Saving Illustrator files down to another version

[DLWait]

I have artwork from a customer who i believe is using the latest version of Illustrator. Unfortunately my mac is not so current and due to some other 3D software I have to use I can onlt run CC 2017. When I open the customers file it tells me its been saved in a newer version and I will loose some data.

The customer has asked me to let them o=know what version to save it down to so that I can use it in CC 2017 but all I see is his option to save as CS6. Can someone please help? thank you.

[Anna Lander]

ask them to use CC (Legacy) option

[DLWait]

Thanks, but in CC 1017 that option is greyed out in the drop down when you go to save. Is it different in the latest version?


Diane

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[Bill Silbert]

Yes. It is different in CC 2020. Please see my post below.

[Anna Lander]

well, who has to save a legacy version is not you but they 🙂

I guess they (in a newer version) have this option active.

But, as Bill said, if the artwork is not too complex and does not use latest features (e.g. free gradients), you can open and use it without any problems.

[Bill Silbert]

The warning you've been getting when opening your client's documents is simply saying that any features that have appeared in the program since your version will not be included in the file. Those features need the newer version of the program in order to appear. This happens even if you use the Legacy CC version as suggested above. If the person with the newer version has not used any newer features then the document should be fine when opened with the earlier version.

[DLWait]

Thank you Billy. Its showing lots of boxes instead of normal artwork, as if its been saved as a pdf, then back to Illustrator. There are no layers either, everything is on 1 layer.


Diane

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[Anna Lander]

The downsaving or opening in the older version often creates clipping masks for more or less compex objects. Release them and work calmly.

[Monika Gause]

"The warning you've been getting when opening your client's documents is simply saying that any features that have appeared in the program since your version will not be included in the file."

I'm afraid that is not the case.

The warning doesn't say it, but what actually happens is that Illustrator opens the embedded PDF and completely ignores the native AI file. In the PDF everything that PDF format cannot understand, will be expanded: effects, brushes, native objects, you name it. Even text might be outlined. And you get loads of clipping mask. Oh, and layers will be gone for good.

That doesn't happen when you downsave a file. When downsaving, only the objects that the lower version doesn't have, will be expanded.

[Bill Silbert]

Thank you, Monika. I stand corrected.