How to fix missing Layers palette (old news, perhaps)

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rsr-goog
Apr 12, 2006
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adobe.photoshop.windows, alt.graphics.illustrator

How to fix missing Layers palette (old news, perhaps)

Teri Pettit wrote:
Did you try deleting your AIPrefs file?

Most likely it is opening, but opening off screen. This is especially common if you reduce your display resolution so that your screen is smaller (in pixels) than it used to be, but it can happen other ways. The desired location of each palette is recorded in the AIPrefs

The solution proposed above and in the FAQ has the nasty side effect of clearing all of your preferences. That sucks.

"How to correct Illustrator’s losing/hiding/otherwise vaporizing the layers tool / window / palette"

(1) This may or may not work for you
(2) This may or may not work for you
(3) I don’t care if it doesn’t

THE PROBLEM (apparently)

If we do a diff of a "working" AIPrefs file and a "broken" AIPrefs file we see
the following interesting tidbit:

/AdobeLayerPalette {
– /Visible 1
+ /Visible 0
/Size {
– /y 590
+ /y 283
/x 212
}
/Location {
– /y 552
– /x 1359
+ /y 445
+ /x 694
}
/DockGroup (AdobeLayerPalette)
– /DockCode 327937
+ /DockCode 0
}

(This diff is a little backwards — lines starting with a "-" are the lines from the "working" file and lines with a "+" are froom the broken file…)

——————-> HOW TO FIX IT <——————–

(1) EXIT ILLUSTRATOR

(2)

We need to change

/AdobeLayerPalette {
/Visible 0

to

/AdobeLayerPalette {
/Visible 1

Once you do this, start illustrator and choose "show layers." If that doesn’t
help, exit illustrator again and put lower values for the location of the window.

WHERE IS AIPrefs?

On you computer, if it is a Windows machine, is a file. For me, the directory of interest is:

C:\Documents and Settings\blah\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator
9.0.1\AIPrefs

"blah" here will be your username (windows logon) "Abode Illustrator 9.0.1" will be something else, depending on which version you initially installed. I recommend starting at …

C:\Documents and Settings\blah\Application Data\Adobe\

(copy that string, press "Windows-R" or Start/Run and paste that string

in and hit return)

…. and finding the appropriate Illustrator directory.

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

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