"Save each artboard to a separate file" creates AI files with hidden layers and missing linked files
Adobe Illustrator 2026
30.6.0 (Windows 11)
I discovered an issue when saving an Illustrator document with multiple artboards as separate AI files.
- Create an Illustrator document with multiple artboards.
- Place artwork on each artboard, including linked images/files.
- Go to File > Save As.
- Choose Adobe Illustrator (.ai).
- Enable "Save each artboard to a separate file".
- Save the files.
Expected result:
Each generated AI file should contain all artwork from the corresponding artboard, with all layers remaining visible and all linked files preserved.
Actual result:
When opening the generated AI files in Illustrator, the files initially appear to be empty.
After investigating, I found that:
- The artwork is actually present, but the layer visibility (eye icon) is automatically turned off in the generated AI files.
- Once the layer visibility is enabled manually, the artwork becomes visible again.
- Linked files (placed images/artwork) are not included in the generated AI files, even though they are present in the original document.
- When opening the generated AI files in Adobe Acrobat, the complete artwork is visible, including the linked content shown in the PDF preview. This indicates that the PDF compatibility data is present, but Illustrator does not correctly reconstruct the editable document.
Additional information
- The original Illustrator document opens and behaves normally.
- The issue only occurs when using File → Save As → Save each artboard to a separate file.
- The behavior is reproducible with my documents.
This appears to be a bug in Illustrator where the "Save each artboard to a separate file" function incorrectly changes layer visibility and does not correctly preserve linked content in the editable AI data, while the embedded PDF preview remains intact.
I would appreciate it if Adobe could investigate this issue, as it makes the "Save each artboard to a separate file" feature unreliable for production workflows.
Jetske
shared this idea
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I tried to reproduce the issue, but the produced files look and behave fine when opened, both in Illustrator and viewed in Acrobat. Something differs then?
The test was very simple: some links, different layers (locked and/or hidden), basic shapes, default settings. UV today doesn’t allow ZIP or even TXT files... if you can share test files, please send them over to sharewithai@adobe.com (please mention the link to this report also: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/51496150) -
@Jetske - Not able to see the issue at my end. Can you forward any Ai file showing this issue to us at sharewithai@adobe.com and mention this UV thread's link (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/51496150) in the email subject or content?
