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Philip Byrne
Philip Byrne
Known Participant
July 5, 2010
Question

Does 'Package' collect Illustrator links?

  • July 5, 2010
  • 3 replies
  • 23192 views

As a freelancer, I frequently come across packaged InDesign documents which are missing links in placed Illustrator files. (Yes, I know links in Illustrator should be embedded before collecting but who remembers to do that?). I'm curious to know whether this long-standing problem has (finally) been addressed in CS5.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    T
    TheMrM
    Participant
    October 6, 2010

    As all the other guys already said Illustrator does not collect files. but I use Code Lines: Artfiles to collect my illustrator files. Since I do a lot of freelance art direction for agencies and studios, sometimes there are adaptations that are done that the jrdesigners or dtp guys. It works for me. Hope it helps.

    It does not solve your question, but it might be of some use later.

    macinbytes
    macinbytes
    Inspiring
    November 15, 2010

    I'll echo how awesome ArtFiles is. It's reasonably cheap at $50 for what it does. I did have to update it for CS5, but they generally don't pimp you the mandatory extortion that other vendors do to coincide with Adobe product you'll find with most plugin vendors.

    I had found a small bug in the recent release and isolated it. Sent them problem files and they fixed the software promptly, sent me a test build and patched their live version shortly after.

    • [Fix] Fixes a bug that causes crashes on some files during scanning
    • [Fix] Fixes a bug that causes crashes on some files during collection

    Their License.nib file contains a small bug but I didn't bother reporting that as it wasn't a showstopper.

    Philip Byrne
    Philip ByrneAuthor
    Known Participant
    November 16, 2010

    Given the fact that this is an InDesign forum, some of you - in your bids to advertise your own software - have missed the point of the question "Does 'Package' collect Illustrator links?". It's clear now that the answer is "No. InDesign cannot identify and collect linked files in placed Illustrator files."

    A glaring omission, I think.

    Scott Falkner
    Community Expert
    Scott FalknerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 5, 2010

    I believe links in Illustrator files should remain as links and that those linked files should be included in the package. Unfortunately, there is no Collect feature in Illustrator, as it is only at version 15 and a mere 25 years old.

    If you are sending a packaged file, rather than a press-ready PDF, then you are sending a file you expect the next user (printer, prepress service bureau [do those still exist], production artist) to need full access to the source material. This could be for preflighting or file preparation for the press. Why send only some of the job? Either send a PDF or send the complete job.

    Philip Byrne
    Philip ByrneAuthor
    Known Participant
    July 5, 2010

    Thanks guys. Not the answer I was looking for. I was hoping that this glaring omission had finally been rectified with CS5. It seems ridiculous to me that, as part of a supposedly fully-integrated suite, InDesign can't identify linked assets in placed Illustrator files. Yes, of course, sending a high-resolution, print-ready pdf is the ideal solution when sending a job to print but that's not what I'm concerned with here. As I said, I'm a freelancer (a freelance finished artist with over 25 years' experience, to be exact) so I frequently have clients send me packaged InDesign documents to work on. Unfortunately, many, many designers remain blissfully unaware (despite my attempts to educate them) of InDesign's inability to collect assets linked in Illustrator. But, really, who could blame them? After all, it's completely and utterly counterintuitive. Isn't it?

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 5, 2010

    As I already explained, InDesign never looks at the AI portion of the file...it looks at the PDF only. It can't identify something missing from something it never even looks at. If you don't believe me then look at the dialog when you place an AI file. And if that's not enough try saving the AI without PDF compatibility and placing that.

    Intuitive or not, that's the way it is and is likely to continue to be.

    Of course, you can put your $0.02 in here and hope for the best: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

    But in the mean time, it's best to simply educate your clients.

    Bob

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 5, 2010

    That's as designed. When you place an Illustrator file you're actually placing a PDF which has all of the assets embedded.

    IOW, InDesign has everything it needs to output the file correctly.

    If you need the assets from the Illustrator file you'll need to package it separately.

    Bob

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