Expert: Amy - 3/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Amy,

"This file contains text that was created in an previous version of illustrator, the legacy must be updated before you can edit it"...

why is this happening when I created it with sc2?

thanks

PS I asked this question to Kevin as well, I hope this is ok to ask both of you?

ANSWER: Hi Helen,

In my experience, that message is not always due to a true previous version situation... it's a blanket font update warning.

That message will appear in a few situations, including if the file was created on a machine with a different set of fonts.... or possibly if a font on your machine has changed or has become corrupt.

For example, I have the same font set at work and at home, except that at home, my fonts were purchased individually and at work, fonts were purchased in a package deal, so the fonts are indeed different. I get that message often when I would really expect to get the simple "missing font" message. But unlike a situation where the file truly has been created in an earlier version, when I choose UPDATE, my layouts are not negatively affected. If you update an old file, your text will be chopped up or re-flowed.

But, as a rule, whenever you encounter strange problems, it's a good idea to toss your preferences file and/or update your adobe font cache files:

Toss prefs
1. Quit Illustrator.
2. Open:
Users/[you]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Illustrator CS2 Settings.
or
C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS2 Settings
3. Drag Adobe Illustrator Prefs (AIprefs) to the Trash.
4. Start Illustrator.

There are several opinions on how to delete your prefs. Some people say you should move the entire CS Settings folder to the desktop. Restart AI, then if nothing improves and you have workspaces or plug-ins you need to save in that folder, you can quit AI again and move the settings folder back to its original location, overwriting the new one that will have been created. I have never personally had to delete the entire folder. Deleting the AIprefs file usually does the trick.

Update font cache
1 - Quit all Adobe apps
2 - Locate all files matching the pattern adobefnt*.lst where * is a number and delete them. Make sure to only delete files with the LST extension.
3 - Restart your Adobe app and the font cache files will be re-created as needed.

Hope this helps you!
Amy


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Amy,

For some reason I could not find the pref's, I tried both ways?

And I did a search for the adobefnt*.lst, but nothing came up with a *

Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks
Helen

Answer
Hi Helen,

The * is a wildcard to use in the search... the files you will find will look like:

adobefnt02.lst
adobefnt07.lst
etc.

Search your PC for AIprefs using the Start > Search > Files and Folders

Make sure you have turned on search option settings to show hidden files and folders. This is found under "More Advanced Options" in the search dialog.

Often on a PC, folders are hidden.

Hope this helps
Amy