 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / October 2004Access to Illustrator...?
G5, 10.3.5 and an elderly copy of Photoshop 5.02, which has done all that I needed for years. Unfortunately, I now need to edit an Illustrator file, and my Photoshop tells me it can't parse the file... Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond changing a few lines of text! Advice much appreciated. - duncan >Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either >Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond >changing a few lines of text! If you want to change text, for God's sake, don't use Photoshop! Photoshop will rasterize the Illustrator file--break it up into pixels--and as a result, it will no longer print smoothly at any size. You can get Illustrator, or ask whoever gave it to you to save it in another format, such as PDF.  SignatureArt, literature, shareware, polyamory, kink, and more: http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html > >Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either > >Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > You can get Illustrator, or ask whoever gave it to you to save it in another > format, such as PDF. Will Expression open Illustrator files? (I'll test it later today and report back.) > > >Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either > > >Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Will Expression open Illustrator files? > (I'll test it later today and report back.) The resident expert in the Microsoft Expression forum says "sometimes", depending on what is in the Illustrator file itself. I tested on a .ai and the file opened but no content was displayed. > >Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either > >Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > You can get Illustrator, or ask whoever gave it to you to save it in another > format, such as PDF. Wade, this is incorrect. Photoshop maintains text on text layers unless you explicitly rasterize it. You can also create shapes that aren't rasterized. While Photoshop doesn't have nearly the highend diversity of Illustrator when it comes to vector graphics, it does have a great deal of vector graphic support -- you just have to have the vector graphcis and raster graphics on separate layers. SignatureSpenser >Wade, this is incorrect. Photoshop maintains text on text layers unless >you explicitly rasterize it. NOT IF THE TEXT IS IN AN ILLUSTRATOR FILE. Open an Illustrator file in Photoshop and *every part* of the Illustrator file, including text, is rasterized! (Try it.) >You can also create shapes that aren't >rasterized. Not from an Illustrator file. >While Photoshop doesn't have nearly the highend diversity >of Illustrator when it comes to vector graphics, it does have a great >deal of vector graphic support -- you just have to have the vector >graphcis and raster graphics on separate layers. Which you can't do if your original file was created in Illustrator and then brought into Photoshop--precisely what the original poster was talking about doing. SignatureArt, literature, shareware, polyamory, kink, and more: http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html > G5, 10.3.5 and an elderly copy of Photoshop 5.02, which has done all that I > needed for years. Unfortunately, I now need to edit an Illustrator file, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Advice much appreciated. Oops. Forgot the URL. This is the vector art creator Expression that used to be with Creature House until MS swallowed them up. The Mac version is free. At least for now. <http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/default.asp?pg=dl> > G5, 10.3.5 and an elderly copy of Photoshop 5.02, which has done all that I > needed for years. Unfortunately, I now need to edit an Illustrator file, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond > changing a few lines of text! If the ai file was created with a recent Illustrator version that makes PDF compatible files, you should be able to open it in Acrobat Pro. The Pro version can edit text, so long as you have the fonts for the text you need to change. Something tells me you don't have Acrobat Pro. I would suggest getting Illustrator, it's a very useful application for any one working in graphics. If you have a Kinko's <http://www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/storesvcs/technology/computers.html> nearby, you can rent some time on a workstation, they should have Illustrator. The other option is getting a corrected copy from the creator. > > G5, 10.3.5 and an elderly copy of Photoshop 5.02, which has done all that I > > needed for years. Unfortunately, I now need to edit an Illustrator file, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Illustrator. The other option is getting a corrected copy from the > creator. Probably the Illustrator file is a _vector_ graphic (lines, points, circles, etc), since that's what Illustrator is primarily designed for. If so, Photoshop can't handle it at all, because Photoshop edits only _pixel_ images (JPEGs, etc). GraphicConverter is your friend (and everyone else's who has a Mac). It can probably open the .ai file and create a pixel version of it (losing all the underlying vector information in the process), which Photoshop can then edit (but only pixel by pixel). The recommendation for buying Illustrator is a good one, if you do much graphics. So is purchasing Adobe Acrobat (_not_ just the free Acrobat Reader, which "reads" only -- no editing or conversion capabilities). > > Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either > > Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Pro version can edit text, so long as you have the fonts for the text > you need to change. Something tells me you don't have Acrobat Pro. Sorry; that something is actually wrong - 'cos I actually DO have Acrobat Pro; but sadly the file it produces bears very little resemblance to the original. Converting an Illustrator file with Acrobat Pro - or this file, at least! - clearly doesn't work. > I would suggest getting Illustrator, it's a very useful application for > any one working in graphics. That's increasingly looking as though it's the only option; but just to change a few lines of text, it's surely a) overkill and b) expensive! > If you have a Kinko's > <http://www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/storesvcs/technology/computers.html> > nearby, you can rent some time on a workstation, they should have > Illustrator. No Kinko's in the UK, I fear... > The other option is getting a corrected copy from the > creator. Who has left; which is why it's my problem now.... Thanks, anyway! - duncan >> If the ai file was created with a recent Illustrator version that makes >> PDF compatible files, you should be able to open it in Acrobat Pro. The [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >original. Converting an Illustrator file with Acrobat Pro - or this file, >at least! - clearly doesn't work. Correct; you'll have to get whoever sent you the Illustrator file to send it to you again as a PDF. (Newer versions of Illustrator can save an Illustrator file directly as a PDF, but you can't use Acrobat to turn a .ai file into a .pdf.) SignatureArt, literature, shareware, polyamory, kink, and more: http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html > No Kinko's in the UK, I fear... Well, I took this a month ago in London: http://www.garnermiller.com/kinkos.jpg Surprised the heck out of me, too. That's why I took the picture! Not sure if they rent computer time or not, but those look like rental PCs through the window. Couldn't hurt to ask... SignatureGarner R. Miller Clifton Park, NY =USA= > > > Is there any way at all of accessing a .ai file without buying either > > > Illustrator or a new copy of Photoshop? I don't want to do anything beyond [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > original. Converting an Illustrator file with Acrobat Pro - or this file, > at least! - clearly doesn't work. I'm sure it's the file, the version of Illustrator used to create it probably doesn't include PDF compatibility. If it did, you'd be able to open it with Acrobat Pro, make your changes and save it as a PDF file. The PDF would still be Illustrator compatible after your changes. Your other options are, probably, find a service bureau that can make the changes for you, or leases time on workstations, or find a friend with Illustrator. I think you should really look into getting a copy of Illustrator. You might not even have to buy it new, find an upgradeable copy of Illustrator 10 on eBay or something. That's how I got Adobe After Effects, bought version 4.1 on eBay and upgraded to 6.5. Saved about $250 US. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.