Illustrator File Placed in InDesign Too Small

[JohnRedBeard]

I received a multi-page Illustrator file from a customer. The size is 8.5 x 11, but when I place it in InDesign, the pages come in at 0.875 x 1.125.

I've tried resaving it in Illustrator 2022 and 2023, and placing it in InDesign 2022 and 2023, but the same thing happens. The size also gets weird when I save the AI file as a PDF.

Does anyone have any idea what might be going on here?

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

It may be a large canvas file:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/large-sized-artwork.html

What happens if you create a 8.5 x 11 file and copy paste into it and place that into InDesign?

[JohnRedBeard]

It definitely has a larger canvas than usual.

When I copy and paste into a new AI file and place that in InDesign, it comes in at the right size.

Is there any way to change the canvas size without having to copy and paste every page into a new document?

[Ton Frederiks]

I hope someone knows how to convert a large canvas document with small artboards to a regular canvas document, but I am afraid it is one way.