Adobe Illustrator The Operation Cannot Complete Because Of An Unknown Error Now | FREE • 2026 |

Certain PDF presets, especially “Smallest File Size” or custom settings with downsampling, can trigger this error.

| Step | Action | |------|--------| | 1 | – Use File > Save As and choose “Adobe Illustrator (ai)” | | 2 | Turn off PDF compatibility – In Illustrator Preferences > File Handling > uncheck “Create PDF Compatible File” | | 3 | Export as .eps – Then re-open the .eps and save as .ai | | 4 | Copy to a new document – Select all, copy, create new document, paste. Do not copy guides or hidden objects | Certain PDF presets, especially “Smallest File Size” or