Can't open Illustrator files

Working with CS5 for a few weeks now with no problems. Suddenly today Illustrator doesn't want to open any files. Keeps giving me the message "Unable to set maximum number of files to be opened." Trashed prefs but that made no difference.
Anyone know what this cryptic message means and what I can do to correct the problem?
Thanks!

Try reading this
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2559265#2559265
It's an incompatibility with SMARTboard software.

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Can't open Illustrator file - "does not have the correct number of operands..."

Right off the bat - Mac, 10.6.8, Illustrator CS4. I've seen different variations of this "...correct number of operands..." error on these boards, with fonts and other things as the culprit, but I haven't come across this specific issue yet. If someone has seen something along these lines please let me know.
I work for a small design agency that uses Illustrator CS4 on a consistent basis. We have had an ongoing issue where random files that had been working fine will sporadically become corrupt, causing us to have to use the Document Recovery Mode and then edit the file in a text editor to fix the problem which does work for this issue flawlessly, other than the headache of having to do this repeatedly.
Our workflow is such that we use a local area storage RAID which everyone uses to access the same client files. These client files are all in a series of nested folders we employ to keep all our separate client's work separate. The error arises when certain images are placed into a document, then the document is saved and closed. Upon trying to reopen the file we get an error message like this:
Where the string "/CR0050_ret.psd" is the filename of the offending image. Basically what has happened is that in the actual code for the document, there is a string that starts as "%%IncludeFile....." which specifies the file's pathway on the local area storage we use. The last segment of that string is the image's filename, which has gotten returned to the next line down, and now the program cannot interpret that line in the code, so it cannot properly open the file. The file will open but only the content that is above the offending IncludeFile string is visible.
(client information blurred out)
This does not happen to all the "%%IncludeFile" strings in the document, and does not happen for all images on our local area storage. We know how to fix the problem through the Document Recovery mode and then editing the text. Once we return the filename portion of the code back up to the proper line, and save the file in the text editor, the file will open in Illustrator and show all the information contained within properly. However, if you save the file out again without making any changes, the same errors will propagate throughout the file's code again, and become unreadable prompting another document recovery. Insert endless cycle here.
What we would like to try and find out is why is this happening, so we can prevent it from happening in the future. Is the image nested too far down in the hierarchy of folders? Are there too many characters in the file pathway string? What can we do to keep this from happening moving forward?
I know that an easy answer is to copy the files over locally to our hard drives, and work from there, but this is not a very efficient way to work, as we are all collectively working on different files, utilizing common image resources. We like to keep one set of images so there is no duplication that may lead to the wrong image being sent out - "Oh you sent John's version? You should have sent Molly's version of the image for that file"
We also downloaded the trial version of Illustrator CS6 to see if an upgrade would work wonders, but it does not, the problem persists when saving a recovered file in CS6.
Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
ABK

In Illustrator it is generally not a good idea to read and write directly to and from a server: http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/illustrator-support-networks-removable-media.html
If you really think you need to do it, then check your network thoroughly.

I can't open illustrator files as an error message says 'file contains conflicting spot colour information...' then closes, how do I resolve this?

The full message reads 'The file contains conflicting spot color information. Spot and process colors cannot share the same name. Please resolve the spot color conflict and try reopening this file.'
The problem is the file just closes after that. If anyone has had this problem before and managed to resolve it, please please help!

This turned out to be a links issue. One of the psd's had corrupted. In the end we found out by making sure the file couldn't connect to the links in the illustrator document allowing it to open in the basic vector format. We disconnected from the network, another way would be to move the links folder. Once the file was open the links could be deleted/replaced seems it didn't close the file straight away.
I hope this helps anyone else that has this problem, there really wasn't much information on it, especially not up to date information.
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i updated indesign cs6 this morning and now i can't open illustrator files in photoshop cs6, in fact, photoshop files won't open either!! please, what should i do?

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I just get this:
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It seems that with my network printer set up I can't do much with Illustrator, I can't open new files and I can't print without opening up the printer setup menu in Windows.
Photoshop CS btw, I can't open it at all.
I take the network printer offline and everything is fine, except then I don't have a printer.
Windows XP SP2
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Creating a Dummy Generic printer fixed the issues of opening a new file in Illustrator and being able to open PS at all.
However Illustrator is still taking several minutes to print something as simple as a test circle.
The menu I was referring to is Printers & Faxes under control panel, though I realized later that may not have had anything to do with it. It may have simply been coincidental timing. I opened the P&F window about 10 minutes after hitting print and just after opening P&F the print window popped up. It simply may have been taking 10 minutes for the print window to open.
With the network printer set up as the default printer if I try to open Photoshop a window opens but just stays a grey blank screen, no credits box, nothing. Then if after a few minutes I hit ctrl+alt+del it says Photoshop not responding.
What I was doing to take the printer offline was to completely delete the network printer from Printers & Faxes.
I'll see if they have an updated set of drivers, but I think I have the latest ones, as I updated them a month or so ago.
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After having updated to Illustrator CC I can no longer open illustrator files or rather, some files open and others do not. I get the following error:
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Save the files as CS6 from AI.
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Can't open .wmf files with Illustrator

I'm using Creative Suite CS2 on a PC/Windows XP operating system.
I'm suddenly unable to launch Illustrator when I try to open a .wmf file from within Windows Explorer. Instead, I get an error message that the file itself is not a valid program (DUH!).
I also cannot open them with the "Edit Original" command in InDesign.
I have tried changing the "Opens With Program..." option in the file properties from within Windows Explorer over and over.
Oddly, I can always open .wmf files with Illustrator from within Adobe Bridge, simply by double-clicking the file. And of course, I can open them from within Illustrator by simply going to "open file".
But I really want to be able to use the "Edit Original" feature in InDesign to launch and open .wmf files in Illustrator.
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I'm sorry you're having this problem with Illustrator. Would you mind reposting over on the Illustrator forums? You've posted in the AIR forum and I think you'll have better luck over there.
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Illustrator can't open eps files

I've been have an issue with CS3 and now CS5. When trying to open an eps file I get an error "Can't open illustration. Could not complete the requested operation". I can see a thumbnail, but nothing in the file shows up. Any ideas?

Tranparency gets flattened in the making of the .eps, and there is a choice as to whether you want to embed links.
If you somehitng simple with no transprency, you would be able to make yourself a nice editable .ai file out of this.
Once you have transparency, the those elements get merged and embedded, and often in quite a complex splicing.
You can place the .eps in Illustrator and then embed the .eps to convert the placed into some vector shapes you may need to grab.

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This one should be the CS5 one http://visitmix.com/labs/ai2canvas/

After using an ExtendScript (via ESTK) Illustrator becomes corrupted and "Can't open illustration."

Hey, thanks for reading.
I'm having a strange problem with Illustrator CS5 and ESTK CS5. I'm new to writing ExtendScripts, so I haven't a clue what could be going wrong here but here's the skinny:
I've written the following code, which is very specialized to the exact document I'm working with. Using the ExtendScript Toolkit, the script goes through the following loops:
The primary problem:
For some reason, running this script causes Illustrator to become somehow corrupted. I can continue working with the document as long as it is open, but if I try to close it and re-open it, I get the infuriatingly unhelpful error dialog "Can't open illustration." With no extra details.
The same error comes up if I try to open any other .ai files. Shutting down and rebooting doesn't fix the problem. I have to completely uninstall Illustrator, then re-install it before it will work again. And even then, if I try to open the ExtendScript-corrupted file the whole Illustrator app gets corrupted and needs to be reinstalled.
Oh, also Illustrator itself shows up as "(Not responding)" while the script is running, but the ESTK console clearly shows that the script is chugging along as expected.
Specifics about the script:
There are 4 "Buttons" on the document, and a library full of nearly-identical symbols in the Library (different colored backgrounds for the buttons).
The script cycles through every symbol in the library, replacing and deleting instances of the previous symbol.
Then, for each symbol, it cycles through an array (technically an object-literal) of { language-code: "string" } pairs, and saves a .png of each artboard for each word.
What follows is a pared-down version of the full script:
(I tried to add a few $.sleep(10); calls, hoping that maybe just a brief slowdown in the processes might help. It didn't.)
This script (in its original form) outputs a ton of files very, very quickly.
Script Example
var folder = Folder.selectDialog();                     // Ask for a folder choice.
var aDoc = app.activeDocument;                        // Declare an active Document reference.
var textLayer = aDoc.layers.getByName('text');   // Get the text layer, for moving it back/forward
var textFrms = aDoc.textFrames;                       // Get all text frames, for language swap
var allSymbols = aDoc.symbols;                         // Get array of all symbols in the symbol library
var allSymbolItems = aDoc.symbolItems;            // Get an array of all symbol instances in the active document
var helpTextArray =
    en: "help",
    az: "Kömək",
    cs: "Nápověda",
    da: "Hjælp",
    de: "hilfe",
    el: "Bοήθεια",
    en: "help",
    es: "ayuda",
        * There's normally 3 arrays with many more languages / translations
if( aDoc &&                                      // We have an activeDocument
     folder &&                                    // and we have a selected output folder
     allSymbols.length > 0 &&             // We've got symbols
     allSymbolItems.length > 0 &&      // and we've got symbol instances "symbolItems"
     textFrms.length > 0 ) {                 // and we've got textFrames to manipulate.
    // For each symbol in our symbol library...
    for(var i = 0; i < allSymbols.length; i++) {
        // Run through all instances of symbols (symbolItems), and replace with a different symbol.
        for(var ii = 0; ii < allSymbolItems.length; ii++) {
            // Move text layer out of the line of fire.
            $.writeln('Move text to back');
            textLayer.zOrder(ZOrderMethod.SENDTOBACK);
            var currObj = allSymbolItems[ii];
            var newObj = aDoc.symbolItems.add(aDoc.symbols[i]);
            var symbolColor = aDoc.symbols[i].name;
            // Add the new / replacement symbol.
            newObj.left = currObj.left;
            newObj.top = currObj.top;
            newObj.width = currObj.width;
            newObj.height = currObj.height;
            // Remove the old symbol.
            currObj.remove();
            // Bring text back up to the front.
            $.writeln('Bring text to front');
            textLayer.zOrder(ZOrderMethod.BRINGTOFRONT);
            redraw();
            $.sleep(10)
        // Run through each language and each buttonText and save a copy.
        var currArray = helpTextArray;
        var currArrayName = "help";
        for(currLang in currArray) {
            switchText(currLang, currArray);
            $.sleep(10)
            // Run function to save .pngs of each artboard
            exportAll(currLang, symbolColor, currArrayName);
        } // end for (currLang in currArray)
    } // end symbols.length
} // end if
function switchText(lang, array) {
    //var textFrms = activeDocument.textFrames;
    var newText = array[lang];
    newText = (newText === "") ? array["en"] : newText;
    for(var i = 0; i < textFrms.length; i++) {
        var isHorizontal = ( textFrms[i].width > textFrms[i].height );
        var scale = 100;
        var scaleMatrix;
        textFrms[i].contents = newText;
           * There's normally an automatic text-resizer here
    } // for var i
function exportAll(lang, color, buttonText) {
    var artBds = aDoc.artboards;
    var options = new ExportOptionsPNG24();
        options.antiAliasing = true;
        options.transparency = true;
        options.artBoardClipping = true;
    for(var i = 0; i < artBds.length; i++) {
         var currBoard = artBds.setActiveArtboardIndex(i);
         var buttonPosition = artBds[i].name;
         var newFile = new File(folder.fsName+"/"+buttonText+"_"+color+"_"+buttonPosition+"_"+lang+".png");
         aDoc.exportFile(newFile,ExportType.PNG24,options);
         $.writeln('A file was saved with the name:: '+buttonText+'_'+color+'_'+buttonPosition+'_'+lang+'.png');
         $.sleep(10)
function revertToOriginal() {
    $.writeln('Revert');
    // Switch the text back to help.
    switchText("en", helpTextArray);
    // For each symbol instance...
    for(var i = 0; i < allSymbolItems.length; i++) {
        // Move text layer out of the line of fire.
        $.writeln('Move text to back');
        textLayer.zOrder(ZOrderMethod.SENDTOBACK);
        var currObj = allSymbolItems[i];
        // Add in the placeholder since we're reverting.
        var newObj = aDoc.symbolItems.add(aDoc.symbols[0]);
        var symbolColor = aDoc.symbols[0].name;
        // Add the new / replacement symbol.
        newObj.left = currObj.left;
        newObj.top = currObj.top;
        newObj.width = currObj.width;
        newObj.height = currObj.height;
        // Remove the old symbol.
        currObj.remove();
        // Bring text back up to the front.
        $.writeln('Bring text to front');
        textLayer.zOrder(ZOrderMethod.BRINGTOFRONT);
        redraw();
        $.sleep(10)
        $.writeln('REVERT');
revertToOriginal();
Are there best practices that I'm unaware of here that could be causing this corruption?
Does anyone know what could be happening?
The only error I ever get is "Can't open illustration." There's never anything more helpful, so I have no idea what could be going wrong.
If there's any more information that would be of use to anyone I'd be happy to share. This is wasting a lot of my time and making me pull my hair out like crazy,

I have not had the time to look over your script but at a glance there are a few things I would handle differently…
Firstly returning a document to a given state… If you play with this snippet you can see that app.undo() returns to the last called app.redraw() if there is one else it undo's the whole script…
#target illustrator
doSymbols();
function doSymbols() {
    var doc = app.activeDocument;
    var sym = doc.symbols[0];
    for ( var i = 0; i < 4; i++ ) {
        var foo = doc.symbolItems.add( sym );
        foo.position = Array( i * 72, -( i * 72 ) );
        app.redraw(); // Comment this out to see…
    app.undo(); // Returns to last redaw state if any…?
Secondly your symbols… You know you can just change the symbol instance's symbol reference…? If they are almost the same particualy size then its an easy swap…?
#target illustrator
doSymbols();
function doSymbols() {
    var doc = app.activeDocument;
    var sym = doc.symbols[1]; // Next symbol in the palette
    for ( var i = 0; i < 4; i++ ) {
        doc.symbolItems[i].symbol = sym;
        app.redraw();

No longer able to open Illustrator files when in Review mode in Bridge.

No longer able to open Illustrator files when in Review mode in Bridge.
This used to work in CS5.
Control click the focused image (at front). Near the bottom of the contextual menu select 'Open' and nothing happens.
Anyone else having this problem?
Note: Files can be opened from the regular grid mode in the Content Panel.
Preference File Type Association is correct ai=Illustrator CS6

Uninstall the Ask toolbar and it should work again. There is a compatibility issue with the Ask toolbar and Firefox that prevents new tabs from being opened. The Ask toolbar can be installed as part of Foxit.
There are a couple of places to check for the Ask toolbar:
* Check the Windows Control panel for the Ask Toolbar - http://about.ask.com/apn/toolbar/docs/default/faq/en/ff/index.html#na4
* Also check your list of extensions, you may be able to uninstall it from there - https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Uninstalling+add-ons

Can't open old files in CS5 since upgrading to OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Since I upgraded to OS X, I can open all my CS5 programs and create new files. However, I can't open files I created (even a week ago on CS5) since I upgraded to Mavricks. I googled it and I tried updating my Adobe drive and I updated Java, but I still can't open any file I created before downloading mavericks. In Indesign, I get an error message "Adobe InDesign may not support the file format, a plug-in that supports the file format may be missing or the file may be opened by another application" and In Illustrator I just get the spinning wheel of death...
Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks!

Talk to Apple support about updating your permissions - that may be it.

Can you open freehand files in CS6?

can you open freehand files in CS6? I have been using both illustrator & freehand for 15 years & have thousands of work files being freehand.
It seems very disappointing to have to keep an old version of illustrator just to open these files. I also find it interesting that many of the key tools that freehand had over illustrator are not translated into the newer versions of illustrator. Something simple like you still can't have a unique picture bullet • before text in illustrator. In freehand you could cut & paste any graphic into the text you were designing.

saturn234 wrote:
can you open freehand files in CS6? I have been using both illustrator & freehand for 15 years & have thousands of work files being freehand.
No. The conversion plugin didn't make it into CS6 so the last import function was CS5.5
It seems very disappointing to have to keep an old version of illustrator just to open these files.
At this point, it is the only way to make your files convert into Illustrator although I've had some luck with exporting to EPS or (if your FH graphics are simple enough) save as AI format. Keep your eyes on this project however : http://www.stagestack.com/
I also find it interesting that many of the key tools that freehand had over illustrator are not translated into the newer versions of illustrator. Something simple like you still can't have a unique picture bullet • before text in illustrator. In freehand you could cut & paste any graphic into the text you were designing.
As a fellow FreeHand user, I couldn't agree more. Other users of both programs have said this endlessly over the years here. A litany of features are still m.i.a. since FHMX was acquired years ago... including inline graphics. It's almost comical.

Can't open ai files in fireworks?

Hello,
I'm working on a Mac with CS4, and just this afternoon,
Fireworks won't let me open illustrator files. Things were fine up
until then (except with the occasion crash).
Now, it gives me a "Could Not Complete your request. An Error
Occurred." message instead. I can open any other kind of file
(jpeg, png, etc.) but not illustrator files.
Any theories?

bggraphics wrote:
> Now, it gives me a "Could Not Complete your request. An
Error Occurred."
> message instead. I can open any other kind of file
(jpeg, png, etc.) but not
> illustrator files.
>
> Any theories?
Try opening the file in AI, copying it, and then pasting it
into a new
document in FW.
Linda Rathgeber - Adobe Community Expert
http://www.adobe.com/communities/experts/members/8.html

Can't open Illustrator files

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