How to Recover Unsaved Illustrator Files on Mac

This article will help you learn how to recover unsaved Illustrator files on your Mac with this updated guide. Don't panic when your work is accidentally lost - follow these steps to restore your progress.

Adobe Illustrator is a popular tool for designers and anyone with vector graphics. It's known for making detailed and scalable designs. But, like any software, it can have problems, and one of the most frustrating is losing an unsaved file.

This guide will show you how to recover unsaved Illustrator files on a Mac using several methods.

❓What Causes Unsaved Illustrator File Loss?

• Software Crashes: In most cases, Illustrator software might crash unexpectedly due to being overloaded or having a bug.
• System Crashes or Power Outages: Macs can crash or lose power suddenly, and this will lead to you losing an unsaved Illustrator file
• Accidental Closure: Sometimes, files are closed without saving due to human error. You might accidentally click "Don't Save" or forget to save before quitting.
• Insufficient Disk Space: Running out of space on your Mac can prevent Illustrator from properly saving files. Data loss may occur if Illustrator cannot autosave or manually save a file due to insufficient space.
• Corrupted Files: Files can become corrupted due to bad sectors on your hard drive, file system errors, or issues with external storage devices.

How to Recover Unsaved Illustrator Files on Mac [with Software]

Losing hours of work on an Illustrator project can be stressful. Fortunately, recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac can rescue your unsaved Illustrator files.

This tool is great for recovering files if Illustrator crashes or if you close the app without saving. It helps you retrieve files from your Mac.

Here's when EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can be helpful:

• Recovering files on Mac after shutdown or freeze.
• Retrieving unsaved Illustrator files after accidentally quitting the application.
• Restoring files deleted due to a mistaken move to Trash or an empty Trash folder.

The tool can recover many files, including documents, photos, videos, audio files, and emails. It offers quick and deep scan modes, with the deep scan finding even the hardest-to-recover files.

Step 1. Select the disk

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, hover the mouse over the device where you lost an unsaved file, and click "Search for lost files".

Step 2. Choose unsaved documents

After the scan, click "Type", and expand "Unsaved Documents". Click the exact file type - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Keynote, Pages, or Numbers you lost without saving.

Step 3. Preview and recover unsaved files

Double-click to preview your unsaved file, select the right version and click "Recover" to save the file to another secure location on Mac.

If you find this information helpful, please share it with others on social media to help them overcome this common challenge.

Recover Unsaved Illustrator Files on Mac with Terminal

The Mac Terminal is a powerful tool that lets you interact with your system more deeply. It might seem intimidating initially, but using Terminal commands can sometimes help you recover unsaved files on Mac.

Here's how to use Terminal to recover unsaved Illustrator files:

Step 1. Open Terminal by navigating to "Applications" > "Utilities" and selecting "Terminal."

Step 2. Type the following command open $TMPDIR to search for unsaved or temporary files:

This command will take you to the Temporary files folder, where Illustrator may store unsaved files.

Step 3. In the temporary folder, look for files with names similar to your Illustrator project or files with the "ai" extension.

Step 4. Once you locate the unsaved Illustrator file, move it to a safer location, such as your "Desktop."

Step 5. Please open the file with Illustrator and save it properly.

Using Terminal requires caution when interacting with core system files, but it can be incredibly effective when dealing with unsaved or hidden Illustrator files.

Recover Deleted Illustrator Files from Trash

If your Illustrator file was deleted by mistake, it's often still recoverable through the Trash bin. Here's how you can restore deleted files from Trash:

Step 1. Open the "Trash bin" from the Dock.

Step 2. Browse through the list of deleted items to find your Illustrator file. The search bar can narrow it down by file name or type.

Step 3. Once you've found the Illustrator file, right-click it and choose "Put Back." This will restore the file to its original location.

Step 4. Please open the file in Illustrator and save it immediately to avoid losing it again.

To Sum Up

Losing unsaved Illustrator files can be frustrating. There are ways to get them back. You can use software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac , try Terminal commands, or restore files from the Trash.

These methods will help depending on what happened, whether Illustrator crashed or you accidentally deleted a file.

How to Recover Unsaved Illustrator Files on Mac FAQs

In this section, you'll get to learn common queries on how to recover unsaved Illustrator on Mac

1. How do I recover my unsaved Illustrator file?

To recover unsaved Adobe Illustrator files, follow these steps:

• Auto-Recovery Files: Check if Illustrator has an auto-recovery file. Go to "Preferences" > "File Handling & Clipboard" and locate the "auto-recovery folder."
• Temporary Files: Search your system's temporary files for any unsaved versions.
• Backup Software: To restore previous versions, use backup software like Time Machine (Mac) or File History (Windows).
• Data Recovery Tools: If nothing works, try a reliable recovery tool such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, which can recover unsaved or lost Illustrator files

2. How to recover unsaved Illustrator files after it crash on Mac?

If Adobe Illustrator crashes on your Mac, you can recover unsaved files in a few ways:

• Autosave Feature: Illustrator automatically saves files at regular intervals. After a crash, reopen Illustrator, and it will offer to recover the unsaved files
• Temporary Files: Illustrator may store temporary files.

To find them,

Step 1. Go to "Finder" > "Go" > "Go to Folder,"

Step 2. Type /private/var/folders,

Step 3. Look for recent files in the Illustrator folder.

• Time Machine Backup: If you use Time Machine, you can restore a previous version of your Illustrator file. Open Time Machine, select your desired date, and restore the file.
• Third-Party Software: If these methods fail, you can use recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to recover unsaved or lost files.

3. Where are Adobe Illustrator temp files stored?

Adobe Illustrator temporary files on a Mac are typically stored in hidden system folders. To locate them:

Step 1. Open "Finder."

Step 2. Click on "Go" in the menu bar.

Step 3. Select "Go to Folder" from the dropdown menu.

Step 4. Type /private/var/folders and press "Enter."

Step 5. In the Folders directory, search for subfolders with random names. These subfolders contain cached data, including Illustrator's temporary files.

Step 6. Look for files with names or extensions related to Illustrator,

4. Where is AutoSave in Illustrator?

In Adobe Illustrator, the AutoSave feature is called Recovery Data, and it can be found and configured in the Preferences menu.

Here's how to locate it:

Step 1. Go to Illustrator on the top menu bar.

Step 2. Select "Preferences" > "File Handling & Clipboard."

Step 3. In the Data Recovery section, you can "Automatically Save Recovery Data Every [X] Minutes."

Step 4. You can set how often Illustrator automatically saves recovery data by adjusting the time interval.