Troubleshooting Problems Opening WMF Files
Issues Opening WMF Files
Adobe Illustrator CC Disappeared
If you attempt to load your WMF file, you experience a message such as "Can't Open WMF Files". Generally, this is experienced in %%os%% because Adobe Illustrator CC isn't installed on your PC. The OS won't know what to do with your WMF file, so double-clicking to load the file doesn't work.
Tip: If you know of another program that can open your WMF file, you can try opening it by selecting the application from the programs listed.
Obsolete Version of Adobe Illustrator CC
In some cases, you might have a newer (or older) version of a Windows Metafile file that is unsupported by your installed application version. Download the latest Adobe Illustrator CC version from the Adobe Systems Incorporated website to ensure you have the correct one installed. Most of the time your Windows Metafile file was created by a newer Adobe Illustrator CC than what you have installed.
Tip: You can sometimes get hints about the right program version by right-clicking on the WMF file, selecting "Properties", and looking at the version information.
Primarily, problems experienced when opening WMF files are due to having the incorrect version of Adobe Illustrator CC installed on your computer.
More Causes of Problems Opening WMFs
Even with the correct version of Adobe Illustrator CC installed, you can still experience difficulties opening WMFs. If you are continuing to have errors with loading WMF files, other external issues might be to blame. Other contributing causes:
- WMF file references in the Windows Registry are broken
- Corruption of the WMF file description inside the Registry
- Defective install of a WMF program, such as Adobe Illustrator CC
- Your WMF file is corrupted (issues with your Windows Metafile file itself)
- Malware-tainted WMF file can't be opened
- Device drivers for WMF-related hardware are out-of-date
- Too many applications are open on your PC to load your Windows Metafile file successfully
Quiz: How many characters long can a filename be?
That's Correct!
The sum of the individual components of a filename (eg. subdirectory / path and the final filename) are limited to 255 characters in total.
Close, but not quite...
The sum of the individual components of a filename (eg. subdirectory / path and the final filename) are limited to 255 characters in total.
Poll: Where do you mostly deal with computer files?