Good hearing from you REG GFX.
I do not know if it is a new feature. The company I work for has two sets of Creative Suite Web Premiums CS3. This is the 2nd time I hit the problem and it occured immediately after I installed some fonts in the windows font folder. Somehow, when Launching Photoshop or Illustrator, they both grab fonts from the font folder and I can see that in the launch. If something fails to work, it loads the non-functional information into one of the preference folders hidden in my Documents and Settings folder (Local Settings/Application Data / ADOBE). If I uninstall the application, it does not mean my preferences are uninstalled. Thats why I hit issues with the fonts even when I removed them and reinstalled the software with only Microsoft fonts.
I am curious if that is what happened to you but it would be easy to determine the issue by remembering the last thing you did to your system. Did you install something? Could it be fonts? If you don’t want to go the font direction, perhaps deleting ALL FOLDERS IN THE C:\Documents and Settings\YOURNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe would work. Delete everything and reboot your computer. This is what ADOBE told me could be done as an alternative.
I hope this helps you as I definitely documented this in case I hit it again.
Cheers,
edb
either you dialog is off screen (addressed in the faq) or you have a multimonitor utility that’s forcing that dialog off (like ati’s hydravision or nvidia’s nview).
The font issue is real. When Launching Photoshop or Illustrator you can see the application loads fonts in the application in order for the application to use them. The issues you implied are outside of what my original message stated, however, it was interesting reading yours. Previous versions of Illustrator and Photoshop never had the issues that the newer versions have. Using Save As or File Open … the dialogue box opens and immediately disppears. I encountered this issue when installing additional fonts. There are other people who have encountered the same issue but were trying to look for a solution. I offered it.
It is easy to remove the fonts. The application preferences are NOT. They will still remain someway damaged even if you uninstall the entire CS3 suite and reinstall it. The problem still remains a problem. The way to fix it is to follow the above instructions.
Hope this helps everyone.
Once again, Even when I deleted the fonts, I needed to delete the preferences in order to get the programs to work. If noone wants to see this message up, I’ll remove myself from it. I was only trying to illustrate this issue because it took me 2 days to fix even with adobe tech support. I just thought I could relieve some people of the 2 days of issues I had. I guess I was wrong in believing that.
not trying to rag on you ed, but it’s just confusing. we’re (i’m) not really sure what problem you had? the dialog box issue is known and in the faq. deleting preferences to cure oddness is known and in the faq. i don’t see how fonts relates to either.
maybe your problem was a font issue, but when most people come in here with a "dialog box is missing" issue, it’s because the dialog is off screen somewhere.
btw, finding and eliminating a bad font is also in the faq, you remove half your fonts. if the problem goes away, the problem font is in the removed half, if the problem’s still there, the bad font is in those that remain. then you keep halving the bad font set until you isolate the specific problem font. then you can put all others back. avoiding
this is why it’s best to add no more than a couple or dozen fonts at a time and test the app in between each addition. it’s much easier to go through the 12 you just added than to go through 5000 that are in your fonts folder when you add "5000 fun free fonts" pack or something! π
I wish I was a programmer for adobe because I would like to fix the dialogue box problem. I have done everything you said, remove ALL fonts to just Microsoft fonts. The disappearing dialogue box still in tact. Then I resized the browser window, thinking it was the graphics card. It was not. After 2 days of installing reinstalling the issue with Adobe and falling behind work schedules, I came up with the answer myself. I don’t imply Adobe to be non informative but there are better ways to work a problem than spend 2 days on it. The forums you suggested to me may have been in tact but Adobe never told me about it until I fixed the problem myself, 2 days later. I have not viewed this forum in its entirety. I do not have other issues other than the one noted. Either way, the problem I solved was without proper solution from adobe. Therefore, I made this forum in case the issue occured with someone else. Is it the only solution? Probably not, I am only implying a 10 minute fix and not a 2 day fix. I’d be curious if this does not work with others.
How did I figure out the dialogue box was a font issue? Easy, I copied some fonts to the C:\Windows\Fonts folder and viola, I launch Illustrator and the problem occured. Prior to loading the fonts, I had no issues with CS3.
Hope this helps.
he forums you suggested to me may have been in tact but Adobe never told me about it until I fixed the problem myself, 2 days later.
those are this forum. the faq is here. the solution to your problem was resetting the prefs (your step 2)! π
How did I figure out the dialogue box was a font issue? Easy, I copied some fonts to the C:\Windows\Fonts folder and viola, I launch Illustrator and the problem occured.
to prove it, now you should be able to recreated it. then fix it again. ( not saying you should try after going htrough all you did to get working again)
Prior to loading the fonts, I had no issues with CS3.
you’re just seeing cause and effect. that’s not proof. when you load fonts then start an adobe app, did you know it updates a file (or files depending how many adobe apps you have) called adobefnt##.lst? that’s a preference file. it lists the fonts available to your app. there are many things that go on behind the scenes that you don’t know about unless you research them (as you’ve started to do).
again i’m not coming down on you, i just want to make clear to whomever is reading this thread looking for what to do when a dialog box goes missing. 1) read the faq for dialog box is missing, 2 (if 1 doesn’t work) reset the preferences.
. Therefore, I made this forum in case the issue occured with someone else. Is it the only solution? Probably not, I am only implying a 10 minute fix and not a 2 day fix. I’d be curious if this does not work with others.
both the dialog box and resetting the prefs would take under a minute each. time is money! π
more ideas out there can’t hurt, and i personally, thank you for posting. as a regular here, i’ll try to remember this thread if a user comes by with a dialog box missing problem that isn’t solved by either #1 or #2.
cheers,
dave
Thanks so much for your input Dave. Yes, the issue was the 2nd time I had it. I had it 4 months ago but did not keep documents of it then. The solution I had from another forum was lengthy and I did not have it handy 2 months ago when it resurrected.
I totally agree with your information and am on the same page with you now. The next time any issues occur with CS3, this forum is definitely the first place to go and it is very user-friendly.
I do appreciate your input.
Thanks again π
Ed Bangle
Yes, the issue was the 2nd time I had it.
next time it happens (if) try just the reset prefs solution and see if that helps.
you should also grab a good copy of your preferences now while everything’s running fine, then when you delete your old preferences, you can just drop in a known good copy with everything set up the way you like.
I do appreciate your input.
no problem. i appreciate yours too!
dave
When Launching Photoshop or Illustrator you can see the application loads fonts in the application in order for the application to use them.
The way I understand it, in CS3 a change was made to the way the program loads. To speed things up fonts aren’t involved at all until you use the text tool.
Bob
I’m having this exact problem in photoshop AND illustrator AND indesign. It works if I delete the preferences from c:\docs&set\etc.etc… but only for a day or two… then it reappears without warning. As an old programmer, I get why the monitor resolution might cause this problem for someone else, but I’ve had this computer for 6 months and I have never once changed the resolution. I have also never once installed a font that didn’t come with the standard CS3 install.
The problem seems to be that all the dialog boxes appear, then disappear in a split second, then the program appears locked. When I go windows task manager, it shows that photoshop or illustrator are running normally, but the only way to get functionality back is to end task.
Deleting the preferences twice a week doesn’t seem like the proper permanent solution.
I clearly understand you problem. I have encountered it with CS3 about 5 or 6 times since I originally bought the software. Then it took me days to solve and then I simply just close all my adobe apps, delete the preferences and just launch the programs again. Amazingly, default preferences are automatically made.
I just wished Adobe would create a patch to rectify this problem rather than have all of us busy people delete preferences whenever an application gliche occurs. I usually get it when Illustrator and Photoshop are open and I am bouncing from one app to the other. Somehow, it confuses my computer and damages the preference folder.
Hang in there. Somewhere in the future Adobe will get up to speed on this.
I was having the same problem and i found this simple solution that worked for me…
Go File Open – (your dialog box diappears) Then hit escape (i had to hit it 2 or 3 times) and vioala – the dialog box appreared and hasn’t disappeared again since.
Hope that works for some of you…
I have almost the same problem. Illustartoe starts up normally, when I go file, open, the program stops responding. No open dialog box apears at all, and the program needs to be closed and opened again.
I can only work with drag and drop files in order to open them. Is there a solution for this
Try this.
Delete all the files and folders located at
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Logon Name\Application Data\Adobe
Then relaunch Illustrator.
This should do the job.
I read this forum then, with the desire to try some of the tips, went back to my minimized PSCS3 (had to use task manager to SWITCH to the app) and there the dialog was: OPEN like it should have been. Wow is all I can say.
