Compatibility with Illustrator CS5 to CS6

[gw296679]

Anyone who can help me please leave a comment or a suggestion. I would gladly appreciate it!!

I am starting a Digital Media class in college and CS5 is what is setup on the computers and textbooks are also about CS5 as well. They haven't upgraded to CS6 yet. I am mainly doing Photoshop, Flash Professional, and Illustrator in this class. I have just paid for and downloaded the Creative Cloud and everything pertains to CS6.

My question is should I stick with using Illustrator CS5? Or can Illustrator CS6 be used as long as I don't use the newer parts of the program?

Also will there be compatible issues in say for instance I am doing a project and going back and forth from my computer at home (with CS6) to working on it at school (with CS5)? (Again only using the three programs I mentioned above)

[Guest]

you can't open CS6 files with CS5--inversely--you can open CS5 files with CS6--IF you work in CS6 at home, you will need to save your project as PDF files (with illustrator compatibility checked)  then you 'may' be able to be able to open them with CS5 at school--could prove to be a major hassle--could work--give it a try--build a file at home, save as PDF, then take it to school and see if it opens OK.

[gw296679]

I will definately try it. Thank you for the suggestion!

[Glenn Rac]

Wrong. Work created inside CS6 will open in CS5. Although you have to install fonts that CS5 don't have and will have to accept alternate font that CS5 asks at opeining the file. Very minor incompatibility that are easy fixes that people make sound like impossible.

[Monika Gause]

Wrong. Work created inside CS6 will open in CS5.

By @Glenn Rac

No, it won't. If you get the impression, that your work is opened, what actually happens is that Illustrator imports the embedded PDF.

Here's how the AI file format works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpDh8Y7q8yE

[Saurabh_Manocha]

Hi,

CS6 can definitely open the CS5 saved native Illustrator ( .ai ) files. In order to open the files saved from Illustrator CS6 in CS5, you would need to save the file to CS5 version.

Illustrator provides you with the option to save a file which is compatible with its earlier versions.

This can be done by selecting Version as "Illustrator CS5" in Illustrator Options dialog which appears when saving .ai file, shown as below:

This saved file can be opened in Illustrator CS5 without any warnings..

Happy Learning

[badddogusa]

Wow I have tried for 30 minutes to figure out HOW? your getting this cool drop down menu that allows you to choose the version you want to save your file as...

I need to save a CS6 format for a user that only has CS3

could you explain how you are getting that window?

this is what I get for CS6...

Thanks for any help with this

[tromboniator]

In the Save As window shown in your screen shot click the Save button. The next window to appear is the one with the Version dropdown.

[badddogusa]

OK I just figured it out!!!!

Thanks for the help

[JerryHaselden]

i am useing illustraor cs6 and trying to save the file to be opened in illustrator cs5, you mentioned that it can be opened without any warnings well in the "illustrator options dialog" when i select illustrator cs5 version i am getting a warning that says "saving to a legacy format may cause some changes to your text layout and disable some editing features when the document is read back in. also, any hidden appearance attributes will be discarded".. is there something i can do to get that warning to come off and still be able to save it as a illustrator cs5 file?

[Monika Gause]

Just click OK and save.

But what the warning tells you is still valid of course.