How to Recover Unsaved Adobe Illustrator Files | Top 5 Proven Methods

"How to recover unsaved Adobe Illustrator files?"

If you're struggling with how to recover unsaved Adobe illustrator files, don't miss this article. We'll walk you through some of the common causes of unsaved illustrator files and how to recover unsaved illustrator files (such as CS5, CS6, etc.). Includes ways to retrieve lost illustrator files fr om your computer system through illustrator's Autosave feature and Geek Data Recovery software.

PART 1 Introduction to Illustrator

Illustrator, also known as Adobe Illustrator, is a vector-based graphics software developed by Adobe Systems.

1. File Types Created by Illustrator

With its "Save As" feature, Adobe Illustrator is able to create the following file formats:

- Adobe Illustrator Files (.ai)

Adobe Illustrator's native file format is.AI, which fully supports all the features that Illustrator has to offer.

- Encapsulated Postscr ipt file (.eps)

An.eps file, a encapsulated Postscr ipt file, is commonly used to embed graphic elements into a page. These files can represent a single image on a page or the entire page content.

- PDF file (.pdf)

PDF (Portable Document Format) is an extremely common file format in recent years and is also the default format for Adobe Acrobat Reader. The PDF file format supports a variety of features, including but not limited to comments, search options, and hyperlinks.

- Scalable vector graphics file (.svg)

.svg file, you can scale vector graphics files, often used on the World Wide Web (WWW). Illustrator allows users to save in the.SVG format, allowing them to store parts or entire fonts. In addition, Illustrator provides the option to save as a compressed SVG file (.svgz).

2. Common Reasons Why Illustrator Files Are Not Saved

In general, when the editor crashes, users may suffer fr om illustrator files that are not saved. There are many reasons for editor crash, which may involve hardware configuration, software compatibility, system environment and many other aspects.

- Insufficient hardware configuration: Illustrator has certain requirements for computer hardware, especially memory, CPU, and graphics cards. If the hardware configuration is too low to meet Illustrator's operational needs, the software may crash.

- Software version incompatibility: The installed version of Illustrator may be incompatible with the operating system or other installed software, causing a crash.

- System file corruption: Some critical files in the operating system are corrupt or missing, which can cause Illustrator to not function properly.

- Virus or malware infection: There is a virus or malware on your computer that may interfere with Illustrator's normal operation.

- Backup process interruption: Illustrator crashes during data backup while working on large files.

PART 2 Five Strategies for Recovering Unsaved or del eted Illustrator Files

Strategy 1 Retrieve Illustrator Files fr om Computer's Recycle Bin

The preferred way to recover del eted Illustrator files is to check the recycle bin (otherwise known as the wastebasket) in your Mac system. This is because del eted files, including Illustrator files, are usually stored here temporarily until they are permanently erased.

Strategy 2 Restart Adobe Illustrator and Aave Recovered Files

After an Adobe Illustrator application crashes, you can try a reboot to recover unsaved files. The specific steps are as follows:

Step 1 Restart Adobe Illustrator. A dialog box will pop up, prompting you to restore unsaved files. Click "OK" to continue. At this point, the suffix specific file will be displayed in the Illustrator interface.

Step 2 Choose File > Save Copy, rename the file, and save the file.

In addition to the above steps, after restarting Illustrator, you can also fix the crash through the "Diagnostics" feature. After clicking "Run Diagnostics," the application will launch in safe mode and automatically diagnose the cause of the crash. Then follow the prompts to restart Illustrator and save the recovered files.

Strategy 3 Restore Illustrator Files fr om Backup Folder

Adobe has built-in file backup features to keep users' data safe. To restore an unsaved or lost Illustrator file fr om a backup, follow these steps:

Step 1 Navigate to the storage location of the backup file. Backup files are usually stored in the following path: "C:\Users[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [specific version] Settings\en_US\AIPrefs".

Step 2 Find the folder named Recovery, sel ect the Illustrator file that you want to recover, and rename it.

Step 3 Double-click the file and it will open automatically in Illustrator. Then click "File" > "Save as", rename the file, and complete the save operation.

Please note that the above policies are for reference only and may vary depending on the Illustrator version and system environment. Before performing any restore operations, it is important to ensure that the current data is backed up to prevent data loss or corruption.

Strategy 4 Use Geekersoft Data Recovery to Retrieve Lost Illustrator Files

If your Illustrator files (such as PDF files) are lost due to accidental deletion or computer failure, and you do not have a backup, you can restore Illustrator files with the help of Geekersoft Data Recovery software. In order to successfully recover lost Illustrator files, a powerful recovery software can make you do more with less. After repeated trial and comprehensive comparison, we recommend a free data recovery program for you - geek data recovery. As the industry's leading photo recovery software, it recovers lost or del eted Illustrator files fr om hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, digital cameras, cell phones, pen drives, and a variety of other storage media for any reason. In addition, if you want to recover other types of data, such as contacts, emails, video, audio and your personal social platform related data, Geekersoft Data Recovery is also a one-stop solution.

Geekersoft Data Recovery software has a user-friendly, easy-to-use interface that allows you to recover del eted or lost Illustrator files fr om your computer's hard drive in just 3 steps.

Step 1 After the Geekersoft Data Recovery software is installed and started, sel ect the location where the del eted Illustrator files are stored as the scan target.

Step 2 software scans and retrieves PDF and SVG files instantly, taking just a few minutes to complete.

Step 3 After scanning is complete, sel ect the PDF file to be recovered fr om the listed PDF and SVG files. After clicking Preview and identifying the files you want to recover, click the Restore button so that the sel ected Illustrator file will be successfully saved to your computer.

Strategy 5 Retrieve Lost Illustrator Files fr omRecent Files list

In addition, there is another way to help you try to retrieve Illustrator files, and that is to take advantage of the Recently Used Files feature. Simply go to File -> Open Recent Files to quickly locate and retrieve lost files.

Also, if you want to restore your current Illustrator file to its previous state, try using the Restore feature. The specific operation is to click File > Restore.

Bonus: How to Enable Illustrator Autosave to Prevent Data Loss

When Illustrator crashes, its data recovery options may automatically fail. To ensure that unsaved Illustrator files can be recovered, you can set data recovery in the Preferences panel. To do this, go to Preferences > File Processing and Clipboard > Data Recovery > Auto Save Recovery Interval. sel ect the appropriate save interval fr om the drop-down list to back up the files, and then click sel ect to specify where to save the recovered files.

Finally, click OK to complete the setting.

Summary

That's our introduction to Illustrator and some solutions for quickly recovering lost Illustrator files. Among them, Geekersoft Data Recovery software can help you recover lost or unsaved Illustrator files without a backup. At the same time, enabling Autosave in Illustrator is also a key measure to reduce the risk of data loss and ensure productivity.