Inspiring

Question

Save As .ai with Acrobat Compatibilty but can't open in Acrobat?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
October 9, 2023
4 replies
1103 views

I've been suppled an illustrator file with 3 artboards (pages).

Bridge is telling me that its v27.5 which I beleive is the latest CC2023.

When I drag over Acrobat it converts in the Cloud and reports back that it is Illustrator v28.

Because its uploading to the cloud and converting, rather than just opening in Acrobat, I'm assuming that its been saved without Acrobat Compatibility. Is this assumption correct or could there be something else in play?

I'd usually just open this in Illy and re-save but I don't have all the fonts nor the placed images.

So weirdly I can place this .ai into Indesign and get a pdf, I can also get a preview in My Mac Finder and Bridge, but can't just Open it in Acrobat.

Print and publish

This topic has been closed for replies.

reproo2773183Author

Inspiring

I think I may have solved it.

If I change the extension from .ai to .pdf it works as expected and opens in Acrobat without converting in the cloud, and still opens ok in Illustrator. ( I can tell its using the Illy private data because it complains about missing Links)

So my theory now is that these are being saved from Illustrator as PDFs with Illustrator Compatibility but they are deliberately using the .ai extension so that they double click open in Illy as default.

briefme

Participant

Hello!

Was the illustrator file a cloud document? (aic?). From my tests I conlcluded that aic files can't be PDF Compatible.

Moreover, if I import an aic file into InDesign, the preview quality is poor.

reproo2773183Author

Inspiring

The sender has confirmed that its not Illustrator v28. Its not a cloud document either. They have no issues opening the file in Acrobat. They suggested that something maybe happening during upload/download because the ai file is managed by Esko's Web Center platform.

I found that I could open the .ai file in Acrobat Reader on a PC, Save As, and then it opens fine in Acrobat Pro.

Unlike the Upload>Convert in Adobe Cloud>Download version that reports the Producer Is Illy v28 (Windows)

the Save As from Reader (PC) reports the Producer as Illy v27.9 (Macintosh), its also retained the Illustrator Layers, whereas the Cloud conversion has only one Layer.

Does anyone have an understanding of whether Web Centre could cause this behaviour?

Monika Gause

Community Expert

@reproo2773183 schrieb:

the ai file is managed by Esko's Web Center platform.

Tht might indeed be the source of your trouble.

D

Deol32480280r1pi

Participant

The Illustrator file you received is v27.5, but when converted via the Cloud, it's reported as v28, indicating a discrepancy. If it's uploading to the Cloud for conversion, it likely wasn't saved with Acrobat Compatibility. While you can't directly open it in Acrobat due to missing fonts and images, you can still preview it in InDesign, Mac Finder, and Bridge. The best approach may be to ask the sender to resave with Acrobat Compatibility or provide the necessary fonts and images for proper access.

reproo2773183Author

Inspiring

The sender assures me that PDF Compatibility was checked.

Again I'm assuming but I thought the Cloud might actually be using v28.

Also when I open the file in Illy CC2023 I don't get the warning saying it was created in a later version (which I do if I to open it in Illy CC2021).

The suffix of the file is .ai so am assuming its not aic but I can check with the sender.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

If you can place this in InDesign and don't get the "File has been saved without PDF content" warning, then there is indeed a PDF embedded.

Why Acrobat can't open it, might be caused by the actual content, but maybe they know better in the Acrobat forum.

reproo2773183Author

Inspiring

Hi Monika,

could it be something to do with having 3 Artboards (pages) in Illustrator? Can pdf compatibility be switched on/off per artboard?

Monika Gause

Community Expert

No. PDF compatibility is for the file as a whole.

What's in the file? Freeform gradients? Plugin objects? Anything special?

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