"Adobe Illustrator Auto-Save, Backup, and Crash Recovery Feature"

If you're tired of facing Adobe Illustrator crashes or AI file loss errors, worry no more. Discover a comprehensive backup solution to activate Adobe Illustrator's AutoSave feature and back up your AI files, ensuring protection against crashes. Start safeguarding your Illustrator now.

How can I prevent Adobe Illustrator from crashing and avoid losing my AI files?

"Hey there, have you ever encountered a message saying that Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop has stopped functioning? Or have these programs unexpectedly crashed on you? I've experienced this issue multiple times with Adobe Illustrator CC 2016, resulting in the loss of quite a few AI files due to sudden crashes."

"I recently updated Illustrator to the 2017 CC version, and it's functioning excellently. If there's a method to automatically protect and save Adobe Illustrator files, it would be fantastic. Could you please inform me if you have a comprehensive solution to automatically protect and back up Adobe Illustrator files to prevent unforeseen program crashes or functionality errors?"

According to the Adobe website and Google search results, it is not an uncommon issue for Adobe users to lose vital PSD, AI, or AE files due to program crashes or malfunctions. Below, you can find a comprehensive backup solution to automatically save and back up Illustrator files, thereby preventing unforeseen Adobe Illustrator crash errors.

Step 1: Automatically save and protect Adobe Illustrator files from being lost

The most effective way to prevent unexpected Adobe file loss due to accidental deletion or program crash is to enable automatic saving or auto-backup of Adobe Illustrator files.

Here, you have two options to back up Illustrator files with the AutoSave feature in AI and using professional backup software for auto-backup. Follow either method to automatically save and back up your AI files: 1. Using Illustrator's AutoSave Feature: - Open Adobe Illustrator. - Go to "Edit" in the top menu bar, then select "Preferences" and choose "Auto-Recover." - In the Auto-Recover dialog box, set the time interval at which you want Illustrator to automatically save your work (e.g., every 10 or 15 minutes). - Make sure the "Save a Copy" option is enabled, and choose a location for the backup files. - Click "OK" to apply the settings. Illustrator will now automatically save a copy of your file at the specified intervals. 2. Using Professional Backup Software: - Choose a reliable backup software like Acronis True Image, tools Todo Backup, or Carbonite. - Install and launch the software on your computer. - Configure the backup settings by selecting the Illustrator files or the entire folder containing them as the source. - Choose a destination location for the backups, preferably an external drive or cloud storage. - Set a schedule for automatic backups (daily, weekly, or at specific intervals). - Enable the 'continuous' or 'real-time' backup option if available, so changes to your AI files are backed up instantly. - Start the backup process and let the software handle the rest. Your AI files will now be backed up automatically according to the schedule. Follow these steps to ensure that your Illustrator files are safely saved and backed up, protecting your work from potential data loss.

Method 1: Enable the AutoSave feature to back up AI files

1. Launch Adobe Illustrator > Click on Preferences;
2. Select File Handling & Clipboard;
3. Under the Data Recovery section, check the box for Automatically Save Recovery Data Every: and choose a time interval from the provided dropdown menu;
4. If needed, check Turn off Data Recovery for complex documents to ensure smooth workflow in Illustrator.

Method 2: Automatically back up Adobe Illustrator files using backup software

Todo Backup is a powerful backup software that enables you to automatically back up Adobe Illustrator files for free within a 30-day trial period. It only takes three simple steps.  Download it for free now and start automatically backing up your AI files:

Step 1. When you first use Todo Backup to back up files, click Create backup on the home screen, and then click the big question mark to select backup contents.

Step 2. Since you're going to back up files and folders on your computer, proceed with the "File" backup mode, where you can choose to back up pictures, videos, documents, and all other types of files.

Step 3. Follow the paths to locate the files, folders or directories you want to back up, select them all and click "OK".

Step 4. Now you need to select a backup location to save and retain the backup.

Step 5. Todo Backup enables users to save backup files to any device that is convenient for you, such as a local hard drive, external USB drive, SD card, network drive, or NAS drive, along with the brand's cloud drive. Personally, we recommend selecting the cloud drive over a physical drive to store crucial backups due to its better accessibility, flexibility, and security.

To access the Tools Cloud, all you need is an email registration and login.

Step 6. If you're interested in an automatic and intelligent backup schedule for the next file backup task, proceed with the "Options" setting. Here, you can encrypt a confidential file backup, compress the backup image size, or customize a backup scheme to instruct the software on when to initiate the next backup.

Customize an advanced and automated backup task here:

Step 7. Click "Backup Now" to initiate the file backup process. Your completed backup files will be displayed on the left side in a card view format.

Step 2: Prevent Adobe Illustrator Crash Error

To prevent anticipated Adobe Illustrator crash errors or functionality issues, here are some helpful tips to ensure the program runs smoothly: 1. **Keep Illustrator Up-to-Date**: Regularly check for and install updates from Adobe's official website. This ensures that you have the latest bug fixes and improvements. 2. **Update Operating System**: Make sure your operating system is also updated, as compatibility issues can sometimes cause crashes. 3. **Close Unnecessary Programs**: Close other running applications, especially those that consume significant system resources, to free up memory for Illustrator. 4. **Disable Plugins**: Some third-party plugins might conflict with Illustrator, causing it to crash. Temporarily disable them to see if they are the root cause. 5. **Run Illustrator in Safe Mode**: Start Illustrator in safe mode by holding down the Shift key while launching it. This will load the program without any custom settings or plugins, helping you identify problematic elements. 6. **Check Graphics Card Drivers**: Ensure your graphics card drivers are up-to-date, as outdated drivers can lead to crashes. 7. **Increase RAM Allocation**: Adjust Illustrator's preferences to allocate more RAM to the program, especially if you're working on large or complex files. 8. **Save Your Work Regularly**: Save your work frequently to minimize potential loss in case of a crash. 9. **Clean Up Your Computer**: Remove temporary files, clear cache, and free up disk space to optimize your system's performance. 10. **Reinstall Illustrator**: If all else fails, consider uninstalling and then reinstalling Illustrator to resolve any underlying installation issues. By following these steps, you can significantly reduce the chances of Adobe Illustrator crashing or experiencing performance issues.

1. Immediately update Adobe Illustrator and the Windows operating system

If you're utilizing the most recent version of Windows 10, but your Adobe Illustrator is significantly outdated, you might encounter performance issues or a less than seamless experience while using AI. When the Windows system is too old, it becomes incapable of updating and installing the necessary drivers to support updated programs like Adobe Illustrator. This can result in these programs being unresponsive or unable to function properly. Therefore, it's crucial to promptly update both your computer system and Adobe Illustrator, as newer Adobe software requires better system support to function optimally.

2. Stop using similar graphic editors or programs while running Adobe Illustrator

Avoid running similar graphic programs, editors, or software simultaneously while using Adobe Illustrator on your computer. Running parallel graphic programs alongside AI can lead to program crashes, failures, or freezing issues. Hence, when you are working with Adobe Illustrator, do not utilize any other image editing or graphic software concurrently.

Additional Tip: Recover lost AI files/Perform Adobe Illustrator crash recovery

If you encounter issues where Adobe Illustrator crashes or you lose your AI files, don't worry. You can still recover your lost AI files using the following tips:

Option 1: Automatically Recover AI Files from AutoSave

1. Navigate to the following path and open the Preferences file: C:/Users//AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator Settings/en_US*/x64/Adobe Illustrator Prefs; 2. Open the Preferences file using a text editor and locate: /aiFileFormat {/PDFCompatibility 1enableATEReadRecovery 0 /enableContentRecovery 0/enableATEWriteRecovery 0/clipboardPSLevel 3}; 3. Modify the value of `enableContentRecovery` from 0 to 1, and save the file; If you don't find the enableContentRecovery setting within /aiFileFormat, add /enableContentRecovery 1 to the section and save all modifications. 4. After making these changes, restart Adobe Illustrator on your computer. When prompted, you should see unsaved files with an option to save them. 5. Click OK to save the file to your PC.

Option 2. Recover lost AI files from backups

If you have created AI file backups using tools like Todo Backup, all you need to do is apply this software to perform AI file backup recovery with just a few simple clicks.

Option 3: Restore AI file without backups
Perform Illustrator crash recovery without backups

If you don't have any backups when Adobe Illustrator unexpectedly crashes, you can still attempt to recover lost or unsaved files using powerful Adobe file recovery software. Follow this article to learn how to perform Adobe Illustrator crash recovery.