Here are some additional troubleshooting steps you can take:
“You have to strip the metadata without opening the file normally. Use a script. You on Mac?”
By taking these steps, you should be able to resolve the "Operation cannot complete because of an unknown error" in Adobe Illustrator and get back to creating amazing artwork. Here are some additional troubleshooting steps you can
: This is the most common resolution for persistent PARM errors.
Close all Adobe applications. Go to C:\Windows\System32 and delete the FNTCACHE.DAT file. Restart your PC to allow Windows to rebuild a clean font cache. 5. Change or Optimize Scratch Disks : This is the most common resolution for
Users often find that saving the file as a PDF or EPS bypasses the PARM check. You can then reopen that file and save it back as an .ai file .
If the error suddenly appeared in a previously healthy setup, corrupted preference files are the likely culprit. Ctrl + Alt + Shift while launching Illustrator. Cmd + Option + Shift while launching Illustrator. Alternative : Manually rename your settings folder (found in AppData\Roaming\Adobe on Windows or ~/Library/Preferences on Mac) to to force Illustrator to generate fresh defaults. 2. File-Specific Workarounds Restart your PC to allow Windows to rebuild
Lack of administrative privileges to write files to specific local or network drives. Immediate Steps: How to Save Your Current Work
For those using scripts, pressing the TAB key to hide all panels before running the script often prevents the error by reducing UI thumbnail generation.
Use a dedicated font manager instead of installing thousands of unverified fonts directly into your system directories.