Admin →
How important is this to you?

We're glad you're here

Please sign in to leave feedback
Signed in as (Sign out)
Close
Close
Need More Info  ·  Adminaishwarya (Admin, Adobe Illustrator) responded  · 

Thanks for raising this. We've looked into this issue from our side, but we're unable to reproduce the issue internally so far.

If you're still seeing it, could you help us with a few details so we can dig in further?

  • Are you still facing the issue? (yes / intermittent / no longer)
  • Machine configuration — OS and version, GPU, and Illustrator version/build
  • Reproduction rate — does it happen every time, or only sometimes?
  • A screen recording of the issue as it happens, if you can capture one
  • The AI file you were working with when the issue occurred (feel free to share a stripped-down/anonymised version if the original is confidential)

If the issue is 100% reproducible on your machine, we'd be happy to set up a short debug session with you.


Thanks for your patience and for helping us track this down.


Warm regards,

Aishwarya G Gadodia

We're glad you're here

Please sign in to leave feedback
Signed in as (Sign out)
Close
Close
Submitting...
An error occurred while saving the comment
  • Marquis commented  ·   ·  Report

    Stuck in Outline mode, there is a pop-up window that comes up saying "can't finish previewing. Could not complete the requested operation."

    I try to do something in Illustrator and that pop-up comes up and I can't do anything to fix it. This is making it impossible to get work done as I'm just stuck in outline mode, if I hit Command-Y nothing happens but the pop-up.

  • lthoff commented  ·   ·  Report

    Goes into Outline view.. Preview mode works when I click the eyeball icon for one of the layers (i.e. turn it off). Using iMac, Big Sur 11.6, AI 26.0.1, 16gb RAM.

  • Glynn commented  ·   ·  Report

    This is also happening on the M1 Macs - Enough memory (RAM)

  • Dana commented  ·   ·  Report

    May 2021, I have to stop working for today, AI switches to outline mode with the same error message op described, and other stuff I did today made it crash, I don't know what's going on here but this must be the latest update I installed (version 25.2.3). Very annoying.

  • Ana Clara Ribeiro commented  ·   ·  Report

    Version 25.2.3 And it has not yet been solved. It is impossible to do my work.

  • kt commented  ·   ·  Report

    I applied a pattern to a stroke by accident and received this error. I'm using v25.0.1 on a PC with 16 gb RAM and a dedicated graphics card.

  • kt commented  ·   ·  Report

    I applied a pattern to a stroke by accident and received this error. I'm using v25.0.1 on a PC with 16 gb RAM and a dedicated graphics card.

  • Josh commented  ·   ·  Report

    I get the "Cannot Finish Previewing. Could Not Complete The Requested Operation" pop-up message and my view goes to Outline Mode when I use the Pencil Tool with a Gradient Fill. I need to save & close the file, reopen it in Outline Mode and then select GPU Preview to see the accurate preview again. Happens every time. I can turn fills off in the Pencil prefs, but that sort of defeats the purpose. Driving me nuts! Please advise.

    On mac mini with 64GB w/ a Raedon RX 580 8GB eGPU

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    I had the same issue on my Apple Macbook Pro (OS Mojave) when using any version of Adobe Illustrator. I went onto Adobe help centre and did an online chat with an agent who logged in remotely to my computer and fixed some files and renamed and deleted a few things, been working ok since.

  • Suketu commented  ·   ·  Report

    24.2.2 version crashes automatically. please help

  • Ken Smith commented  ·   ·  Report

    Same here.

    I'm drawing a line with the pencil tool (9 points) over a locked photograph, and I'm getting this message.

    Concerning because it's a basic, basic, basic exercise for my sophomore design students.

    New MacBook Pro, Catalina 10.15.6, Illustrator 24.2.1

    Please Fix!

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    Please update Adobe! Illustrator crashes every day... Also sometimes it will not let me switch between documents. Even though the indicator says that I switched between files, the screen remains the same.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    I lost a surface pattern design on 24.2.1 also, as well as spent all of July 4 frustrated and mad as **** at the constant crashing and rebooting that, in the end, did me no good.

  • myrlo commented  ·   ·  Report

    This is happening again with the 24.2.1

  • Steve Gehring commented  ·   ·  Report

    agree... mine crashed 2 times today and lost 30-40 min of work

2 4 5 … 23 24

Illustrator (Desktop) Bugs: Rendering Issues (GPU, CPU)

Categories