Import artwork files
You don’t have to create artwork from scratch in Adobe Illustrator—you can import both vector drawings and bitmap images from files created in other applications. Illustrator recognizes all common graphic file formats. Tight integration between Adobe products and support for a wide variety of file formats, makes it easy to move art from one application to another by importing, exporting, or copying and pasting.
About linked and embedded artwork
When you place a graphic, you will see a screen-resolution version of the file in the layout, so that you can view and position it, but the actual graphic file may be either linked or embedded.
• Linked artwork is connected to, but remains independent of, the document, resulting in a smaller document. You can modify linked artwork using transformation tools and effects; however, you cannot select and edit individual components in the artwork. You can use the linked graphic many times without significantly increasing the size of the document; you can also update all links at once. When you export or print, the original graphic is retrieved, creating the final output from the full resolution of the originals.
• Embedded artwork is copied into the document at full resolution, resulting in a larger document. You can update the document whenever you like; as long as the artwork is embedded, your document is self-sufficient.
To determine if artwork is linked or embedded, or change its status from one to the other, use the Links panel.
If the embedded artwork contains multiple components, you can edit them discretely. For example, if the artwork contains vector data, Illustrator converts it to paths, which you can then modify using Illustrator tools and commands.
Illustrator also preserves the object hierarchy (such as groups and layers) in artwork embedded from certain file formats.
Place (import) files
The Place command is the primary method of importing, because it provides the highest level of support for file formats, placement options, and color. After you place a file, use the Links panel to identify, select, monitor, and update it.
1 Open the Illustrator document into which you want to place the artwork.
2 Choose File > Place, and select the file you want to place.
3 Select Link to create a link to the file, or deselect Link to embed the artwork in the Illustrator document.
4 Click Place.
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5 If applicable, do one of the following:
• If you place a PDF file with multiple pages, you can choose which page you want to place and how to crop the artwork.
• If you embed an Adobe® Photoshop® file, you can choose how to convert layers. If the file contains layer comps, you can also choose which version of the image to import.
More Help topics
AdobePDF placement options Photoshopimport options Place multiple files
Embedded and linked artwork in the Links panel
Links panel overview
You use the Links panel to see and manage all linked or embedded artwork. The panel displays a small thumbnail of the artwork and uses icons to indicate artwork’s status.
A Transparency interaction B Missing artwork C Embedded artwork D Modified artwork E Linked artwork
File status options for the Links panel
A linked file can appear in the Links panel in any of the following ways:
Up-to-date An up-to-date file displays only the file’s name and (in Adobe® InDesign®) its page in the document.
Modified A modified file is one for which the version of the file on disk is more recent than the version in your document. This would occur, for example, when someone modifies a Photoshop graphic that you have already placed into Illustrator.
Missing A missing file is one for which the graphic is no longer in the location from which it was imported, although it may still exist somewhere. This can happen if someone moves the original file to a different folder or server after it’s been imported into a document. You can’t know whether a missing file is up to date until its original is located. If you print or export a document when this icon is displayed, the file may not print or export at full resolution.
Embedded Embedding the contents of a linked file suspends management operations for that link.
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• To select and view a linked graphic, select a link and then click the Go To Link button , or choose Go To Link in the Links panel menu. The display is centered around the selected graphic.
• To change the size of the thumbnails, select panel Options from the Links panel menu, and select an option for displaying thumbnails.
• To sort links in a different order, choose the desired Sort command in the panel menu.
• To hide thumbnails, select panel Options from the Links panel menu, and choose None.
• To view DCS Transparency information, select panel Options from the Links panel menu, and choose Show DCS Transparency Interactions.
View and save metadata via the Links panel
If a linked or embedded file contains metadata, you can view the metadata using the Links panel. You cannot edit or replace metadata associated with a linked file; however, you can save a copy of the metadata in a template and apply it to other files.
1 Select a file in the Links panel and choose Link File Info from the panel menu.
2 To save the metadata as a template, choose Save Metadata Template in the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box showing the metadata.
View file information about linked or embedded artwork
? Do any of the following:
• Double-click the link in the Links panel. Alternatively, select the link and select Link Information from the panel menu.
note: Don’t confuse “Link information” with “Link File Info” in the Links panel menu; “File Info” refers to metadata.
• Select the linked artwork in the illustration window. In the Control panel, click the file name and choose Link Information.
To locate linked or embedded artwork in the document window, select a link and click the Go To Link button.
Alternatively, select Go To Link from the panel menu.
Update modified links
• To update specific links, in the Links panel select one or more modified links , and then click the Update Link button or choose Update Link from the Links panel menu.
• To update specific links, select the linked artwork in the illustration window. In the Control panel, click the filename, and then choose Update Link.
Note: By default, Illustrator prompts you to update a link if the source file changes. To specify that you want to update links automatically or manually, choose Edit > Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences
> File Handling & Clipboard (Mac OS), and set the Update Links option.
Restore a single missing link or replace a link with a different source file
You can restore or replace a missing link—one that shows the missing-link icon in the Links panel—or any linked file with a different source file.
1 Select the linked artwork on the page, or select a link name in the Links panel.
2 Do one of the following:
• In the Links panel, click the Relink button , or choose Relink from the panel menu.
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• Click the linked filename in the Control panel, and then choose Relink. (To access this option, you must select the image in the artwork.)
3 In the dialog box that appears, do one of the following:
• Locate and select a replacement file.
• Type the first, or first few, letters of the name of the desired replacement file to locate the file.
4 Click Place.
Note: If all of a document’s missing links are located in the same folder, you can restore all of them at once. In the Links panel, select all of the missing links, and then restore one of them; the Place dialog box stays open for you to reselect each one.
Set placement options for linked artwork
1 Do one of the following:
• Select the linked artwork in the illustration window. In the Control panel, click the filename and choose Placement Options.
• In the Links panel, select the link and choose Placement Options from the panel menu.
2 Select an option for Preserve.
If you select an option other than Transforms or Bounds, you can select a point on the Alignment icon from which you want to align the artwork, relative to the bounding box. If you want to keep the artwork from overlapping the bounding box, select Clip To Bounding Box.
Embed a linked file
Rather than linking to a file that you’ve placed in a document, you can embed (or store) the file within the document.
When you embed a file, you break the link to the original. Without the link, the Links panel doesn’t alert you when the original has changed, and you cannot update the file automatically.
Keep in mind that embedding a file, rather than linking to the original, increases the document file size.
1 Select a file in the Links panel, and choose Embed Image from the panel menu.
2 Select the linked artwork in the illustration window. In the Control panel, click the Embed button.
The file remains in the Links panel marked with the embedded-link icon .
Unembed or relink an embedded file
1 Select one or more embedded files in the Links panel.
2 Click the Relink button or select Relink in the Links panel menu, locate and select the original file, and click Place.
Edit original artwork
The Edit Original command lets you open most graphics in the application in which you created them so that you can modify them as necessary. Once you save the original file, the document in which you linked it is updated with the new version.
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• Select the linked artwork on the page, and choose Edit > Edit Original.
• Select the linked artwork on the page, and click the Edit Original button in the Control panel.
2 After making changes in the original application, save the file.
More Help topics Importing bitmap images Importing Adobe PDF files
Importing EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files Importing artwork from Photoshop Saving artwork
Video tutorial - Design a postcard: Place images
Importing bitmap images
About bitmap images
Bitmap images—technically called raster images—use a rectangular grid of picture elements (pixels) to represent images. Each pixel is assigned a specific location and color value. When working with bitmap images, you edit pixels rather than objects or shapes. Bitmap images are the most common electronic medium for continuous-tone images, such as photographs or digital paintings, because they can more efficiently represent subtle gradations of shades and color.
Bitmap images are resolution-dependent—that is, they contain a fixed number of pixels. As a result, they can lose detail and appear jagged if they are scaled to high magnifications on-screen or if they are printed at a lower resolution than they were created for.
Bitmap images sometimes require large amounts of storage space, and often need to be compressed to keep file sizes down when used in certain Creative Suite components. For instance, you compress an image file in its original application before you import it into a layout.
Note: In Adobe Illustrator, you can create bitmap effects in your artwork using effects and graphic styles.
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Image resolution guidelines for final output
Bitmap images contain a fixed number of pixels, usually measured in pixels per inch (ppi). An image with a high resolution contains more, and therefore smaller, pixels than an image of the same printed dimensions with a low resolution. For example, a 1-inch-by-1-inch image with a resolution of 72 ppi contains a total of 5184 pixels (72 pixels wide x 72 pixels high = 5184). The same 1-inch-by-1-inch image with a resolution of 300 ppi would contain a total of 90,000 pixels.
For imported bitmap images, image resolution is determined by the source file. For bitmap effects, you can specify a custom resolution. To determine the image resolution to use, consider the medium of final distribution for the image.
The following guidelines can help you determine your requirements for image resolution:
Commercial printing Commercial printing requires 150 to 300 ppi (or more) images, depending on the press (dpi) and screen frequency (lpi) you’re using; always consult your prepress service provider before making production decisions.
Because commercial printing requires large, high-resolution images, which take more time to display while you’re working with them, you may want to use low-resolution versions for layout and then replace them with high-resolution versions at print time.
In Illustrator and InDesign, you can work with low resolution versions by using the Links panel. In InDesign you can choose either Typical or Fast Display from the View > Display Performance menu; in Illustrator you can choose View
> Outline. Alternatively, if your service provider supports Open Prepress Interface (OPI), they may provide low- resolution images to you.
Desktop printing Desktop printing usually requires images within the range of 72 ppi (for photographs printed on a 300 ppi printer) to 150 ppi (for photographs printed on devices up to 1000 ppi). For line art (1-bit images), make sure that the resolution of your graphics matches the resolution of the printer.
Web publishing Because online publishing generally requires images with pixel dimensions that fit the intended monitor, the images are usually less than 500 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall, to leave room for browser window controls or such layout elements as captions. Creating an original image at screen resolution—96 ppi for Windows–based images, and 72 ppi for Mac OS–based images—lets you see the image as it will likely appear when viewed from a typical web browser. When you’re publishing online, the only times you’re likely to need resolutions above those ranges are when you want viewers to be able to zoom in for more detail in a PDF document, or when you’re producing a document for printing on demand.
More Help topics About vector graphics
Import Adobe PDF files
Import an Adobe PDF file
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is a versatile file format that can represent both vector and bitmap data. You can bring artwork from PDF files into Illustrator using the Open command, the Place command, the Paste command, and the drag-and-drop feature.
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• Use the Open command or the Place command with the Link option deselected to edit the contents of a PDF file.
Illustrator recognizes the individual components in the PDF artwork and lets you edit each component as a discrete object.
• Use the Paste command or the drag-and-drop feature to import selected components from a PDF file, including vector objects, bitmap images, and text.
Note: If you are color-managing artwork in a document, embedded PDF images are part of the document and therefore color-managed when sent to a printing device. In contrast, linked PDF images are not color-managed, even if color management is turned on for the rest of the document.
More Help topics
About linked and embedded artwork
Adobe PDF placement options
When you place an Adobe PDF file, you specify which page you want to import. You also choose how to crop the artwork by selecting a Crop To option:
Bounding Box Places the PDF page’s bounding box, or the minimum area that encloses the objects on the page, including page marks.
Art Places the PDF only in the area defined by a rectangle that the author created as placeable artwork (for example, clip art).
Crop Places the PDF only in the area that is displayed or printed by Adobe Acrobat.
Trim Identifies the place where the final produced page will be physically cut in the production process, if trim marks are present.
Bleed Places only the area that represents where all page content should be clipped, if a bleed area is present. This information is useful if the page is being output in a production environment. Note that the printed page may include page marks that fall outside the bleed area.
Media Places the area that represents the physical paper size of the original PDF document (for example, the dimensions of an A4 sheet of paper), including page marks.
More Help topics Place (import) files
Import monotone, duotone, and tritone images from Adobe PDF files
When you import artwork from an Adobe PDF file, it’s possible to introduce data that you can’t create within Illustrator.
This is called non-native art and includes monotone, duotone, and tritone images. You can also generate non-native art within Illustrator by using the Flatten Transparency command to preserve spot colors.
Illustrator’s ability to preserve non-native art is useful in many situations. For example, Illustrator maintains the spot color information in linked PDF files when you output color separations.
By default, non-native art is labeled <Non-Native Art> in the Layers and Appearance panels. You can select, move, save, and perform basic transformations (such as scaling, rotating, or skewing) on non-native art. However, you cannot select and edit its individual components. In addition, you must rasterize non-native art before editing it with the liquify tools.
To convert non-native art to an Illustrator object, choose Object > Rasterize.
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More Help topics
Importing EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files Importing artwork from Photoshop Importing artwork files
Importing EPS, DCS, and AutoCADfiles
Importing EPS files
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) is a popular file format for transferring vector artwork between applications. You can bring artwork from EPS files into Illustrator using the Open command, the Place command, the Paste command, and the drag-and-drop feature.
Keep the following in mind when working with EPS artwork:
• When you open or embed an EPS file that was created in another application, Illustrator converts all objects to native Illustrator objects. However, if the file contains data that Illustrator doesn’t recognize, some loss of data may occur.
As a result, unless you need to edit the individual objects in an EPS file, it’s best to link to the file rather than open or embed it.
• EPS format does not support transparency; therefore, it is not a good choice for placing transparent artwork from other applications into Illustrator. Instead, use PDF 1.4 format for this purpose.
• You may receive an error message when printing or saving artwork that includes linked EPS files, if those files were saved in binary format (for example, in Photoshop's default EPS format). In this case, resave the EPS files in ASCII format, embed the linked files into the Illustrator artwork, print to a Binary print port instead of an ASCII print port, or save the artwork in AI or PDF format instead of EPS format.
• If you are color-managing artwork in a document, embedded EPS images are part of the document and therefore color-managed when sent to a printing device. In contrast, linked EPS images are not color-managed, even if color management is turned on for the rest of the document.
• If you import an EPS color that has the same name as a color in your document but a different definition, Illustrator displays an alert. Select Use Linked File’s Color to replace the color in your document with the EPS color in the linked file. All objects using this color in your document will get updated appropriately. Select Use Document’s Color to leave the swatch as is and resolve all color conflicts using the document’s color. The EPS preview cannot be changed, so the preview may be incorrect, but it will print to the correct plates. Selecting Apply to All will resolve all color conflicts, using the definition either of the document or the linked file, depending on which option you choose.
• Occasionally you may encounter a warning when opening an Illustrator document containing embedded EPS images. If the application cannot find the original EPS image, you will be prompted to extract the EPS image. Select the Extract option in the dialog box; the image will be extracted into the same directory as the current document.
Although the embedded file does not preview in the document, the file will now print correctly.