Illustrator 27.1.1 crashes on startup with AIHostAdapter installed

[BrianWCSI]

Our extension uses the AIHostAdapter plug-in to listen for application events.

We have successfully been using the plug-in version provided here for Illustrator 2023 on Windows (https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/CEP-Resources/tree/master/CEP_11.x/AIHostAdapter/Win).

However, after updating to AI 27.1.1, Illustrator crashes on startup, complaining about the AIHostAdapter.aip plugin. Removing the plug-in file from the Illustrator Plugins/Extensions folder allows Illustrator to start up successfully.

Downgrading Illustrator to 27.0.1 allows Illustrator 2023 to start WITH the AIHostAdapter plugin.

We have reproduced this on multiple Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines. We haven't had a chance to try on macOS yet.

Are there any known issues with plug-in compatibility introduced with the 27.1.1 release of Illustrator? Is it possible to get an updated version of the AIHostAdapter plug-in that will work with AI 27.1.1? Or any suggestions for workarounds/solutions? Thanks!

[ErinFinnegan]

Oh geez, sorry about the trouble...

When I updated these builds previously we discovered that this tool doesn't seem to have an owner on the engineering team. 🤔

I'll ask for another build. What would really help me out is if you could describe your use case, so I can relay it to the engineers to help them understand how people use this plug-in.

[BrianWCSI]

Thanks for the response. I do remember that the last time something like this came up that there were some difficulties finding anyone with familiarity with it on the engineering side (or even where the code was in one case).

At a high level, our use case for the host adapter plug-in is to enable our extension to listen for, and respond to, application events that are not accessible using the CSInterface event listener. Some events used by our Extension are ones triggered by changes to the Artboard or Layers list - insertion or removal of an Artboard or Layer, re-ordering or renaming of one, or toggling the visibility of a Layer, for example.

Some of our extension's features rely on data that references the indexes and names of certain Artboards and Layers in a given AI file, and the extension can use these event notifications to automatically update application state/data in response to, say, a Layer being renamed or a new Artboard being added.

We also use a few of the "native" events related to the Document 'save' cycle - before save, after save completes (including the new-ish 'background' save), whether a "Save As" was performed, etc.,

Hopefully that helps. Please let me know if any more specific info or examples would be useful.

Also, is there any estimated timeline for when a new host adapter build may be available? I understand it may still be too "early" to know, but if/when an estimate is available we would very much appreciate it.

Thanks!

[ErinFinnegan]

Hi Brian!

Good news; I've got a new build for Windows from the support team this morning, but it needs testing before I can add it to the repo.

Can you DM me in this Slack group? I think that might be the best way to get in touch: https://join.slack.com/t/adobedevs/shared_invite/zt-19h1o8jog-gUW79Ze8oW0rjtlXThFA9A

[ErinFinnegan]

Anyone running across this thread looking for a new AiHostAdapter, please follow these steps to collect logs while reproducing the crash in Illustrator:

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/illustrator/kb/crash-next-steps.html

But share the Illustrator.nfo file with me (finnegan (at) adobe.com) rather than the email address mentioned in the article.

Please follow these instructions: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/kb/troubleshoot-common-addon-installation-issues.html#still-facing-issues

Again, CC me, (finnegan (at) adobe.com) when you email the log files. If the files are very large or getting blocked by spam filters, message me on the Slack instance I mentioned above.

[utkarshmay]

Now, more customers are facing this issue because most of the users have upgraded to the new version of Illustrator.

Do you have any ETA for resolving this issue or any latest build of AIHostAdaptor for Windows 11 that will resolve it?

[Dharma-Uba]

Is there any updates on the above issue?

Now, more customers are facing this issue because most of the users have upgraded to the new version of Illustrator.
Do you have any ETA for resolving this issue or any latest build of AIHostAdaptor for Windows 11 that will resolve it?

[ErinFinnegan]

The last message I had about this was that by installing the AiHostAdpater here: https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/CEP-Resources/blob/master/CEP_11.x/AIHostAdapter/Win/AIHostAdapter.aip the issue was resolved in Illustartor 27.2 (but not 27.1)...