[Updated] Adobe Photoshop smart vector objects not opening in Illustrator after macOS 12.3 update (throws error -1703), fix in the works

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on March 17, 2022) follows:

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular image editing and raster graphics editor available right now. Although Photoshop also supports vector graphics in a limited capacity, the company’s dedicated vector graphics editor is Illustrator.

The current version of Photoshop and Illustrator use software-as-a-service model and are part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription.

That being said, Adobe Illustrator users are now reporting (1,2,3) an issue where they are unable to open Photoshop vector smart objects. Many say the issue surfaced after updating to macOS 12.3.

Some say they are also getting ‘The application “Adobe Illustrator 2022” can’t be opened. -1703’ error message when trying to open vector smart objects.

It looks like the issue is negatively affecting user productivity with users demanding that Adobe and Apple work together to fix the problem.

Here are some reports from people who are unable to open Photoshop vector smart objects in Illustrator.

Just today, I updated to macOS Monterey and now I am having problems opening vector smart objects in Photoshop files. If Illustrator is closed, when I double click the smart object (or choose edit contents) Illustrator will launch but the file will not open. If Illustrator is open and I try to open the smart object, I get a Mac error window that says “The application “Adobe Illustrator 2022″ can’t be opened” with a -1703 error code. I’m using Photoshop 23.2.1 and Illustrator 26.0.3, which I went back to after seeing the problem first occur in 26.1.
(Source)

I’m going to second this in hopes that it adds more attention. I’m getting this exact same error on both machines that I updated to MacOS 12.3 today. I’m up to date with the Photoshop 23.2.2 and Illustrator 26.1, but this also happened when I went back to the last available 2021 versions of Photoshop (22.5.6) and Illustrator (25.4.1). I realize this was something caused by the MacOS update, but i don’t know if this is Adobe’s or Apple’s problem to fix. It’s killing my ability to complete a project and update previous projects.
(Source)

Thankfully, Adobe Care has shed some light on the matter and said they are aware of the problem and are working on a fix. They also suggested that those affected should try reverting to an older version of Photoshop.

Hi, we’re sorry about the trouble. This is a known issue & our engineering team is working on a fix. Please check out: https://adobe.ly/3ibDpiu Meanwhile, you can roll back to the previous version of Photoshop using the steps suggested here: https://adobe.ly/2wH0JjE (1/2)
(Source)

As always, we will be keeping an eye out for more information and update this space as and when required so make sure you stay tuned to PiunikaWeb.

05:21 pm (IST): Here’s a workaround suggested by one of the affected users that may resolve this issue. So, those affected can try and see if it works.

01:37 pm (IST): An Adobe employee has confirmed that this issue has been fixed with the latest macOS 12.3.1 update.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apps Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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