Can't save from AI 10.0.3 (ID=-108)

[dskover]

I'm trying to save a 85 meg illustration in AI 10.0.3 as an 8 bit tiff file so my client can use it with his PC. I keep getting an error: ID=-108 each time. I've tried deleting stray points, but nothing seems to work. I have a small area within the illustration that has transparency in it. I am using Jaguar (10.2). I have a
1 Gig DP G4 with a Gig and a half of memory.

[Douglas Habben]

-108 is a memory full error. You must decrease the resolution of the TIFF file you are trying to create or increase Illustrator's memory allocation or maybe both.

[dskover]

That sounds like it would do the trick, except I don't think you can allocate memory to an application in System 10.2 (Jaguar). Is there a way to do it? Also, what I am doing is saving the file as an EPS with Illustrator 10 compatibility and a preview as an 8 bit color tiff. How do I controll the resolution of that tiff? Thanks.

[Douglas Habben]

Oops, missed the OS X part. Sorry. Application memory should take care of itself dynamically. So, you are saving as an EPS with TIFF preview, not saving the document itself as a TIFF, yes? One of two things is probably happening here. Either the dimensions of your document are very large causing the TIFF preview to be large, or the transparent area you speak of interacts with a lot of other objects causing it to become very complicated when flattened. (transparency must be flattened in an eps)
I would try two things. Select all and scale 25%. If you can save successfully after that, it is a large preview issue. Your client could then scale the EPS 400% and use it.
If that doesn't work, try removing the transparent objects and save as... If that allows you to save, then you will need to find some way to reduce the impact of the transparent object(s) on the art below.

[Jon L]

Is this file being saved to the local HD of the machine that is running Illustrator?

Most of the problems I've seen with people saving EPS files out of Illustrator 10 involve problems associated with going over a network, or to some kind of removable/external drive.
If not saving locally, try it there and see if it works better that way... This may reveal some kind of network problem.

If saving locally, this can also be caused by damaged permissions in OS X. You can try running the permissions repair utility (located in the Applications>Utility folder there is a "disk Utility", with a permissions repair option on the "First Aid" tab.)
This utility isn't always 100% successful though, so it might be a good idea to try logging in as a new user on the system, (Make sure the new account has admin rights).

Jon

[dskover]

Thanks, some very good tips here. The illustration itself is 25" X 20" so size may be a problem. I will try what you suggest. I am saving to my internal hard drive, but will try repairing permissions. I'm wondering now if I really need to save the file as an EPS document with an 8 bit color tiff preview. Could my client just as easily open the file if he has Adobe Illustrator 10 on the PC side, and I saved the file as just an Illustrator document and not EPS? One more qustion, if I may. I've been driven crazy by a dotted bounding box that appears everytime I move an element in the illustration. This is the only version of Illustrator that it appears in. I can't seem to fine anything in preference to turn it off. Thanks Jon for your help.

Dick

[Jon L]

You might also try copying the files to desktop in OS X, sometimes the folder a file is in can have bad permissions the same way a user ID can.

As to your cross-platform question... If your other user has AI 10, it shouldn't matter whether or not they are on Mac or PC... As long as you give them a file that a PC can read, the .AI format is the same on both platforms... So the PC should be able to open it.

I've never seen a "dotted" bounding box before... But you can turn off the regular bounding box in the "view" menu. "Hide bounding box".

[dskover]

Thanks Jon, reducing the size of the illustration worked! Appreciate the timely help.

Dick