Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 2/20/2008

Question
Hi, I would appreciate you're help with a problem I seem to be having with Adobe Illustrator which is making me pull my hair out
Every time I try to save a file that has text files included Illustrator proceeds to crash on me, if I 'Create Outlines' on the text then this seems to solve the problem, however i'm then unable to modify the text which is not what I want. You're help would be very much appreciated
I'm using CS2 version 12.0.0

Thanks

Answer
Hi John,

We need to narrow the problem down and it is pretty easy.  

First try typing two words into a new Illustrator file using a default font, Myriad. Just click with the type tool and do not do anything fancy like area type or vertical type. Keep it simple. If it saves ok, you know it has something to do specifically with your document, and not Illustrator.

If the problem persists, then it may be a font management issue - usually too many fonts open at the same time. Go into your font management software and turn off all unneeded fonts (and by that I mean go bare bones) and try again.

If you are not using a font manager, such as suitcase or font explorer, you may want to invest in one. Fonts loaded in your system folder hog vital memory and can conflict without warning. Font Explorer X is free from linotype.com and is available for both Mac and PC.

If it worked and saved out ok, then try changing the font in your problem document to the same font. Try saving. If it saves out ok, you now know its the font you were using.

If it crashes, it could be the text you placed in Illustrator. So go back to Word or whatever you have, open it, and re-save it as plain text (a .txt file) and replace in Illustrator. Try again.  

If you have done all this and you still have issues, write me back and let me know what OS you are running. I have some system cleanups and resets you can try.

Thanks

Kevin