The illustration contains an illegal operand

Help! I'm working on an important and huge project.
When i'm trying to open it, I get this message:
It opens this thing, I don't remember using this on my artwork.
I can see my artwork's thumbnail when i'm browsing for the file in illustrator, but I can't get it to open.
The file is 4.61 MB and I'm using Illustrator CS5 on Windows 7. (It's not mac osx, it's just a theme)
So help please!

RoeyTwins,
You may start by creating a ned document and placing your file in it (in the Layers panel flyout have Paste remembers Layers ticked). This may show you how much is easily rescued.
The next step may be to try to mend the code, to save more, if it is worth the trouble.
The following links show some instructions:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50031.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50032.html
You may work with two documents, namely the corrupt one and a sound empty one, and move code from the former to the latter, recognizing identical/similar sequences.

Similar Messages

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.

The illustration contains an illegal operand error

Hello there,
First time poster, long time self diagnoser of application errors. In need of real help!
I have however come across a real doosey - with a meeting to show the work inside this corrupted file.. tomorrow morning! love it. I'm a junior and I'm afraid of the extent my balls are on the block with this hiccup.
Placing the file in a separate AI file wasn't a solution because I am such a messy worker (outside artboards) and could only obtain a small snippet of the overall file.
I also tried turning on file recovery in Preferences>Illustrator CS5.1 Settings and the file that was recovered was blank.
It may also be of use that I was working on this file on another computer before coming home, and spilling beer in shock, denial, and disgust that I had lost many many hours of work.
Is there anyone that could please help me dissect this file or recommend a remedy?
PleasepleasePLEASE!
I love you!
Jordan

You are welcome, Jordan.
Let us hope help will arrive in time.
In addition to what may be recovered though the PDF, is there anything to rescue from the computer at work?
It may be worth making a search for the four of five last lines of code (or just the last one) shown in the OP screenshot, and seeing whether anything of any resemblance comes up.
Just another thought: do you have other (higher/lower) versions than CS5 installed? It may be worth trying to open the file in another version. Maybe a silly thought, but nothing to lose. If not, you may trust it to someone else at work, or, depending on the contents, to someone outside.
When is the deadline expressed in Forum time (07-Nov-2012 13:41 right now/before) or in hours from now?
To at least save parts of yourself you may explain the issue, and maybe refer to this thread/forum.
Unfortunately, this kind of issues appears in this forum regularly, and is very difficult to solve, unless the victim is lucky enough to be able to save all/most of the artwork with File>Place.
Below is the result of a search for the term illegal operand, demonstrating that others have faced the same issue; actually, there have been many more.
http://forums.adobe.com/community/illustrator/search.jspa?peopleEnabled=true&userID=&spotl ight=false&containerType=14&container=3367&rankBy=date&q=illegal+operand+
The following result of a search for can't open the illustration also show some similar isuues.
http://forums.adobe.com/search.jspa?resultTypes=&dateRange=all&peopleEnabled=true&q=can%27 t+open+the+illustration&containerType=14&container=3367&containerName=Illustrator&username =&rankBy=date&numResults=30

Error while opening illustrator file : The illustration contains an illegal operand.

Few of the production machine at our office is showing error while opening some of the illustrator project files which were working fine a day before.
If the Executive continues to open the document after this error all the work is lost and it becomes blank document.
Has some one been through this issue and suggest any solution.
System Configuration
Mac OS 10.9.3
Intel CPU Core 2 Duo 3.0 Ghz
8 Gb Ram
%00 Gb HDD

sanket karalkar,
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.
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, in addition to the ones you mentioned:
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

Can't open illustration. This illustration contains an illegal operand

I opened a file i was working on for some days now, and i got this MSG??
Can’t open illustration. This illustration contains an illegal operand.
((( /Real (xmlnode-nodevalue) ,
%_(width) /String (xmlnode-nodename) ,
%_; (width) ,
%_/XMLNode :
%_/Dictionary :
%_; (xmlnode-attributes) ,
%_/Array :
%_; (xmlnode-children) ,
%_2 /Int (xmlnode-nodetype) ,
%_32262.3633 /Real (xmlnode-nodevalue) ,
%_(hei %0JG1> 1b^UA3&!$E2)
ANY HELP PLZ
I use illustrator CS6
OSX 10.9.1

n.zeineddine,
The message means that the file has been corrupted.
Unless someone recognizes the actual error in the code, it may be difficult.
One firct thing to try is to create a new document and File>Place the corrupt file in it, if possible, and see how much artwork is rescued that simple way.
Or you could go the longer way of rebuilding, if possible.
There are some instructions to follow,
http://daxxter.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/how-to-recover-a-corrupted-illustrator-ai-file/
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50031.html
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/500/cpsid_50032.html
http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-damaged-illustrator-files.html
You you can try/buy a ready made solution,
http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/buy_illustrator.html
http://markzware.com/adobe-software/fix-illustrator-file-unknown-error-occurred-pdf2dtp-fi le-recovery/

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

Can't open illustration. Contains an illegal operand.

Trying to open a color palette in AI format.
This the full error code I'm getting:
Can't open illustration. The illustration contains an illegal
operand. MOD HTGGDFT GREY MKOP BFC07-142 2 % 9 () XW
E
%AI3_EndPattern
%AI3_BeginPattern: (MOD HTGGDFT GREY MKOP BFC07-142 2)
(MOD HTGGDFT GREY MKOP BFC07-142 2)
The palette has plenty of other colors, but this one in particular is causing an error.
I looked at lots of other posts about illegal operands but none of them seemed to be similar. Definitely correct me if I'm wrong though.

chazbot,
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

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.

I made a brochure and saved it. But now it doesn't want to open anymore. It says: " Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an incomplete or garbled description. X +1 / FreeUndo, 0, /frame index, 4, /story index, /art: , x= , x+, I made a b

I made a brochure and saved it. But now it doesn't want to open anymore. It says: Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an incomplete or garbled description. X +1 / FreeUndo, 0, /frame index, 4, /story index, /art: , x= , x+
Can anyone please help me?
Thanks
- Zabanya

Zabanya,
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

Can't Open Illustration: contains illegal operand

I used an applescript to change the colors of a set of documents, and I saved the results to another folder. But I cannot open the results.
I keep getting this message, and then it only opens part of the file:
Can't open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.
offending operator: 'p'
context:
0 A
0 Xw
0 O
(CMYK Cyan Hatch) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 [1 0 0 1 0 0] p
I have no idea what is going on.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Below is the applescript I used to edit these files:
tell application "Finder"
    set new_files to POSIX file "/Users/benjamingolder/Desktop/site edited/"
    set File_list to every file of folder new_files
    set save_file to POSIX file "/Users/benjamingolder/Desktop/site_colored/"
    tell application "Adobe Illustrator"
        if not frontmost then activate
        set i to 1
        --repeat loop as many times as there are files in the folder
        repeat the count of File_list times
            set new_file to (item i of File_list) as string
            open file new_file without dialogs
            set lay_list to every layer of current document
            set j to 1
            repeat the count of lay_list times
                set lay_name to name of layer j of current document
                set si to page item 1 of layer lay_name of document 2
                set pgi to every page item of layer lay_name of current document
                set k to 1
                repeat the count of pgi times
                    if filled of si is false then
                        set filled of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to false
                    else
                        set fill color of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to fill color of si
                    end if
                    if stroked of si is false then
                        set stroked of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to false
                    else
                        set val2 to stroke color of si
                        set val3 to stroke width of si
                        set val4 to stroke dashes of si
                        set val5 to stroke cap of si
                        set stroke color of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to val2
                        set stroke width of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to val3
                        set stroke dashes of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to val4
                        set stroke cap of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to val5
                    end if
                    set val6 to blend mode of si
                    set val7 to opacity of si
                    set blend mode of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to val6
                    set opacity of page item k of layer lay_name of current document to val7
                    set k to k + 1
                end repeat
                set j to j + 1
            end repeat
            set lay_list2 to every layer of document 2
            set m to 1
            repeat the count of lay_list2 times
                set the lay_name2 to name of layer m of document 2
                if exists layer lay_name2 of current document then
                    move layer lay_name2 of current document to end of current document
                end if
                set m to m + 1
            end repeat
            save current document in save_file as Illustrator
            close current document saving no
            set i to i + 1
        end repeat
    end tell
end tell
Thanks,
Ben

So I've come back to this, and I think I narrowed it down to something that has to do with pattern swatches.
To give a better context for the problem, what I do is take a folder of illustrator files that have been exported from another software. I open one of them and edit it to make it look the way that I want, and keeping that single document open (as a sample document), I run the script and it edits all the other documents in the folder to look like the sample document. Some of the fills in the sample document are patterns that I've defined. I think that these patterns are causing a problem, and I need to find a better way to transfer them to each current document.
So here is a more specific question:
If want to store the patterned fill of a page item as a variable, and then give that patterned fill to another page item, what is the best way of doing so?
If I use this script:
tell application "Adobe Illustrator"
if not frontmost then activate
set fill1 to the fill color of page item 1 of document 2
set the fill color of page item 1 of current document to fill1
end tell
and then save current document, then when I open the saved document I get the same error.
Maybe I need to make a pattern in the current document before saving?

Adding keywords in Bridge, causes illegal operand i.e. corrupts the illustrator files.

Upon adding keywords to a large amount of illustrator files in Bridge (mainly .eps but also some .ai), more than half of the files are now corrupt, giving me the following message:
Can’t open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand. Offending operator: {eps_metadata_stream}
Context: ‘5
It should be noted that ALL of these files were 100% okay prior to adding some keywords in Bridge.
Does anyone have an idea how to repair corrupt files, and whether this is a known bug?
setup:
I haven’t yet had the time to update to CC2014, and am still using the previous CreativeCloud setup running OSX 10.8.5.

We just started using Bridge and I am on OS 10.9.5 and using Creative Cloud and we are running into the same situation. I load the images into the Bridge and have no issue with Photoshop files, but the Illustrator .eps files get corrupt when I add in keywords to Bridge for them. Haven't been able to find a solution to fix this so currently I'm just not adding in keywords which makes it difficult for our designers to search for these files to use on their projects.

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.

HELP! Illegal operand error - can't open file! (v.2)

I have a file that I've done about 40 hours on since last duplicating it. It's been saved multiple times, and successfully. Now, however the file seems to be corrupt. I'm getting the following error message when opening it:
Cant open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.
Offending operator: ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( (((((((
After i last closed the file, i've defragged my hard drive because it's been sluggish. Ive also deleted a couple of random temp files that I'm now thinking may have been in regards to the Ai file. Does anyone have any ideas on what i can do to open this file (preferable) or anything else?
Thanks in advance for any help or info you can provide!
Ben
(ps-this is my second posting of this - frantically trying to fix this and didn't pay attention to what i was typing. i forgot to mention a few things so i just resubmitted rather than constantly adding messages. thanks for understanding ;)

First. Can't tell you how helpful this forum post/thread has been today. I successfully recovered two files that had "illegal operand" due to a corrupted Font, despite every Adobe tech support person writing me off – writing my files "gone".
Second. For anyone interested my "offending operator" was:
%AI3_EndEncoding TrueType'
Specifically, the context:
[/_[-Andvari-]-Regular/[-Andvari-]-Regular 0 0 0 TZ
%AI3_EndEncoding True Type
The did exactly as explained here (below, by Levitikon).
24.Levitikon,
Community Member
Jul 4, 2011 9:31 AM in reply to (Ben_Grefsrud)
Report
However, my Library/ and Preferences/ were hidden...which made it frustrating because I had to find how to make them visible. Well, here's the link to explain how to do that : http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/22/access-user-library-folder-in-os-x-lion/
Cheers!

HELP! Illegal operand error - can't open file

I have a file that I've done about 40 hours on since last duplicating the file. It's been saved multiple times, and successfully. but after i last closed it, i've defragged my hard drive because it's been sluggish. Ive also deleted a couple of random temp files that I'm now thinking may have been in regards to the Ai file. Does anyone have any ideas on what i can do to open this file (preferable) or anything else?
Thanks!
Ben

D'oh! I completely forgot to add this important info:
This is the error message:
Cant open the illustration. The illustration contains an illegal operand.
Offending operator: ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( (((((((

The illustration contains an illegal operand

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