Error message "Can't open the illustration." - HELP

I work for a small company in the product development area and we use AI every day, all day. We work on PCs (windows 7) in AI CS6 design standard.
About a week and a half ago, I got the error message "Can't open the illustration." I then proceeded to recreate my file that was lost, once saved and closed, the same error message popped up after trying to reopen. The file was recreated by another person, and the same error message occurred. This has now happened to 5 of my files and a handful of files created by coworkers.
The error seems to be completely random, as we have been able to create other files without a glitch. The other odd thing, is that the one person who uses a mac in our creative department was able to open our 'lost' files as single pages on her AI CS4.
Please help!
Thank you.

We have tried both saving the files on our company server and on our individual desktops - neither of which will open the files.
Fonts are ok - they are all created and saved in CS6.
Printers, I believe are all correctly set up.
We tried a complete reinstall on one PC - still running into the same random files ending up 'lost' with the same error message.
Originally, the cs6 design standards (6 licenses total) were loaded to the server/shared drive and then downloaded onto each PC from there - we believe this may have something to do with the corruption, but this problem has just begun within the last month and the programs were all downloaded over 6 months ago.

Similar Messages

Error message: Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal or misplaced operator.

Hi,
I was working on an Illustrator file and saving as I went. It all seemed to be working properly. When I was finished I saved it one last time and then also saved a PDF of the file. I closed the program momentarily while I typed an email that I wanted to attach the PDF to and then tried to open the Illustrator and the PDF one last time to check everything was done correctly. The Illustrator file came up with this message: Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal or misplaced operator. The PDF also didn't work. Any ideas what's going on here? I would greatly appreciate any help! Thanks!

Simply get used to the thought that the file may be unrecoverable. you can try placing it into a new document or rasterize it in PS, but that pretty much may be the extent of what you can do. And in the future:
Work File Safety | Mylenium's Error Code Database
Mylenium

Why am I getting the error message "Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains and incomplete or garbled object description."

I work in a graphic design firm and 4 separate people have received these messages on separate days using separate files on separate MAC computers. We are all using CS6.
"Can't open the illustration. Could not complete the requested operation."
"Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand. 1206.3.6006 % 1205.9736 1178.52 m % 1206.2236 1178.8374 I % 1206.3232 1178.% 1206.3.6006"
"Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal or misplaced operator. ∘ê 3 0 R 508054 0 R 508055 0 R]/Order 508056 0 R/RBGroups[]>>/OCGs[5 0 R 6 0 R 7 0 R 8 0 R 9 0 R 46702 0 R 46703 0 R 46704 0 R 467"
"Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains and incomplete or garbled object description."
After clicking ok the file will open; however, most of the illustration is missing. We are interested in repairing our files, but we are more interesting in figuring out why this is happening and fixing it. We are nervous to even open anything for fear this will happen again.
Please help!

brittanyesparks,
One thing often tried first is to create a new document and File>Place the corrupted one to see how much may be rescued that way (remember to tick Paste remembers Layers in the Layer palette flyout/dropdown first, and to untick it afterwards).
Here is a website where you can see whether it can rescue the file, and if it can, you may pay for a subscription to have it done,
http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/buy_illustrator.html
and another similar website,
http://markzware.com/adobe-software/fix-illustrator-file-unknown-error-occurred-pdf2dtp-fi le-recovery/
As far as I remember, the former is for Win and the latter for Mac.
Here are a few pages about struggling with it yourself:
http://daxxter.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/how-to-recover-a-corrupted-illustrator-ai-file/
http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-damaged-illustrator-files.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50032.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50031.html
http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/enable-content-recovery-mode-illustrator.html

Illustrator CS2 error message : Can't open the illustration : The illustration contains an incomplet

Hi,
I am getting this message once in a while in Illustrator CS2 :
Can't open the illustration : The illustration contains an incomplete or garbled object description.
Offending operator ''Bg''
Context :
357.2139 668.8398L
357.2139 669.8477L
161.228 669.8477L
Bb
1 (Unnamed gradient 1) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Bg
Is there something which is done wrong in illustrator to get this message ?
What can prevent this to happen, because unable to open the document, the document is blank when opened ?
Thanks in advance !

We have tried both saving the files on our company server and on our individual desktops - neither of which will open the files.
Fonts are ok - they are all created and saved in CS6.
Printers, I believe are all correctly set up.
We tried a complete reinstall on one PC - still running into the same random files ending up 'lost' with the same error message.
Originally, the cs6 design standards (6 licenses total) were loaded to the server/shared drive and then downloaded onto each PC from there - we believe this may have something to do with the corruption, but this problem has just begun within the last month and the programs were all downloaded over 6 months ago.

Error message: Can't open the illustration. The illustration-

Can't open the illustration. The illustration exceeds an implemention limit.
Offending operator: '%%HiResBoundingBox: -1229.2598
-6416.8828
I might have mis counted the number of brackets.
Any idea what is up with my file? It worked yesterday, and for 3 days proir. 3 days of concept designs for a client. Regulary saved.
Very frustrated and anxious.
Mac 10.6.4 CS4
Caspian

Caspian,
A few more suggestions:
1) You may see how much, if any, is rescued by creating a new document and placing the damaged file.
2) You may try to mend the file, using this approach:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50031.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50032.html
One thing to try might be to search for the offending part
%%HiResBoundingBox: -1229.2598 -6416.8828
and to remove that and
a) one/some of the brackets so the numbers of either kind match,
b) something that follows and seems to be tied to the offending part,
c) everything that follows.

I cannot install sign cut plug in for my illustrator. error message: "Can't open the illustration. The file is locked or in use. ID-54

Please help, I have been trying for a week to the plug in for illustrator to work.

Plugins need to be installed in the plug-ins folder inside the application folder.
Are you sure it's compatible to your version of Illustrator?

PDF SCANS ERROR MESSAGE: CAN'T "OPEN THE DEFAULT APP FOR THIS FILE TYPE" EG. PDF

OFFICEJET PRO 8600 PLUS , WIN 7, SCAN TO COMPUTER AS A PDF FILE. ERROR MESSAGE: "
CAN'T "OPEN THE DEFAULT APP FOR THIS FILE TYPE" EG. PDF

Hi @reddog2,
I would contact HP Cloud Services for assistance. Call 1-855-785-2777.
Have a nice day!
Thank You.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!
Gemini02
I work on behalf of HP

ERROR! can't open the illustration. the illustration contains an illegal operand. Offending operator '((((((((((((((((((((((( 1Gm

Hello, good people. Please help!
I am working on a project that consists of one .ai file that contains 27, letter sized art boards.
I am using Adobe cs5-Illustrator on a macbook pro.
I have opened and closed and save this file many, many times—I have been working on this for the last 2+weeks.
Today, when I tried to open the file I received an error message that read: "can't open the illustration. the illustration contains an illegal operand. Offending operator '((((((((((((((((((((((( 1Gm
A screen shot of the entire message is below. Can anyone please help me to ward of this "offending operator?"
Thank you in advance.

AAhlene,
It is strange that the offending operation is not shown in context within the message.
Are you saving to your own harddisk( see below)?
One thing often tried first is to create a new document and File>Place the (PDF contents, if any, of the) corrupted one to see how much may be rescued that way.
Here are some websites where you can see whether it can rescue the actual file, and if it can, you may pay for a subscription to have it done,
http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/buy_illustrator.html
http://markzware.com/adobe-software/fix-illustrator-file-unknown-error-occurred-pdf2dtp-fi le-recovery/
http://www.illustrator.fixtoolbox.com/
As far as I remember, the first one is for Win and the second one is for Mac, while the third one should be for both.
Here are a few pages about struggling with it yourself:
http://daxxter.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/how-to-recover-a-corrupted-illustrator-ai-file/
http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-damaged-illustrator-files.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50032.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50031.html
http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/enable-content-recovery-mode-illustrator.html
External media: It is always recommended here to open/save from/to own hard disk, and to copy from/to networks and removable media. You may be lucky (for a while), but the chances of file corruption and other unpleasantnesses are immensely greater when you use anything but the harddisk, and it is better to be safe than sorry.
In addition to the (far greater) risk of file corruption, some issues are mentioned here:
http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/illustrator-support-networks-removable-media.html
To have a network actually work may require some work.
If you transfer by external means it is always safest to zip/compress the file to avoid corruption.

Can't open the illustration CS5

This solution worked on my Windows PC.
The problem: Illustrator CS4 or CS5 wouldn't open EPS files in a particular folder. Would get the error message -- Can't Open the Illustration. Or, the application would shut down or just wouldn't open when trying to open one of the offending document. After thinking I had to recover each of over a hundred files, I realized that the problem might be a font.
The solution (for my equipment, anyway): Open a new document. Type a few characters and assign the text the font that you used in the offending document that you think might be the problem. Try opening the offending document. After doing this once, it allowed me to open every file with that font perfectly. Somehow, it's like Illustrator lost connection to that font, in this case Cooper Medium BT.
Anyway ... just thought I'd share this.
Would someone else having the problem and this solution, please confirm that it worked for you?

diacritically,
You have to follow the instructions very closely.
However, reports in this forum seem to indicate that this is a way that only works in a limited number of cases because it is rather difficult to spot (all) the errors in the file.
There are some instructions here:
http://daxxter.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/how-to-recover-a-corrupted-illustrator-ai-file/
The simplest solution you may try first is to try to place the file into a new AI document and see whether enough (or anything) can be saved that way; remember to tick Paste remembers Layers in the Layers palette before that and untick afterwards.
You may also try the trial to see whether is is possible, and feasible, to pay for the recovery here:
http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/buy_illustrator.html
That trial may also show whether there is hope in trying to recover.

Please help! Can't open the illustration in CS6. Illegal operand.

I worked for two weeks in an illustration and I can´t open the file. Illustrator show the message: "Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.((((((( -410390914..."
I followed instructions that I found in forums about make an script for recovery files, illustrator maked a new recovered file and a txt file, I deleted the lines that appeared in the error message, but it continues giving me an error and doesn´t open the file. Can anybody help me, please? Thanks!
He estado trabajando dos semanas en una ilustración con la versión CS6 de Illustrator y no puedo abrirla porque me da el mensaje: "Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.((((((( -410390914..."
He seguido las instrucciones que aparecen en otros foros para hacer que ilustrator intente recuperar el archivo, ejecutando un script. Me genera un nuevo archivo .ai y una versión en .txt en la que elimino las linéas que dan error, pero sigue sin abrirmelo. Alguien puede echarme una mano? Gracias!

Just following up on my results if anyone is interested.
Raghuveer's kind offer to help recover the file didn't yield the results we needed. He was only able to recover the PDF component which was nothing we couldn't do if we tried to open the corrupted file with Acrobat. Opening the file this way isn't editable.
I did however have some success with the developer of the Recovery Toolbox for Illustrator software. The original file that I couldn't recover with the software was able to be recovered by the developers and a subsequent corrupted file was also able to be recovered by their software, but not before I failed to recover it with their software and sent them the new file, which they were able to recover using the software and sent me a copy too.
I was noticing quite a few bugs with their software when I was having trouble recovering the files but it would appear that restarting my computer (something I do quite infrequently as I leave my computer on 24x7 and don't have much need to) may have helped get the software working as expected.
So all in all, Recovery Toolbox for Illustrator is handy piece of software and the developers stand behind it when it doesn't work as expected. But if you are in a bind and need a file recovered ASAP that the software cant do, the time it took tech support to get me the recovered version of my file was was approximately 48 hours. Which in this situation was too slow as we needed it for a presentation that had been and gone by the time they sent the repaired file back. But your needs may vary from ours.

Can't Open the Illustration. There is not enough room for the window;

This is more of a nusance than an actual problem. But, when I double click on an AI document to open it the Illustrator window will shrink down to what is in the attached image and throw an error. The error reads "Can't open the Illustration. There is not enough room for the window; increase document area and try again."
I can drag and drop the file into Illustrator and file>open of course, but the double-click method isn't working.
I'm not sure if this is a Windows 7 issue or an Illustrator issue.

dual monitors. And i'm on windows so the application frame cannot be toggled.
I was able to fix it. Detached the application and then resized the scrunched window. that seems to have done the trick. Weird since I had never squeezed it all the way down like that.
thanks! Didn't know about the preferences reset.

Can't open the illustration. There is not enough room for the window. Increase document area and try again?

When i double click on a file in AI (CS6) I get the message: Can't open the illustration. There is not enough room for the window. Increase document are and try again

We can't know. We know nothing about your system nor your documents since you haven't told us.
Mylenium

I am trying to install Firefox 4 on my Mac OS 10.5.8 and I get the error message "You cannot open the application "Firefox" because it is not supported on this architecture" Help!

I am trying to install Firefox 4 on my Mac OS 10.5.8 and I get the error message "You cannot open the application "Firefox" because it is not supported on this architecture" Help!

Firefox 4 requires at least OS X 10.5 and an Intel Mac. There is a third party version of Firefox 4 that runs on OS X 10.4/10.5 and PPC Macs, for details see http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox
If you prefer, you can get the latest version of Firefox 3.6 from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html
Mozilla are working to prevent Mac users with non-compatible systems from getting the notification about Firefox 4, and also not displaying the "Download Firefox 4" button on http://www.mozilla.com

Please help!! "Can't open the illustration. This artwork contains a very large image that can not...

Hi all, I am subscribing Illustrator CS6 16.0.0 and using it on Windows 7.
Few days ago I was working with one file, I saved it successfully and now when I'm trying to open it an error message occures "Can't open the illustration. This artwork contains a very large image that can not be read on this version of AI. Please try with 64-bit version." and ALMOST ALL of the objects (vector) are missing as if they were deleted!
It's kind of strange since I created the file with the same program and everything was working properly before.
Please Please advice further steps for recovering my file.

Thank you so much! the file is recovered (as well as my emotional state )
The finding of the day - apparently I have two versions of AI in my PC!

I keep getting error message, "can't open application PACE because PowerPC applications are no longer supported." I've run Clean My Mac and I still get the error.

I keep getting error message, "can't open application PACE because PowerPC applications are no longer supported." I've run Clean My Mac and I still get the error.

Use the Finder "Go" menu while holding down the option key to expose your User / Library folder.
Look in the Application Support folder for PACE items and delete them.

Error message "Can't open the illustration." - HELP

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for