When do changes to an artboard require the ai file to be saved

[Jim_Palik]

I am a CC user using Illustrator 25.3.1 (64 bit) on Windows 10. I have a large project resulting in 40 A1 artboards with between 3 and 12 images as a collage on each artboard. Each artboard has 3 layes.

• A Guides layer
• A Rectangles layer
• A linked images layer.

I during the course of this project I have had to make random unique changes to one or more of the layers on an artboard. When is it required that I do a new save of the .ai file.

• 1. After any change to any of the layers
• 2. Only changes to ???

I am trying to understand how the artboard file relates to its contents. My inclination is that any change to a layer requires a new .ai save as my last workflow step. Is this correct?

Jim

[John Mensinger]

While I'm not sure I get how your perceived need to ask your questions may have arisen, I will try to clarify some things for you.

Each artboard has 3 layes.

It would be better to think of (and state) it: "The file has 3 layers," because in fact, all the artboards share those 3 layers. That is, if you're working on one of the artboards and you add a 4th layer, now all the artboards have those same 4 layers.

When is it required that I do a new save of the .ai file.

• 1. After any change to any of the layers
• 2. Only changes to ???

In the simplest of terms, you need to do a Save after any operation of which you want the result permanently written to the file. Nothing is saved automatically, and technically, you aren't changing layer itself, you're changing content that resides on the layer.

I am trying to understand how the artboard file relates to its contents. My inclination is that any change to a layer requires a new .ai save as my last workflow step. Is this correct?

I'm not sure what you mean by "the artboard file," or how you came to distinguish the file, the artboards, the layers, and the contents in the compartmentalized way you seem to do.

The "file" contains all the artboards. The artboards are akin to the "paper" upon which your elements are placed, and as alluded, the layers are common to all of them. The contents are everything you added. I'm hopeful the earlier parts of my reply sufficiently answer your final question.

[Met1]

By "new save" do you mean save-as?

If you only mean save, do it as frequently or infrequently as you feel comfortable, knowing if you don't save you could loose all your work since the last save. Why not set up auto save in prefs?

If you mean save-as, again, it's what you feel comfortable with. If you make a significant/difficult addition/change then save as - again you can set up auto save-as to the cloud...

[Jim_Palik]

Hell Met1

I am talking about Save As (file name.ai) for example, I have a title on an artboard above my collage of images. My client reviewd and wants to change the title. I then need to Save as a new PDF and Export As a new JPG. Do I need to do a new Save As to the file name.ai. In other words, if I do not save a new file name.ai will the changes to the arboard show the changed title when I reopen it?

Jim

[Met1]

I don't know what you are asking!

You have text ON your artboard, saying "Title One", you want to change it, to say "Title Two" you do a SAVE (not save_as), close the doc, when you open it again the text will say "Title Two". If you want to keep both you can either do a save-as (and change the file name), or add another artboard and keep both in one file (no need to do as save-as).

I have no idea if this answers your question...