Recently when I open an AI file, the color swatches vanish. I have to add a new swatch to get them to reappear, only to have the disappear again when I start working with the file. I've tried multiple files and it happens to every file I open. This is a new phenomenon I'm experiencing with the latest version 29.7.1.

I suppose the recent 29.8 should have the fix for it. Can anyone confirm it?

iMac 5k 27" 2019 / MacOS 15.6.1 / Illustrator 29.7.1

First file of the day, open a pre-existing file which already is set with spot-colours (I work in flexo printing), click on an object that I wish to change the colour, swatch pallet is empty and clicking on the fill in the toolbar will default the objects colours to white fill with a black outline, select a swatch, go to remove the outline and it defaults again... Now its got that out of its system, it will work fine for the rest of the day with a populated swatch pallet and no defaulting...

A very intrusive bug exists in the 29.7 update whereby when the swatch list is displayed, at first it shows the panel without the swatches present only showing the previously used Swatch icons without the swatch descriptions and requires the user to select the already ticked small list view option which then displays the small swatch list, however moving to another document it promptly disappears and the whole process has to be repeated, great affecting productivity between documents even though the workspace itself is saved.

Daté, the team plans to push the fix into the next Prerelease build, and it means it then goes into general one — soon. Usually minor builds happen each 1-3 months, but there is no definitive schedule.

This issue also exists in official release Illustrator CC 2025 (29.7.1 ) when will be the fix available for the official version and not only for Beta ?

Operating system Windows 10 Enterprise
Illustrator 29.7.1 (64 Bit)

Sometimes, in the middle of working on an AI file, when I open the swatch palette all my swatches are not showing. I can only see the single line of recent colours in the swatch palette, but all my actual swatches have disappeared.. This has happened a lot of times in the last 1-2 weeks.

The most recent time this happened I had just rotated a basic icon I had drawn, and opened the swatches palette (to change the colour) and the swatches were not loading (the palette was empty). Opening other palettes and then going back to swatches did not help.

From previous occurrences of this, I knew to close the palette, save the file and then on reopening the palette the swatches would be restored. I *did not* need to restart Illustrator to restore the swatches.

The fix is simple, and I save my files relatively frequently anyway, but it does disrupt my flow of work.

The only way to get them back is to click on the show list view and then show thumbnail again.

The swatches disappear all the time with the last 2 updates.

I just opened two completely blank Illustrator files.

Tab between the two, the swatches disappear. I have to create an object and then switch palette view from List View to Grid View to get them back.

Had it with the previous version of Illustrator too, which is why I updated.

Upon update to 29.7.1 I experience this behavior too.

— Does it happen when you switch between RGB-RGB docs or CMYK-CMYK ones?
Does not matter document color

— Does it matter if Swatches panel is docked or floating?
No. Either state is the same.

— Does it happen if the panel is docked and collapsed or hidden and later expanded?
No. Collapsed does not matter.

— Build 29.7.1 has Recent Colors section — does it mater if it’s enabled or not?
Same behavior with or without recent colors activated.

What is 'view swatches' button you mention? Is it one of two toggle buttons in the top right corner of the panel (Show List View / Show Thumbnail View)?
Yes, the list & thumbnail toggle. Toggling between list and thumbnail causes the swatches to reappear. Until you switch documents and then they a gone again.

Can you reproduce it from scratch, or does it affect only specific docs?
Any documents. All documents. Old. New. Empty.

macOS Sequoia 15.6
Illustartor 29.7.1

No issues with swatches in 29.6..1

More mentiones of this on the Illustrator forum:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/macos-illustrator-swatches-missing-hidden-from-panel-when-switching-documents/m-p/15447232#M449065

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/illustrator-29-7-enhanced-artboards-colors-find-setting-faster-amp-improved-user-interface/m-p/15446877#M449029:~:text=4-,hours,-ago

attached is my blank "list" of swatches.

Bug: Latest update added the new "pattern" icon into the swatches window. That's great, but it seems to have broken my "lists" view when I first open my files. Now I have to go to the hamburger menu if I want to see my swatch list. It no longer remembers that I always want to see my swatches in "list" view.
8/6/25

Swatch panel appears blank when I open or switch between documents, see the video. I have three documents open. Each has swatches in. Panel appears blank (no swatches) unless I toggle the thumbnail view settings. Toggling settings makes them appear (as does creating a new swatch), when I switch to a different document and back they have disappeared again. This behaviour has appeared at the same time as the new 'generative pattern feature' icon appearing.
Mac OS Sequoia 15.5 / Ai 29.7

Rob, please check this also:
— Does it happen when you switch between RGB-RGB docs or CMYK-CMYK ones?
— Does it matter if Swatches panel is docked or floating?
— Does it happen if the panel is docked and collapsed or hidden and later expanded?
— Build 29.7.1 has Recent Colors section — does it mater if it’s enabled or not?

Thanks for responding. Yes, I mean the view toggle. It’s strange, as it only seemed to do it sometimes, and sometimes it was fine.

CMD+TAB seems to cause the issue, it’s almost like it can’t load the difference between an RGB and CMYK document quickly?

The problem was visible on the version before the latest, and I updated it to the latest update in the hope it would fix it, it didn’t.

Not at my computer right now, but will upload a video tomorrow.

Rob, can’t reproduce it. Swathes stay when I Cmd/Ctrl+Tab between docs.
Can you share a screenshot or a video of this behavior?
What is 'view swatches' button you mention? Is it one of two toggle buttons in the top right corner of the panel (Show List View / Show Thumbnail View)?
Does it behave the same way in Beta or in the previous build (which one is you using, BTW?)
Can you reproduce it from scratch, or does it affect only specific docs?