How to recover unsaved or deleted illustrator files after crash? Don't worry too much, this article describes 8 simple and effective methods, along with step-by-step instructions.
Illustrator is one of the most popular editing software, but sometimes the system or software crashes during use, even without time to save your Illustrator file or find it deleted.
"Illustrator crashes when I open an important file, same with another computer. Is it possible to recover an unsaved Illustrator file after a Windows crash? Is there any solution to that?”
Here we'll show you 3 simple and effective methods to recover unsaved Illustrator file after crash.
Just like recover Excel file after crash, or recovering Word files after crash, you can recover Illustrator files after crash with AutoSave feature. It's enabled by default.
When you see a dialogue box, saying,"Adobe Illustrator quit unexpectedly and the unsaved documents are recovered with [Recovered]", click OK. If it does not respond, force quit and then restart it.
It will open the unsaved file with the Recovered suffix in Adobe Illustrator. Click File > Save as to recover unsaved Illustrator files after crash. Please save it with a different name.
Alternatively, if it does not show you the unsaved file, go to the Adobe Illustrator AutoSave location to find it, You can then open and save it in Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe also provides users with a Data Recovery feature to recover Illustrator file after crash. Note it's not enabled during the installation process. You must activate it in Illustrator's Preferences and specify a location to save backup files. If not, your files will be saved in the following path by default.
P.S. In different Illustrator versions, CrashRecovery is also equal to "DataRecovery".
1. Navigate to the default Illustrator data recovery file location. If you specify a new location, please go there.
2. Search for the file with the "recovery" or "recovered" word. Then, select the desired file and rename it to a new one.
3. Next, open the file using Illustrator and click File. Select Save As to save the Illustrator file.
You can also check the temporary folder. It’s generated when you are creating or editing a file and goes after you close the file. So the recovery rate is quite low.
For Windows:
1. Go to C:\Users\*Your User Name*\AppData\Local\Temp.
2. Find the unsaved AI file. Then, open it with Adobe Illustrator, click File>Save or Save as to recover unsaved Illustrator Files.
For Mac:
1. Go to Finder>Application>Terminal, and run this command line tool.
2. Type open $TMPDIR and press Enter to access the temporary folder in Mac.
3. Then, find and open the unsaved AI file with Adobe Illustrator. Save it with a new file name.
Here are 5 useful methods to recover deleted or lost Illustrator files.
AOMEI FastRecovery is a simple and easy-to-use data recovery software for Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc and Windows Server. It helps to find and recover deleted or lost Illustrator files quickly and successfully due to software or system crashes, accidental deletion, virus attack, and so on.
Download this simple data recovery software- AOMEI FastRecovery and install it on your computer. Don't save it to where Adobe Illustrator files were as it may cause data overwriting.
❌ Please stop using this drive, don't add or write new data to it, or restart your computer after data loss, especially if those saved in the C: drive. The system partition is writing data at all times.
1. Open the Windows data recovery software - AOMEI FastRecovery. Hover the mouse over the disk or partition containing your Illustrator file and click Scan.
2. It will automatically run Quick Scan to find deleted files within 3-5 seconds. It only display the deleted files instead of all data, greatly saving your time.
3. You can directly type the Illustrator file name or extension in the Search box to find it quickly. Then, double-click to preview and recover it immediately
Alternatively, you can wait for the best results. Choose deleted Illustrator files and click Recover. Please select a new location to save recoverable Illustrator files. Retrieving files to their original location may overwrite deleted Illustrator files
If you don't find deleted Illustrator files, click the Deep Scan button to scan the disk thoroughly.
Except for Illustrator files, you can also use it to recover InDesign files, AutoCAD files, etc.
It is also able to recover files from formatted hard drive, external hard drives, USB drives, SD card,s etc.
Like other types of files, the deleted Illustrator file will be moved to the Recycle Bin. If your files are deleted recently, check the Recycle Bin folder.
1. Just go to the Recycle Bin on your Desktop.
2. Locate the deleted Illustrator file, right-click it, and choose Restore.
If you are in the habit of backing up important files regularly, such as using File History, you can restore Illustrator file from backup. It saves different file versions, and you can select the specific version you want.
1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security and select File History.
2. Select Restore personal files. It will open the file history recovery window.
3. Check if the Illustrator files are there and click the Restore to original location icon to restore deleted files. If not, click the left arrow to locate deleted Illustrator files.
You can also try to restore Adobe Illustrator file to its previous version if you enable File History and save over a Illustrator file.
1. Press Win + E to open This PC. Locate the folder which is used to save the deleted Illustrator file.
2. Right-click it and then select Properties > Previous Version.
3. Select the previous folder version and click Restore to restore Illustrator files to previous version.
If you accidentally save your Illustrator file but don’t want to keep the change, you can try to revert it to the last saved version.
#1: Revert illustrator file:
Open Adobe Illustrator and click File > Revert. Then, it will automatically revert your Illustrator file to the last saved version.
#2: Check the Recent file:
In Adobe Illustrator, go to File > Open Recent Files. You will see the files you recently working on. Open it in Adobe Illustrator and save it with a new file name.
If your Illustrator Files are damaged due power surge or system crash, improper editing, converting, virus attack, etc., you can try the following methods to repair them.
If you create AI Illustrator File with Create PDF Compatible File option, you can convert .ai file to .pdf file and it’s recoverable.
1. Open the damaged .ai file in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Click File > Save as and select .pdf as file type. Then, click Save.
3. Open the converted .pdf file in Illustrator and save it with .ai file type this time.
For PDF files, there are many PDF repair tools online. For Illustrator PDF file, you can try illustrator.repair.
1. Visit https://www.illustrator.repair. Click the SELECT FILE button to upload Illustrator PDF files.
2. It requires an email address to repair your files. Type in and click NEXT STEP to run this repair process automatically. It will ask to you pay for the repair.
In this part, you'll get the possible reasons and prevention measures in detail.
Adobe Illustrator crashes can be caused by various factors. Here are some common reasons:
✦ Software Bugs: Like any complex software, Illustrator may have bugs or glitches that can lead to crashes. Be sure you are using the latest version of Illustrator.
✦ Insufficient System Resources: Running Illustrator on a system with low RAM or an overloaded CPU can result in crashes.
✦ Corrupted Preferences: Sometimes, the preferences file for Illustrator may become corrupted, leading to instability. Resetting or deleting the preferences file may resolve the issue.
✦ Corrupted Fonts or Files: If Illustrator encounters corrupted fonts or files during operation, it may crash.
✦ Outdated Graphics Drivers: Outdated or incompatible graphics drivers can cause instability. Always update your graphics drivers to the latest version.
✦ Hardware Issues: Faulty hardware components, such as RAM or a failing hard drive, can lead to crashes. Run hardware diagnostics to check for issues.
1. Click Edit > Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard.
2. Then, tick the Automatically Save Recovery Data Every option. The default time interval is 2 minutes. You can also change it to a different time interval.
3. Click Choose to select a new location for unsaved Illustrator file.
4. Check Turn off Data Recovery for complex document to avoid interruption of the workflow.
5. Finally, click OK to confirm you want to make these changes.
AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free and easy-to-use backup software for Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc. With it, you can automatically backup your Illustrator file and its changes. It allows you to backup files to internal/external disk, USB drive, cloud drive, network drive or NAS.
1. Download and install Windows backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard. Then, click Backup and File Backup to backup your Illustrator files.
2. Set the Task Name to distinguish this backup task from others. Click Add File or Add Folder to choose Illustrator files you want to backup.
3. Select a location to store your Illustrator files. It can be internal or external disk, USB flash drive, network drive, NAS device, Cloud Drive, etc.
4 (Optionally). Click Schedule Backup and enable Daily, Weekly, or Monthly to backup Illustrator files automatically.
5. Confirm the operation and click Start Backup. By default, it will enable incremental backup to backup only new or changed Illustrator files.
Besides you still need to keep your drivers up to date and scan for viruses and malware regularly to prevent data loss.
This article introduces you to 8 effective ways how to recover unsaved or deleted Illustrator file after crash. If you have problems dealing with them, please follow the methods above. AOMEI FastRecovery can be a nice assistant for file recovery. Hope it will help you.
Besides, you still need to take some precautions to protect your Illustrator file. For unsaved files, please ensure the Auto-save feature is enabled. For deleted or corrupted files, the best practice is to create a complete copy of them in advance.
