Drag and drop to place file sometimes embeds instead of linking
When I drag and drop a JPG/PNG/PDF/AI file from Finder into an Illustrator document, it normally drops in as a link. However, sometimes it unexpectedly embeds the artwork instead of linking it. If I try again repeatedly, it continues to embed, so to fix it I have to go to File > Place and ensure that "Link" is selected (which it already is). After that, if I drag-and-drop from Finder again, it links the artwork as expected.
This issue is seemingly random and I can't figure out exactly how to reproduce it. I always link files (not embed them) when I place them via File > Place or via drag-and-drop, so I don't know why it sometimes decides to embed.
Justin Penner
shared this idea
-
Greg Pool commented
I have a Macbook with a keyboard connected. Turns out that even though the connected keyboard had Caps Lock OFF, the laptop keyboard has the caps lock turned on. Once I turned that off then it works ok. (there is no other way to know that it is in use by typing)
-
Seems like the same problem happens for Library assets:
Alt-drag from a CC library to an artboard to create a linked object doesn't work reliably
http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/48637481 -
I am pretty sure that Illustrator can’t do anything with Caps Lock. It’s an OS behavior, and hacking into it is not easy.
At least this explains the problem... Thanks for sharing the observation, Chris! -
Justin Penner
commented
@Chris Graham you're right! It seems that when you drag and drop a file into an open document, Illustrator links it unless you're either holding Shift or if Caps Lock is on. The Shift modifier sounds like an intentional feature but Caps Lock has got to be a mistake.
-
Chris Graham commented
I found out the cause for this by accident! If you have caps lock on, it will not place a file as a link by drag and dropping. So just make sure you have caps lock off if you want the files to be a link when drag and dropping!
-
I'm running into the same issue when drag and dropping EPS files. This has to be a bug of some kind. I can't figure out why it would switch between linking and embedding without changing any options. It's the not knowing why that really bugs me. But as you stated, you have to go to File > Place to get the files to link. It's a few extra clicks but that can add up when you've got a lot of files to place!
-
Justin Penner
commented
Update almost a year later: I'm now running the latest Illustrator 26.5 and still experiencing this bug often. I'm working on a document now and tried dropping the same photo twice, and both times it embedded the image instead of linking like it usually does. I switched to another app (Chrome) for a few minutes and then went back to Illustrator and tried again with the same photo, and it linked this time even though I hadn't done or changed anything in Illustrator in the past few minutes. It seems like there's a setting that just toggles every so often at random between linking and embedding dropped images.
