blankerblanking file errors!

August 29, 2007 6:56 AM

Why are my Adobe Illustrator files coming up blank?

I'm having a frustrating error occur more and more frequently when saving files created in Illustrator. For my job, I work on files in Illustrator and Photoshop, and often need to save them as pdf's. Sometimes (not always), when I try to open an .ai file in Photoshop, and whether I open it as pixels, path, smart object, or whatever, it will be blank. If I save it as a pdf, it will show up blank in Adobe Reader. It will still show up if I open it in Illustrator.

Here's the kicker: if I copy and paste my design from a "non-working" file to a different file that DOES show up in all programs, then "save as" a new file, it will work! Why?! How do I make it work ALL the time?

This first started about a month ago, and has happened maybe 5 or 6 times since. Creative Suite CS2, Microsoft Windows 2000. Help me, big green!

posted by kidsleepy to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Have you tried copy and paste from Illustrator to Photoshop?
posted by doctor_negative at 7:44 AM on August 29, 2007

To open Illustrator art in Photoshop, you really should either 1) Export the AI art as a Photoshop file; or 2) Copy/paste the art from Illustrator into Photoshop. Those are the methods recommended by Adobe.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:50 AM on August 29, 2007

Are you opening these file over a network (is the original Illustrator file not on a local drive)?
posted by doctor_negative at 7:55 AM on August 29, 2007

yes, i have tried copying and pasting, and it comes up blank.
posted by kidsleepy at 7:55 AM on August 29, 2007

Exporting an X-1A pdf works as well, and can sometimes be quicker than exporting to a Photoshop file
posted by nathan_teske at 7:56 AM on August 29, 2007

Could you send me a bad file (emails in my profile)?
posted by doctor_negative at 7:56 AM on August 29, 2007

I would also be happy to look at a "bad" file.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:44 AM on August 29, 2007

Just got the email. I wish all fixes were this easy - turns out that your layer was set to non-printing. Some programs, like InDesign, also have a flaggable attribute called "Non-Printing" that can be toggled. So when you get a blank PDF from a normal-seeming document in InDesign and Illustrator, those are your first two places to go.

Image of the solution here: http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/5919/aitopdfissuexm1.png
posted by Optimus Chyme at 7:33 PM on August 29, 2007

THANK YOU optimus chyme and doctor_negative!! you have saved me many many many hours of frustration and teeth gnashing.
posted by kidsleepy at 6:10 AM on August 30, 2007