Export multiple artboards {canvases} to separate files

[ChristianAaltonen]

Hi there!

I tried to find a  way how to export my artboards into single file to the multiple files - each file one canvas. Do I have to manage it separately? I hope not. Monkey kind of work...

Thank you in advance!

[m21082]

Think this is what you're after.

If you save as an eps tick the box marked "use artboards" and choose all artboards.

This should save one eps file with all the canvases and one eps file for each canvas, named ...01.eps ...02.eps etc.

M

[ChristianAaltonen]

Well,

you are right, mate! This is really helpful. But what to do, if you are supposed to deliver PDFs for example? {Except loading each .eps and save them as PDF }

[m21082]

As far as I'm aware you can't save each artboard as a pdf without doing it one by one - eg selecting a range of pages (or one page in your case)

I use CS4 so can only comment on what that will do, CS5 may be different.

You could save them all as eps files, then load all of them at the same time so you have multiple documents open, then File menu, Scripts, SaveDocsAsPDF - this will save them all as seperate pdfs for you

M

[Monika Gause]

I would save a PDF with all artboards and then use Acrobat to separate them.

[ChristianAaltonen]

Perfect!

So combination of Monika's and yours technique {firstly save as separate .ai files and afterwards load them and save as PDFs} will solve this matter.

It is far more better than do it side after side.

Thank you guys

[Wade_Zimmerman1]

Yu almost got it the way you want

first save as separate .ai files to a folder

then in ai make an action to save a single artboard file as a pdf.

Then use the action panels batch command to save the files in that folder as pdfs.

This way you do not have to refocus to another application you can tay within AI.

Especially useful if you do not own Acrobat and only have Reader.

[Wade_Zimmerman1]

Once you have the action you need never create it again so that part is a one time step.

[m21082]

Wade: In CS4 there's already a default script to save all open docs as pdfs, so no need to create an action. Guessing it's still there in CS5 but don't know.

Monika: Using Acrobat may be a good way to seperate the pdf as you said, but as I don't have (and don't know if Christian has got) Acrobat, the only option for me to do this is to use the script in Illustrator.

Would there be any benefit in using Acrobat over Illustrator for this? As I don't have it I don't know.

M

[Monika Gause]

When doing serious print work, you'll need Acrobat anyway. It's the only tool that can check if a PDF is ready for print.

[m21082]

Just being curious, what is classed as serious print work?

I work as a studio manager for a signage and promotional goods company and have done for about 5 years, and worked my way up to this position for a few years before that, and have been using Illustrator since about v8 I think.

All the in-house printing we do is done on either a thermal printer (spot colours only) or on a wide format digital printer.

The spot colour printer, the colours are defined in it's own software based on the colour foils the machine uses so whether the input file is ai eps or pdf doesn't really matter, as long as it is in vector format.

The digital printer will print direct from pdf, eps, ai or most raster formats. Because each different material has it's own print profile, on all vector files I print I need to assign the colours within the software using colour books. If I print the same file on different materials without assigning colours they will look like they are printed with different colours, all down to the white point of the material.

The software will show warning messages if any colours are out of the CMYK gamut before we print anything as not all pantone colours for example can be printed with CMYK inks.

Because we should assign the colours manually regardless of the input file, using a pdf would have no benefit over an eps for us.

The only times we can't specifiy the colours in vector files is when gradients are used, so these would have to be rasterised first and given an embedded profile.

We print onto all sorts of roll materials like digital wallpaper, canvas, paper, vinyl, backlit transparancy sheet, pop-up & roll-up display etc so it's not just one type of printing we do.

Even the outsourced printing we get done (brochures, magazines, leaflets, business cards, UV cured inks) all of our printers ask for eps/tif files to print from and pdf's as a visual reference - but only for the layout and not for colour matching.

I know this is probably hi-jacking the thread but I always like to know more about the different processes people use and the reasons for doing so, may make my job easier one day!

M

[Wade_Zimmerman1]

When you save the Artboards as separate ai files they are not opened. You would first jaw open them all and then run the script the batch action. Wills open them and then save them in one click. See my thinking on this?

!! far as if one ia doing serious printing goes I think if your a printer then it might be necessary and I understand a lot of them just place the pdfs in ID or Quark Xpress so I would not call it an absolute so quickly.

[m21082]

Good point about actions being able to be run a folder of files not just on open files, I just thought it would be easier to use something pre-built in to the software rather than creating a new action or writing a new script.

Unfortunately QXP and ID file types can't be opened with any other software afaik so whenever we get sent these file types we have to open them and then export as eps or pdf and then go from there. Our printers can't be run from either of these programs as like I said before each material has it's own print profile, which sets everything from the white point of the material (measured with a spectrophotometer) to the pre, print and post heat settings for drying the ink.

For us the only reason we would print from ID or QXP would be for printing to our desktop printer.

M

[510Angel]

The function is there ... its in the "Save" dialogue box ... its in the second stage of saving your file .... its a radio button that you select and from what I can tell, it works for any non bitmap format that you can save an Illustrator file for ... including those PDF files so you dont have to have Acrobat for "serious print work" ...

You now have seperate workable files with all the stuff where you left it - on the artboard.

You will still have all the other layers in each file, but no art is on them.

If you work with a multi-artboard file, you will need to do a 'Save As' after you re-enter the file  and re-work it to export the entire pack, but once you make your 'master page' and other common placements, its so nice to let the software do this "Monkey Task"

For the record, I'm an Adobe junkie and have almost all of Adobe's products and I think its rather snobby for anyone to impose their "serious print work" values on anyone else ... not everyone can have the $$ required to get the full suite, so its nice to know Adobe thinks of us "serious print work"-ers with little features like this

Save On!!

[Monika Gause]

If you save it to PDF, each artboard will be one page in the file. In Illustrator CS5, you can even save artboards to separate AI files in one go. It's in the second "Save" dialog box

[Guest]

Monika, I have an odd question for you:

How did you come to discover this "Save to separate AI artboards" feature?

I ask because I've recently upgraded to CS5, did a fairly detailed reconnaissance of the menus, panels, dialogs, and tools, read all the relevant tutorials and files, watched a comprehensive video course on CS5's new features. Nowhere was this convenient new capability mentioned.

Did you stumble upon it on your own? Had you read or seen or heard about it in some formal documentation that I missed?

This is not a big deal. It's just that, whenever I discover something like this, I always wonder what other conveniences I'm missing

[ChristianAaltonen]

Despite my effort,

there is not any option, which I am hoping in on "second "Save" dialog box". You can choose just the range of artboards, but no

way to save each one to the separate file.

But thank you anyway

[Monika Gause]

Just tried it again:

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/illustrator/cs/using/WS714a382cdf7d304e7e07d0100196cbc5f-655fa.html