TechNote (Archived)

Temporary files appear when you save AI or PDF files (Illustrator CS, CS2 on Mac OS X v10.4)

Issue

When you save AI or PDF files from Adobe Illustrator on Mac OS X v10.4, temporary files are created in the same directory as the saved file.

Solutions

Do one of the following solutions:

Solution 1: Update to Mac OS X 10.4.2.

For information on the Mac OS update, visit the Apple website at www.apple.com/macosx/ .

Solution 2: Save the file using the Save As command.

1. Choose File > Save As.

2. Click Save.

3. Click Replace when asked if you want to replace the original file with the one you are saving.

Solution 3: Save the Illustrator (AI) file without PDF compatibility.

1. Choose File > Save for new files that have not been saved, or choose File > Save As for saved files.

2. Click Save.

3. Click Replace if it is a saved file. Go to Step 4 if it is a new file.

4. In the Illustrator Options dialog box, deselect Create PDF Compatible File.

5. Click OK.

Note: Once you deselect the PDF compatibility when saving an AI file, you can use the Save command without temporary files appearing.

Solution 4: Add the destination folder for the saved file to the Privacy tab in the Spotlight preferences.

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple Menu.

2. Click Spotlight in the Personal area.

3. Click Privacy.

4. Click Add.

5. Select the destination folder for the saved file or files and click Choose.

6. Click the red button in the upper left to close the Spotlight preferences.

Background information

When you resave an edited PDF file or AI file with PDF compatibility, Illustrator first writes a temporary file in the same folder as the original before saving changes to the original file. When the temporary file closes, Spotlight indexes the new file. Large files may require more time to index than smaller files.

Once Illustrator saves changes to the original file, it deletes the temporary file. However, if the temporary file is still being indexed by Spotlight, Illustrator can't delete the file as it appears to be open.