Adobe illustrator question

[Doug Bernhardt]

I know this tech stuff is a little off the mandate but I know of no-where else that has so many talents in this field. I've been drawing type in this (illustrator) for a few weeks now and am having problems deleting and renaming files. It just won't let me. It also can be stubborn about saving changes to a file after working on the objects within. You know....control S and asks me to rename. My version is CS and is fully licensed etc. Also when everything is shut down....same problem. It's becoming a heartache now to stay organised with so many folders slightly renamed!!

[Mike Jackson]

Doug,
I don't think I have ever had that problem. Illustrator always asks if you want to save the file, then it will always default to the current version (CS, CS2, CS3, etc). You can save into earlier versions, but it wants to always go the highest version first. I don't think that is your problem though.

You might have some heavy disk fragmentation and your hard drive may be having trouble as a result. I'd run a DeFrag program. If you have a second drive on the system, check to see if you can save and delete easier on that drive. I'd also double check to make sure your virus definitions are up to date and do a scan on the entire system.

Those are just suggestions that pop into my head tonight. Good luck!
Mike Jackson

[Bob Gilliland]

Doug,

While doing some research into thumbnail support being dropped from Adobe, it was revealed that there was some intermittent issues as you have described. Adobe contends it’s a MS issue and MS has, and continues till today, to not address the issue (Part of the reason Adobe Bridge was created from my understanding). The problem is related to the “aiicon.dll “ file. If this file is “disabled”, the problem, for the most part, goes away. Downside of this action is losing thumbnail support within Explorer and Common Dialog boxes (where ever you can change “Views” to support thumbnails).

Easiest way to disable the file is to simply rename it. I would encourage you to go this route, simply rename it, that way if desired, at a later time, it could be renamed back to aiicon.dll. I would suggest renaming ALL instances of the file found and be sure to include all system and hidden files within the search. Reboot the system after renaming and go about your normal work flow.

If not already done, perhaps make sure your OS has all possible and applicable updates installed as well. While it is a known issue, it is intermittent making definitive troubleshooting very time consuming and frustrating (and requires “black box” type utility programs to assist in the process).

Another sure fire way to resolve the issue is to upgrade to CS2 or CS3; unsure if that is a viable option for you or not. CS3 has some nice improvements over CS2 and that much more over CS. Line/node creation and editing vastly improved, Live Color, eraser tool, and native integration with Kuler and Knowhow (Knowhow is very cool) are just a few.

Good luck!

Thanx,
Bob

[Doug Bernhardt]

Mike...we have the defrag set automatically for every couple of days and in fact do it after cleaning old stuff off as part of routine. Am not sure what it'll take to upgrade to CS3 or 2 but that is a serious consideration. Bob, renaming is also not possible and am liking your solutions. Rather than getting into the "black box" approach I think updating just might be the solution. I hate to get all the extra stuff as I'm really only using it for the most basic drawing applications.....also I'm not a "tech-head" and just the thought of getting into things at that depth brings me to convulsions. The other issue is I'll be getting a new machine in the next month or so to keep as an off-line only tool. I had hoped the solution was just an issue in preferences that had escaped me. I will keep you posted as the month progresses. Harrisburg? A sign I did for a local pub builder is in Harrisburg. It's called Ceoltas Irish Pub. I have never seen it installed although I know Jeff Lang sent a couple of small images my way a year or so back. Is the beer any good there? Many thanx for the time you spent thinking on this issue.

[Mike Jackson]

Doug,
You might also consider uninstalling your version of Illustrator from your machine and then re-install it. That's fairly painless and quick. A file might have become corrupted or overwritten by another program and this could get it back to normal again. My computers are normally on all the time. Some stay on for weeks at a time or even months, but if anything ever starts acting up, I turn it off and reboot. I doubt this is your problem, but that's usually the first thing I do. Some of my Photoshop files can get up into the 300 meg size and once PS grabs that memory, it doesn't give it back until the system is rebooted.

Good luck,
Mike Jackson

[Doug Bernhardt]

One thing I'll do is the un-install before settling into any other commitments. While going through my c-drive I found a portion of illustrator 10 (demo version) that had been un-installed several years ago!! It just showed up and am willing to bet is was corrupting this process. More on all this soon.

[Doug Bernhardt]

again to update what I found to this point. Both Bob and Mike were correct in different ways. Mike...saving to an earlier version was a huge part in what I was trying to do with the files. Apparently dumbing down to Illustrator 8 is what Corel needs. But as to the problem with saving files........ I dumped everything and re-loaded after discovering a wonderful program called C-Clean (thanx Barry, a tech friend of mine) which cleans out all the "residue" left behind after installing and deleting programs. I can't believe Microsoft has never addressed this problem. Anywho I found that after working on a project and naming it as "ornament1" or whatever it didn't like me to save too many changes. If however I left it as "untitled1" it accepted these changes. It started to become a huge problem if I had so many versions of "ornament1" and then "point one" and through all the iterations I was getting into with weeks long projects. Just a quick addition....the C-Clean freed up quite a few gigs(25 I think it was)of space and the 'pooter as a whole runs way faster and cleaner. I couldn't believe how much space was being used by un-installed programs and the installers for the same!!!!