Phantom objects in Finder Preview and when imported into Photoshop
I'm on MacOS. When previewing an .ai file in Finder, there will often times be phantom objects visible in Finder Preview. These objects are always duplicates of whatever is actually visible on the artboard-- usually it's a phantom object in the position the object was in the last time I saved the file. When I open the .ai file in Illustrator, those objects do not exist. The objects are not hidden; they are not on some other layer. This is particularly problematic because those phantom objects are still there if I open the .ai file in Photoshop. If I add the .ai file as a Smart Object layer in my Photoshop file, the phantom objects are there. If I attempt to edit that Smart Object, Illustrator opens up and shows the phantom objects are not there. Saving and closing DOES NOT FIX IT. Sometimes toggling the visibility of the Illustrator layer the objects are on and then saving fixes it. Sometimes toggling to outline mode fixes it. Sometimes moving the .ai from one folder to another, brings the phantom objects back. Why is this happening? How do I make it stop?
Megan Peterson
shared this idea
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I need to preface all of this with: This is a work machine and we have required processes and deliverable file types. I cannot just save as a pdf/eps instead; I must keep these as .ai files. I am also not allowed to update my operating system nor Adobe apps until updates are pushed by IT (that also means no rolling back versions). There are also files I cannot share with you since they are proprietary. When I originally posted I had made a screen recording that this website wouldn't let me upload. The Adobe Community forums did let me upload that screenrecording though. You can view it here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/phantom-objects-in-ai-files/m-p/15565082#M456510
I have tried saving without pdf compatibility to see if that fixed it— but that created an entirely new issue when previewed in Finder. Attached is one of the .ai files I used to test— saved as pdf so that this website lets me upload it. Of course, saving as pdf fixes the issue, so I’m not sure how that’s helpful for troubleshooting.
I am using Adobe Illustrator 29.8.2. My machine is a Mac mini 2023 running Sequoia 15.7.1.
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monokano
commented
AI files contain two different types of data: “native data” and “PDF data.”
When PDF compatibility is enabled, PDF data that matches the appearance of the native data is supposed to be generated.
However, sometimes this PDF data does not match the appearance of the native data. This issue has been occurring frequently since version 2020 (24) and later, when the background function was introduced.What Photoshop displays is the PDF data. The abnormality there is likely because the PDF data generation is failing.
An effective method to work around this issue is to disable the background function.
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Megan, what build are you using specifically?
If you downgrade to 28.X and resave the file — will the preview look as expected?
