Lost Your Work? How to Recover Illustrator File After a Crash

Preface

Illustrator freezes, the dreaded pinwheel of death appears, or you simply click "Don't Save" in a moment of sheer autopilot fatigue. Your screen goes blank, and with it, hours of meticulous work seem to vanish into the digital ether. What should you do?

Thankfully, it's often a solvable problem. Whether you've accidentally closed Illustrator without saving or suffered a full program meltdown, your artwork is likely still hiding somewhere, waiting to be found. This guide is walking you through every possible method, from built-in saviors to powerful software, to rescue your precious designs.

Why does Adobe Illustrator Data Get Lost?

Why recover Illustrator files? Your Illustrator files can be lost due to the following main factors:

• A conflicted program.
• A faulty font.
• Your computer might run out of memory.
• An unexpected power outage.
• A system update.
• Software crashes and system freezes.

After getting the reasons, you might want to know the Adobe Illustrator autosave location and learn how to recover Illustrator files.

Locate the Adobe Illustrator Autosave Location

Fortunately, Illustrator provides the autosave feature, which works in the background, creating temporary recovery files at regular intervals to cushion the blow of such a catastrophic failure. This Adobe Illustrator autosave location is your first and best port of call after any mishap.

Find Your Illustrator Recovery Files on Windows

On a Windows PC, the autosave files are tucked away in a somewhat labyrinthine path.

1. You'll need to open File Explorer and navigate to:

C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [Version] Settings\en_US*\x86\Adobe Illustrator Prefs.

3. Inside this folder, look for files with the .AIT extension. These are your potential lifelines.

4. You can copy these files to your desktop and try to change the extension to .ai before opening them in Illustrator.

Access Adobe Illustrator Data Recovery Folder on Mac

For Mac users, the process is similar, but the path is different.

1. Open a Finder window, press Cmd+Shift+G, and type in:

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator [Version]/en_US*/Adobe Illustrator Prefs.

2. Again, replace [Version] with your specific version number.

3. In this folder, you'll be looking for the same kind of .AIT files.

4. The Library folder is hidden by default, so using the 'Go to Folder' command is the easiest way to access it without changing your system settings.

3 Ways to Recover Illustrator Files

Okay, let's get down to business. The process to recover an Illustrator file can be straightforward if the stars align.

Way 1. Using the Built-In Recovery Feature

The next time you open Illustrator after a crash, pay very close attention. Often, the program is smart enough to detect that it closed unexpectedly. It will automatically present a "Recovered Documents" dialog box upon launch, offering you the chance to open the auto-saved version.

This is the easiest possible Adobe Illustrator crash file recovery scenario. All you have to do is click "Yes" or "Open", and immediately save the file with a proper name to a location you'll remember. It’s a simple step, but in the panic of relaunching, many people click past it without reading.

Way 2. Restore from the Adobe Illustrator Data Recovery Folder

If the automatic recovery doesn't pop up, that's when you manually visit the Adobe Illustrator autosave location we discussed earlier.

1. Find the most recent .AIT file—you can sort the folder by "Date Modified" to see the latest one.

2. Copy this file to your desktop, rename it with an .ai extension, and then double-click to open it in Illustrator.

3. With any luck, you'll see your work, perhaps only missing the most recent few minutes of changes. Remember to use "Save As" to properly reinstate it as an Illustrator document.

If the above solutions do not work, you have to try the next solution to recover Illustrator files.

Way 3. Recover Illustrator Files with MyRecover

When Illustrator's own tools let you down, third-party data recovery software can be a lifesaver. This is the most powerful method to recover Illustrator files from the abyss. These programs, such as MyRecover performs a deep scan of your hard drive or SSD, searching for all files that match Illustrator files, including .ai and .ait files. Even if a file has been "deleted" from the recovery folder, its data often remains on the disk until it's overwritten by new information.

With MyRecover, you can enjoy the following benefits:

Deep & Thorough Scanning: MyRecover doesn't just perform a quick scan; it conducts a deep, sector-by-sector analysis of your drive. This is crucial for finding older .ai or .ait files that standard searches miss, especially if the Adobe Illustrator data recovery folder is empty.

Powerful File Preview: Before you commit to recovering hundreds of files, MyRecover allows you to preview the contents of found .ai files. This feature is invaluable for verifying the integrity and version of your artwork, ensuring you only restore the correct, uncorrupted files.

User-Friendly Interface: The platform is designed for simplicity. You don't need to be a tech expert.

Broad File System & Format Support: It works seamlessly across various file systems (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc.) and is specifically tuned to recognize a wide range of file signatures.

Recovery from Various Scenarios: Whether you accidentally closed Illustrator without saving, experienced a full program crash, or even formatted your drive, MyRecover's robust algorithm is built to locate and reconstruct files from numerous data loss situations.

Here is how to recover your Illustrator files with MyRecover:

1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer instead of the location where you’re recovering files from.

2. Launch MyRecover, tap Disk Data Recovery, choose the drive where the Illustrator files were stored, and hit Scan.

3. Once scanned, hit OK. Now you can preview these files to ensure they are intact and the right files.

4. Choose these files and hit Recover.

5. Select another safe location to save these recovered Illustrator files.

Tips:✎...

Once the scan is complete, you'll see a massive list of recoverable files. Use the filter function at the top. You can filter by "Type" and look for the "Graphic" category, or more precisely, use the search bar and type *.ai to find all Adobe Illustrator files. You can also search for .ait if you're looking for the autosave files specifically.

MyRecover can recover unlimited files if you have a large number of lost files.

For unlimited computer recovery, you can try MyRecover Technician and enjoy.

 

Prevent Illustrator Files from Losing

Prevention is your best option rather than recovery. Thus, try the following steps to prevent files from being lost:

Configure Your Autosave Preferences

1. Open Illustrator's preferences (Edit > Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard on Windows, or Illustrator > Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard on Mac).

2. Here, you'll find the "Automatically Save Recovey Data Every" options. Ensure the box is checked.

3. Then, set the interval to a value you're comfortable with—5 or 10 minutes is a good balance between performance and safety.

The more frequently it saves, the less work you'll lose in a crash, though very frequent saves might cause a slight hiccup on slower machines.

Manually Saving Files

Get into the habit of manually saving your file at the very beginning of your work session (Ctrl+S or Cmd+S). Make this your first instinct. Furthermore, use the "Save As" command (Shift+Ctrl+S or Shift+Cmd+S) to create incremental versions of your work. You can name them MyDesign_v1.ai, MyDesign_v2.ai, and so on. This way, if a file becomes corrupted, you only lose the work from your last version, not the entire project.

FAQs on Illustrator File Recovery

Can You Recover an Unsaved Illustrator File?

A: Yes, thanks to autosave. Even unsaved documents generate temporary AIT files. To recover an autosaved Illustrator file, go to the autosave folder on your Mac or PC, find a file with a generic number and an .ait extension, change its extension to .ai, and then open it. This makes enabling autosave essential for all work.

How to Handle a Corrupted AI File?

A: First, try opening it in a different Illustrator version or using File > Place to import it into a new document. You can also attempt to open it in Adobe Acrobat. If these methods fail, use data recovery software like MyRecover to locate an earlier, uncorrupted version from your drive.

Why is My Adobe Illustrator Data Recovery Folder Empty?

A: Typically, this means autosave is disabled in Preferences. Other causes include a severe crash that deleted the temp file, an autosave interval longer than your work session, or a system cleanup utility having removed the temporary files.

Does Illustrator Have a Backup File Like Photoshop's .psb?

A: No. Illustrator relies on a centralized autosave system that creates AIT files in a system folder, unlike Photoshop's local backups. This makes knowing the manual path to the autosave location critical for recovery.

What is the Best Data Recovery Software for Illustrator Files?

A: Effective options include MyRecover. Look for deep scanning, file previews, and type filtering. Always use official sources and try free scans before purchasing to confirm your files are recoverable.

I Saved Over My File by Mistake. Can I Get the Old Version Back?

A: If using Adobe Creative Cloud, check "Version History".For local files, Windows "Previous Versions" or Mac Time Machine, may help. Without backups, data recovery software is your best hope for finding the overwritten file.