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C
Christ-Guard
Known Participant
February 2, 2012
Question

Reading Illustrator files without Illustrator installed (Mac)

  • February 2, 2012
  • 9 replies
  • 104033 views

Hey Guys,

    My company has a problem, we recently aquired all of the artwork ever done for us, but many of the files were not saved with "PDF Compatiability" or what not, so they can not be previewed without Illistrator. Is there any software that can be used to view these files for cheaper than $500? We just want to see them to be able to name and archive them. If not, anyone know of a cheap place to pick up an older version? We only have one mac, its a G4 so CS5 wont work (I think, from what I have read it only works on intels). Any help would be greatly apreciated!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    9 replies

    leosaumure
    leosaumure
    Participant
    October 6, 2016

    I know this is really late, but hopefully it will help others who have the same question. A great (and free) solution is Google Drive. I save all my ai files there, and they are viewable without any conversion; at least at the time of this post (06 October 2016). I just log into drive, click on the file and it is available.

    Below is a screenshot of one of my ai files.

    Doug A Roberts
    Community Expert
    Doug A RobertsCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 6, 2016

    this doesn't work for files saved without PDF compatibility either -- that was the actual topic question.

    N
    nickryan1322
    Participant
    November 29, 2015

    You can open the file to view it in Photoshop but it will rasterize it so you will not be able to change individual elements of them...

    D
    debbyt44690327
    Participant
    October 14, 2015

    Here's my transcript today for my question, "How to view AI files without Illustrator"

    Adobe: I am check your querry, in the meantime please tell me the version and Operating system you are using

    Me: CC windows 7, some are on 8

    Adobe: is it Cc2015?

    Me: Yes, we subscribe monthly to you so assuming we have most current

    Adobe: For that you have to create a link and share it with your team

    Me: Sales get sent files and want to view them so they can advise on cost. I may not see the file before them

    Adobe: you could create copy PDF file and can see that

    Rename [filename].ai to [filename].pdf — the file can then be opened with a PDF viewer like Adobe Reader. This is a great option is you just need to view the content.

    Me: That's only if it's encrypted with PDF Compatibility, as per your forum

    Adobe: We do not have that from adobe but there are many online if you want, you can check on goolge

    So, sorry, they offer no help.

    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 14, 2015

    debbyt44690327 schrieb:

    So, sorry, they offer no help.

    Well if you save your files without PDF compatibility, then there is no help for you. Your files then can only be viewed by Illustrator.

    dotnetCarpenter2
    dotnetCarpenter2
    Participant
    February 28, 2015

    Rename the .ai file extension to .pdf and open the file in Adobe Reader. Even layers are supported. I just checked in Adobe Reader XI (version 11.0).

    open adobe illustrator files with adobe reader | noah little

      Ton Frederiks
      Community Expert
      Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 28, 2015

      That only works if the Illustrator file was saved with PDF content, otherwise you get this message:

      This is an Adobe® Illustrator® File that was

      saved without PDF Content.

      To Place or open this le in other

      applications, it should be re-saved from

      Adobe Illustrator with the "Create PDF

      Compatible File" option turned on. This

      option is in the Illustrator Native Format

      Options dialog box, which appears when

      saving an Adobe Illustrator le using the

      Save As command.

      A
      Anonymous
      February 3, 2012

      Why can't you just Place them in another application (something you might have, like Microsoft Word)?

      D
      dorothy kayep53067023
      Participant
      October 25, 2017

      I can - but after I ok them I need to attach and send to my printer and the AI file attachment automatically converts it to word! Very frustrating.

      M
      mecdos
      Inspiring
      October 25, 2017

      why not get a free trial of CC and resave your documents. you can even automate it.

      C
      Christ-GuardAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 3, 2012

      Thanks guys for all the help! I am looking into Corel now, SneakPeek pro only works with PDFed files, and is meant to show you what the file look like while browsing in the "Open" dialog box (I believe)

      I found out today that all of the files were made in CS3 (Yea for outsourcing to Canada? ) so that may make things easier. ANyone know where I can snag CS3 for a good price?

      Mylenium
      Mylenium
      Legend
      February 3, 2012

      AI's file format is proprietary and undocumented (to the public, that is). Therefore nobody could create a viewer or whatever. However, CorelDraw claims they are able to read such files as they seem to have reverse-engineered everything. That's your only glimemr of hope outside the Adobe universe. All other apps only support the legacy AI 88 format, which is a whole different beast entirely... The rest of the answers you already got - you wil ldefinitely need some version of AI, at least for a while. If bouying is not an option, consider a subscription...

      Mylenium

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 3, 2012

      I have seen some Corel Draw X5 conversions of one of my files and those look pretty good. Draw X5 can read Illustrator CS4. Of course there are still objects that just can't be converted to corresponding Corel Draw objects, but anything simple should work, even meshes. I wouldn't rely on text being exactly the same layout.

      W
      Wade_Zimmerman1
      Inspiring
      February 3, 2012

      Why nt just buy the windows version of the Illustrator?

      It will open the fies even if they were created on the Mac. The files themselves work on both platforms regardless of whatplatform they were created in!

      N
      Navarro Parker
      Inspiring
      February 2, 2012

      Do you have InDesign? Photoshop? Premiere? After Effects? They can open .AI files -- at least enough for your to view them.

      Maybe even Adobe PageMaker? Not sure about the Acrobat Pro app reading AI files. I know Acrobat Reader cannot. But I assume any relatively recent Adobe app will be able to view AI files.

      Oh, i know -- BRIDGE! You gotta have Adobe Bridge, right?

      Also, you can download a 30 day demo of any of the Creative Suites.  That'll let you at least view your files.

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 2, 2012

      Bridge can't view files without PDF compatibility.

      Were the files created in CS5? Then you won't be able to view them in lower versions.

      Steve Fairbairn
      Steve Fairbairn
      Inspiring
      May 20, 2014

      Bridge can't view files without PDF compatibility.

      Yes it can. I have got dozens of files saved without pdf compatibility and constantly use Bridge to see what is what.

      To save disc space I never check pdf compatibility unless I specifically want to link Illie files into other artwork/applications.

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