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Question

Illustrator not exporting gradients when exporting to PDF

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I just updated to Adobe Illustrator 2023, and when you use the freeform gradient tool and export your files as a PDF, whatever you have set as a freeform gradient disappears.

I either need a fix to this ASAP or a way to roll back to the previous version of Ai because I'm working with a brand that uses freeform gradients in a TON of their materials, and PDFs are one of the main filetype resources we use.

Screen_Recording_2022-10-27_at_7-02-16_AM.zip

honzisletsmind

Participant

Hey everyone, macOS Sonoma fixes the issue.

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

Hey everyone, macOS Sonoma fixes the issue.

By @honzisletsmind

It is currently not recommended to upgrade to Sonoma. Wait until there is an official "Go" https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/macos-sonoma-compatibility-common-issues.html

There are reports of issues in Illustrator all around in the forum.

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Alejandra28979212n03d

Participant

I am having the same issue on Mac 13.0 ventura. I have been using this computer since January 2023 and as of last month my freeform gradients dissapers when saving to pdf. I tried changing the standard and nothing works wether I use RGB or CMYK. This is extremely frustrating!!!

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Doug A Roberts

Community Expert

Have you read this complete thread? What are you using to view the PDFs?

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M

matejl63550032

Participant

I have the same problem ..

MacBook M1 Max - Ventura 13.5; Illustrator ver.: 27.8.1 or Illustrator Beta 27.10 206 same problems when exporting to PDF using gradients.

I Have copied artwork to Photoshop and exported it - it works but it is not the same - it is not a perfect vector product at the end - it is the same result if you rasterize artwork in Illustrator when you make a bigger pdf it is not vector ...

max

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

@matejl63550032 schrieb:

I have the same problem ..

MacBook M1 Max - Ventura 13.5; Illustrator ver.: 27.8.1 or Illustrator Beta 27.10 206 same problems when exporting to PDF using gradients.

I Have copied artwork to Photoshop and exported it - it works but it is not the same - it is not a perfect vector product at the end - it is the same result if you rasterize artwork in Illustrator when you make a bigger pdf it is not vector ...

max

This thread discussed probably a dozen issues.

So please describe your issue. What exactly is in your file, how exactly and using which settings are you exporting it and which PDF viewer are you using,. And if it is not Acrobat, then it's just not reliable.

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Laura29458483vdxv

Participant

Same issue. I'm using an ASUS laptop. After I exported the PDF, I used both Microsoft Edge and Adobe Acrobat to check my file, the gradient IS here. But then, I checked my PDF file with my iPhone, the gradient is MISSING. It is quite frustrating.

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

You do not "check" a PDF with your iPhone. When Prepress is concerned, the iPhone is a toy.

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Laura29458483vdxv

Participant

I sent my artwork in PDF format to my clients who are also my friends via WhatsApp. That's how I found the issue.

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D

david.crow

Participating Frequently

I'm having the same problem. Ever since upgrading my M1 MacBook Pro to MacOS Ventura, Freeform gradients are not visible in QuickLook Previews or the Preview app. The data is still there and can be seen in Acrobat or Illustrator. This is definitely an issue with MacOS as this problem is present in old files with Freeform Gradients as well. Very frustrating.

As I continue to hunt for a fix, I'm going to be looking at what has changed with Preview that prevents freeform gradients from rendering.

In the meantime, seems like Effect > [Illustrator Effects] Rasterize... is the best bet for keeping the gradient editable and preserving its appearance in the default programs.

I've attached a sample file as an AI, PDF, and exported as a PNG. Then a screenshot of the preview as it appears in Finder.

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Freeform_Testing.pdf

C

cesaralopez

Known Participant

I'm having the same issue with Ventura 13.1 on an M1 Macbook Pro. Freeform gradients do not show up in Apple Preview but do show up in Acrobat Pro for the same file. Fortunately, in this case, the Freeform Gradient I built was a simple gradient that I was able to convert to a Linear Gradient. Once I converted the gradient to Linear, with the same color stops, the gradient appears just fine in Apple Preview. One may assume this is an issue on Apple's end, however, my experience with Adobe is that it's an Adobe issue. I suspect there's a bug in the Freeform Gradient that prevents the PDF render engine from displaying it properly. One might say, "just use Acrobat and not Preview" but that's not an option for Mac-based clients (I don't know if this is an issue with Windows.) Or worse, what about when the rush Freeform Gradient project you sent to the printer comes back with a proof with colors completely missing and your deadline is at risk of being blown.

Adobe, can you look into this?

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

@cesaralopez schrieb:

my experience with Adobe is that it's an Adobe issue. I suspect there's a bug in the Freeform Gradient that prevents the PDF render engine from displaying it properly.

Preview doesn't support several stuff that should be part of the PDF render engine. It simply cannot be trusted with anything.

People need to install the Adobe PDF reader. It's free and therefore a viable option for Apple as well as Windows users.

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D

defaulthqsnsupqvzb7Author

Participant

UPDATE: My Mac updated to the newest version of iOS yesterday evening, and I believe that's part of what's causing the viewing issue. I'm not sure if this is an Apple bug or an Adobe bug tho.

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AnnushkaJali

Participant

Hi, i just updated to Ventura and i'm facing the same issue. My company invoice banner has a freeform gradient that isnt showing up either. I need to invoice a client asap, and i need to find a way around this. How can it be done? Any updates, etc? It shows up in adobe acrobat, not in preview. However when i sent it as a trial to a friend on whatsapp via the desktop app, the gradient showed up. On the phone in the whatsapp app it doesnt. This discrepancy is highly frustrating.

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Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

You could try to select the object that contains the gradient and use Object > Rasterize...

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Doug A Roberts

Community Expert

What are you using to view these PDFs? Do they work in Acrobat?

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defaulthqsnsupqvzb7Author

Participant

I've tried Acrobat, Preview, and just the basic files previewer on my iPad, and the graphics don't show up on any of them for some reason.

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

Please create a new file

Put your gradient object into it

Export as a PDF

Check the file

Does it show in Acrobat? (Forget all that Apple crap. It cannot be trusted with PDFs)

If not, please upload that PDF here.

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