Illustrator (Desktop) Bugs
When reporting a bug, please provide a detailed description with the following:
- Details of your operating system
- The version of Adobe Illustrator (desktop)
- The steps you were taking when you experienced the issues
- Your expected result and the actual result
- Upload your Illustrator file or a video (screen recording or gif, this helps us most to reproduce the issue and resolve it)
- or
8207 results found
-
Fonts don’t sync
I just upgraded my computer to the Macbook Pro 2021 M1. I downloaded the latest versions of Adobe and noticed none of my fonts will sync. I've tried posted troubleshooting methods and none have worked (closing and restarting apps, reinstalled apps, multiple computer resets, unsyncing and resyncing manually, etc). Any time I open an Illustrator project with previously used fonts that aren't native to the app, it prompts me to sync but the load wheel just keeps spinning and will never finish.
I'm at a loss. Any ideas?
21 votesRequest to Contact Support ·
AdminAnkit Goyal(Illustrator Team)
(Admin, Adobe Illustrator)
responded
I am closing the ticket due to lack of response.
Please get in touch with us at any of the other support channels – https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html . Please give a reference to this post so that we can identify you.
Since this is not a generic issue that we can reproduce at our end, we will need someone to look into your machine to figure out what is going on here.Warm Regards,
Ankit Goyal
Illustrator Team -
Zoom is broken when using the new Rotate View tool
When using the new Rotate View Tool (v25.4.1) to rotate the view to e.g. 90°, Alt-scroll zooming doesn't zoom to the mouse pointer and the scroll bars are hyper sensitive.
Please see this screen recording:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2127o6786unbgf7/Screen%20Recording%202021-10-04%20at%2011.03.29%20PM.mov?dl=021 votes -
Distribute spacing value field doesn't show units anymore
The field used to show units (like '50 mm') in version 23.
In 24 it says just '50' with no 'mm' after.
If you type in your own unit, it won't recalculate in current units, as every other field in AI can do.21 votesThe bug is no longer a problem in latest Illustrator releases. If you ever encounter this problem ever again, please comment back.
-
Saving always creates a .tmp file, can't see preview of the file and cannot import AI file to After Effects
as title says, my Illustrator 2020 (24.0.1) always creates a .tmp file whenever i save. I cant see a preview of the file when viewed on Finder. Lastly, I can't import the files i created using AI 2020 to After Effects - it only shows a blank artboard.
Files are saved with Create PDF compatible File ticked.
I have also tried resetting the Adobe PDF joboption settings.
So right now I have 2 AI's installed just so i can continue working with my files.
macOS High Sierra
version 10.13.621 votesRatchakrit Klongpayabal posted the below solution to fix this issue.
How to stop .tmp$$$ when export .png File from Avast Anti-virus
The cause of this annoying problem came from the ransomware shield function from Avast. This is an easy method to solve this problem.
1. Go to Avast Antivirus user interface.
2. Select the protection tab.
3. Select ransomware shied.
4. Protected folder by Avast Ransomware shield will appear.
5. Click the checkbox of the protected file location that you choose to export which shown for protection.(C:\USER\...\Pictures etc.)
6. When you select, the message of the selected folder and "Stop Protection" button will appear.
7. Click stop protection.after this procedure, you can export .png file or else and preview it as you please. Please try...
-
Clipping mask from a live text is misaligned / resized / distorted
When using a solid swatch filled variable font as a clipping mask (Hepta Slab in the attached example) the clipped paths are misaligned with the font (in display and in selection hovering).
21 votesHi,
Thanks for the information provided to the Illustrator team.
We are able to reproduce this issue at our end and the engineering team is currently isolating this issue further to get to the root cause.
With Best Regards,
Aishwarya G Gadodia
Illustrator Team
-
Freeform Gradient points should also move on transforming Freeform Art
Today I ran into a problem with Adobe Illustrator artwork featuring some freeform gradient fills. I had a to create flipped, mirrored version of it for printing purposes (graphics would be applied sub-surface to a sign face). The problem is the freeform gradient fills wouldn't flip with the rest of the artwork. I attached a visual example of it. Using the "expand appearance" command allowed for the artwork to be flipped 180° correctly. It would be nice if I could avoid that kind of a fix.
21 votesThis is obviously not fixed and still needs a proper fix
-
Slow Type Performance
I just recently updated to 22.1 running on Windows 10. I have a list of names that was copied from two columns (first name, last name) that was copied from an Excel spreadsheet. I'm trying to remove the tabs between the columns and replace them with spaces. Once I hit the backspace key it takes approximately 5 seconds to perform the backspace and another couple of seconds to add the space. This is a list of several hundred names so it is unmercifully crippling. Other operations outside of type are somewhat laggy but not nearly as bad. I cleared out all of my nonessential fonts already, restarted my machine, and the problem still persists. I'm not seeing performance issues in any of my other programs. I tried closing all documents and pasting the text onto a new doc all by itself and still get the same thing. This is seriously leaving me hamstrung on a time sensitive project.
I just recently updated to 22.1 running on Windows 10. I have a list of names that was copied from two columns (first name, last name) that was copied from an Excel spreadsheet. I'm trying to remove the tabs between the columns and replace them with spaces. Once I hit the backspace key it takes approximately 5 seconds to perform the backspace and another couple of seconds to add the space. This is a list of several hundred names so it is unmercifully crippling. Other operations outside of type are somewhat laggy but not nearly as bad. I cleared out…
21 votes -
Action to merge swatches
Make it so we can create an action to merge swatches again like CS5!!!
21 votes -
Saving a PDF compatible causes slow saving
I have a top end workstation so the spec isn't an issue. When saving an AI file, checking PDF compatible slows the save and subsequent saves significantly. Un-checking it results in normal performance. This was not an issue prior to the latest release.
21 votesCompleted (Comments Open) ·
AdminIllustrator Engineering
(Software Engineer, Adobe Illustrator)
responded
Hi All,
This issue has been fixed.
Please update to the latest AI version 24.0.0. and let us know if you are facing any issues around this workflow.Thanks & Regards,
Illustrator Team -
Illustrator makes mouse curser go slow (not a lagging issue)
Lets start by saying that Illustrator isn't lagging, It's just the mouse curser that goes slow when on the canvas.
I use an extra monitor connected to my Macbook macOS Sierra pro 10.12.4 (16E195)
I have noticed this a few times when using illustrator. It does not happen to any other program, Photoshop, sketch, Chrome etc.
This might be worth investigating as it is slightly irritating
Illustrator version 22.0.0
Cheers
21 votesHi everyone,
The issue got resolved with the new Apple adapter.
Thank you for your feedback.
-
Move dialogue is broken when Y-axis is flipped
Problem Description:
Since AI team had Y-axis flipped, users who want to keep it the old way have to manually set flags in prefs file to undo these changes:
/isRulerIn4thQuad 0
/isRulerOriginTopLeft 0It works fine except it breaks setting negative distance in Move dialogue.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Change said flags to 1
2. Relaunch AI
3. Create and select an object
4. Press Enter to invoke Move dialogue
5. Set vertical position to any positive number and apply
6. Invoke dialogue again
7. Set same vertical value, but negative (you can also select any other object before that) and applyActual Result:
Object will move upExpected Result:
Object should move downIt doesn't matter where you first move object, it matters only that value is the same but has different sign.
It is very annoying bug, because it happens always but in certain cases. Lots of swears and undos.
The way coordinates is swapped via prefs is fine, as long as it just works, although some other vector programs allow to change it via UI.Any Workarounds:
Set angle manually in dialogue window to desired.
Set bigger position then you need and then move it again to get where you want it.Attached gif shows almost same situation, but with twist:
I move one object down (with negative distance) and then I want to move second object down and sideways. And when I set horizontal value, AI flips the vertical axis inside dialogue and it force me to dance with workarounds described above.Adobe denied to admit is as a bug.
Please, help me to prove my point.I don't ask you to change default ruler origin to bottom left, Adobe already had given us an opportunity to change this by editing flags! I ask for fixing a bug for Move dialogue that is set upon existing and approved behaviour.
I know quite a lot of highly valuable people from Adobe forums who still votes for y-axis go up:
CarlosCanto (he even wrote a script to undo your unexpected making, https://forums.adobe.com/message/3859338)
JETalmage (you should have seen this post back in 2009! https://forums.adobe.com/thread/497089)
Jacob Bugge and all other people who agree with them in comments.Nobody among my colleagues I know personally likes this. And only two of them having spoken about it at forums. Imagine how many just cry silently.
InDesign is a publishing software, it works with a flow. I don't know anybody who reads from bottom to up (RTL — yes). When you move an object there, you don't move it up, you move it backwards
Photoshop is raster graphics editor, it works with a readable grid of pixels, which are written from top left (we see it every time when images load slow in browsers). Using Photoshop since version 5 I never experienced any trouble with axis going down, because it just never mattered! I retouch photos mostly. People, who uses it for drawing web-design (!) are still OK, because web pages go down. Anyway, PS even hasn't precise move dialogue controls.
And of course, the fact y-axises go one direction, is just a coincidence (when there is only two variants for y-axis to go — it's highly occasional) — because these two programs care for different fields.But Illustrator is about vectors.
Y-axis goes up in Cartesian coordinate system.
We move objects up meaning up here.
It was a consistency for the sake of consistency.
It was convenient for devs and not end users.
It was a mistake to do.
Adobe should have asked users to vote about denying common sense.
And Adobe should never ever ever had not given users ability to flip it.
And since there is such an ability and I can flip it in Prefs file — I will fight for an ability to work fully.
The worse thing you can do now — is to kill this opportunity.Problem Description:
Since AI team had Y-axis flipped, users who want to keep it the old way have to manually set flags in prefs file to undo these changes:
/isRulerIn4thQuad 0
/isRulerOriginTopLeft 0It works fine except it breaks setting negative distance in Move dialogue.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Change said flags to 1
2. Relaunch AI
3. Create and select an object
4. Press Enter to invoke Move dialogue
5. Set vertical position to any positive number and apply
6. Invoke dialogue again
7. Set same vertical value, but negative (you can also select any other object before that)…21 votes -
eyedropper tool
I have never had to ungroup objects to get the eye dropper tool to apply selected attributes to an object. This no longer works without ungrouping objects.
I have never had to ungroup objects to change the color of an object selecting a color from swatches. This no longer works without ungrouping objects.
I have posted a thread with all the screenshots you could ever need and the this appears to be a glitch that needs fixing...really, really bad. The solution to the issue from my thread was to post the problem here.
21 votesPlease get in touch with us at any of the other support channels – https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html . Since this is not a generic issue that we can reproduce at our end, we will need someone to look into your machine to figure out what is going on here.
-
Transparency lost in Image Trace
Transparency of .png images is lost if using the image trace option. So my already transparent picture now has a white background if I use image trace, unless I use sketched art which does not provide the look I want. All the options should be transparent, especially if the original file is already.
21 votesThe latest Beta 28.7.0.45 finally offers transparency support.
Transparent background is no longer traced as white in color presets '3 Colors', '6 Colors', '16 Colors', 'Low Fidelity Photo' and 'High Fidelity Photo'.
Not (yet hopefully) supported for Black & White based presets.
Partial transparency is not supported and will lead to incorrect colors for these regions. Overlapping path method will also result in incorrect object appearance.
Note also this build introduced Logical Grouping of paths in output when expanded — to hopefully allow easier editing,
Please try the build and provide feedback.
-
Expanding stroke on small objects seem to omit points in result
A very small ellipse, after its stroke is expanded, looses its lower inner point and the curviness changes visually. Please see the test file and the animation attached.
21 votes -
Color panel does not cycle Tab focus, causing all panels to be hidden. on MacOs
Illustrator version: 2026 (30.2.1/30.3)
Steps to reproduce:
- Create a new document.
- Open the Color panel (Window > Color).
- Click on the first numeric input field (e.g., C value in CMYK mode).
- Press Tab repeatedly to move focus through the fields.
Expected result:
Focus cycles through all input fields within the Color panel — after reaching the last field, Tab returns focus to the first field, keeping focus inside the panel. This is how other panels (e.g., Character, Transform) behave.
Actual result:
When Tab is pressed from the last input field, focus escapes the Color panel entirely. Because Tab is also the shortcut to show/hide all panels in Illustrator, this immediately triggers the "hide all panels" action, causing the entire panel set to disappear. Pressing Tab again does not restore the panels — there is no response at all, leaving the user with no way to recover via keyboard.
This is a serious operational problem: a routine action (navigating between color input fields) unintentionally collapses the entire workspace with no keyboard recovery path.
Note: This is distinct from the related bug "Color Mixer in Control and Properties panels gets broken after using Tab" (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/50129499), where fields break visually. This report concerns the absence of focus cycling in the standalone Color panel and its destructive side effect.
タイトル: カラーパネルでTabキーのフォーカスが循環せず、全パネルが非表示になってしまう
再現手順:
- 新規ドキュメントを作成する。
- カラーパネルを開く（ウィンドウ > カラー）。
- 最初の数値入力フィールド（例：CMYKモードのC値）をクリックする。
- Tabキーを繰り返し押してフォーカスを移動する。
期待される動作:
文字パネルや変形パネルなど他のパネルと同様に、Tabキーでパネル内の入力フィールドを順に移動し、最後のフィールドの次は最初のフィールドへとフォーカスが循環する。実際の動作:
最後の入力フィールドでTabキーを押すと、フォーカスがカラーパネルの外へ抜けてしまう。IllustratorにおいてTabキーは「全パネルの表示/非表示」のショートカットでもあるため、フォーカスが抜けた直後にそのショートカットが発動し、全パネルが一斉に非表示になってしまう。この状態から復帰しようと再度Tabキーを押しても一切反応がなく、キーボード操作での復帰手段がない。これは深刻な操作上の問題である。カラー値の入力フィールドを移動するという日常的な操作が、意図せずワークスペース全体を崩壊させ、キーボードでは回復不可能な状態に陥らせてしまう。
Illustrator version: 2026 (30.2.1/30.3)
Steps to reproduce:
- Create a new document.
- Open the Color panel (Window > Color).
- Click on the first numeric input field (e.g., C value in CMYK mode).
- Press Tab repeatedly to move focus through the fields.
Expected result:
Focus cycles through all input fields within the Color panel — after reaching the last field, Tab returns focus to the first field, keeping focus inside the panel. This is how other panels (e.g., Character, Transform) behave.
Actual result:
When Tab is pressed from the last input field, focus escapes the Color panel entirely. Because Tab is also…
20 votes -
Thumbnails glitching when saved
Randomly, when files and thumbnails are saved out of Illustrator, the resulting thumbnails are glitched in a variety of ways. This glitch is present in the preview in the Finder window, but upon opening the file again, the glitch is not present. This is not from appearances or overprint being applied to artwork elements, as we are familiar with the issues those settings present in a print production environment, and this is a separate issue.
- Running on a MacBook Pro, 2021, running Sequoia 15.0.
- Using Illustrator 30.0.
- The issue occurs when Illustrator saves a file or thumbnail, randomly, without any indicators that it's going to happen.
- The preview of the file and the thumbnails of the file should match exactly how the file appears in Illustrator, but the saved -preview and thumbnails appear glitched in some way.
A) In the orange file example, the file is saved exactly as shown in screenshot A1. The thumbnail and preview of the file were saved with elements duplicated and scaled differently from the actual file and how the actual file appears when reopened—screenshot A2 and A3. I do not have the original file with the issue to attach.
B) In the Super Collagen file, the file was saved exactly as shown in screenshot B1. The thumbnail and preview of the file were saved with multiple elements missing and without the background elements—screenshot B2.
C) In the Smooth Current Serum file, the file was saved exactly as shown in screenshot C1. The thumbnail and preview of the file were saved with a previous version of the "SMOOTH" text overlapping the actual text in the artwork. This old version had 3 "O's" in the text, but was DELETED/removed from the file. Yet it saved over top of the corrected version in the thumbnail and preview, even though this "SMOOOTH" text had been deleted PRIOR to saving the file.
These issues cause huge problems in a production environment when the thumbnails are used for proofing and the software saving out the thumbnails cannot be trusted to accurately represent the artwork. I have screenshots and files for about 15 additional documented instances of this thumbnail/preview glitch occurring.
The same issue appears to have been reported to the r/AdobeIllustrator thread on reddit a month ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/AdobeIllustrator/comments/1okei68/anyone_else_getting_glitched_previews_for_ai/
Randomly, when files and thumbnails are saved out of Illustrator, the resulting thumbnails are glitched in a variety of ways. This glitch is present in the preview in the Finder window, but upon opening the file again, the glitch is not present. This is not from appearances or overprint being applied to artwork elements, as we are familiar with the issues those settings present in a print production environment, and this is a separate issue.
- Running on a MacBook Pro, 2021, running Sequoia 15.0.
- Using Illustrator 30.0.
- The issue occurs when Illustrator saves a file or thumbnail, randomly, without any…
20 votesEveryone - we want some more information about this issue.
Is any export (PNG) done from Illustrator for any such (glitched preview) files showing the same thumbnail issue or not?
Or, is the issue happening only with the thumbnail of the file as seen in the Mac / Win folder preview or while placing into another application?
-
Expanding an Inside / Outside stroke creates barely open paths
- Create a rectangle
- Apply a thick stroke to it and change its alignment to Inside or Outside
- Expand Appearance for the shape
- Deselect the shape
- Grab Direct selection and carefully move the corner points at the top right, for both paths
It turns out Illustrator doesn’t keep these tidy! One is cut open, another has a doubled point! It leads to a problems later, when we try, e.g. to make corners rounded, or apply effects.
A current workaround is to apply Add (as Pathfinder operation or an effect) to the stroke, separately form the fill... and it’s taxing for memory, since we have to remember about hundreds of other peculiarities Ai has.
- Create a rectangle
- Apply a thick stroke to it and change its alignment to Inside or Outside
- Expand Appearance for the shape
- Deselect the shape
- Grab Direct selection and carefully move the corner points at the top right, for both paths
It turns out Illustrator doesn’t keep these tidy! One is cut open, another has a doubled point! It leads to a problems later, when we try, e.g. to make corners rounded, or apply effects.
A current workaround is to apply Add (as Pathfinder operation or an effect) to the stroke, separately form the fill... and it’s taxing for memory,…
20 votes -
Bullet list cannot be disabled
No matter how the bullet list is set up in Preferences > Type, Illustrator will always make a list after typing the characters +, * ,# , - followed by a space. https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/automatic-bulleted-amp-numbered-lists-while-typing-bug/m-p/13315015#M341830
20 votesI am happy to share that we have fixed this bug in our latest release – 27.1.1 which is available worldwide now.
Going forward, our goal is to fix as many top User-Voice bugs as possible and as frequently as possible. Given the nature of the fixes, some of the bugs will take a longer time to fix, but we are on it.
You can update to the latest release using Creative Cloud desktop App: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/creative-cloud-updates.html
Thank you for all the feedback. Keep it coming!
Ankit Goyal
Illustrator Team
-
Enter key does not commit a change in a panel / dialog / field
Transparency panel in Appearance window does not react on Enter in Illustrator 27.0
After the latest update, this bug is spotted. In Appearance window -> Opacity panel (either stroke or fill) -> enter desired opacity -> hit Enter/CR -> no reaction (expected: apply value and close the Opacity panel). The TAB button however still works (the value applies). Other panels work as they should and react Enter correctly.
OS: Mac OS 13.
20 votesI am happy to share that we have fixed this bug in our latest release – 27.0.1 which is available worldwide now.
Going forward, our goal is to fix as many top User-Voice bugs as possible and as frequently as possible. Given the nature of the fixes, some of the bugs will take a longer time to fix, but we are on it.
You can update to the latest release using Creative Cloud desktop App: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/creative-cloud-updates.html
Thank you for all the feedback. Keep it coming!
Ankit Goyal
Illustrator Team
-
Square brackets hotkeys don’t work when input language is non-English
If you have default [ and ] keys set for Increase/Decrease Diameter, you have to have English input language set to make these work (at least on Windows).
In Russian these keys on a keyboard occupied with 'х' (Russian 'ha') and 'ъ' (Russian hard sign). Pressing them does not change the diameter.
But these do work in Photoshop, and basically elsewhere... except for Illustrator.
Sam happens for other input languages like Turkish, and for other commands, like Arrange (Bring / Sent Froward / Back).
20 votes
.png){kind=link}
- Don't see your idea?