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Why can't I copy/paste my gradient from Illustrator into InDesign?

Guest
Nov 15, 2018 Nov 15, 2018

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I have followed every tutorial, reviewed every other forum on this, went step by step with all preferences and my gradient still pastes as an image. Is it the new update that refuses to copy/paste swatches between the two? Please help. Thank you.

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Jun 16, 2019 Jun 16, 2019

Hi acew1981 ,

the bug is fixed with InDesign CC 2019 14.0.2.324.

Just tested with Illustrator 23.0.3 on Windows 10.

Paste or Paste in Place was no difference. The gradient I copied over from Illustrator worked as expected.

Also see the list of fixed bugs here:

Fixed issues in InDesign

BugFixed-CopyGradientFrom-AI-to-INDD.PNG

Regards,
Uwe

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Community Expert ,
Nov 15, 2018 Nov 15, 2018

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Hi erpdesigns ,

what do you want to accomplish? Storing a gradient from Illustrator in the Swatches panel of InDesign?

You still can do this. But only with gradients where the colors are in the CMYK color model.

Linear gradients and radial ones. Not the new free form of Illustrator CC 2019.

Regards,
Uwe

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Guest
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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All I want to do is try to bring the gradient swatch over from Illustrator over to InDesign. At one point you could copy and paste it but it does not work. Everything that has been suggested has been done

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New Here ,
Sep 13, 2019 Sep 13, 2019

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The key here is to have both workspaces in CMYK, i was just blasting my brains here not getting it to work, until i noticed, that the initial gradients illustrator file was in RGB. Switched workspace to CMYK from illustrator and works like a charm 🙂

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New Here ,
Mar 27, 2020 Mar 27, 2020

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I keep forgetting this but it almost always helps to switch to cmyk

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Community Expert ,
Nov 15, 2018 Nov 15, 2018

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I have found that usually only simple shapes with solid colors will copy from Illustrator and paste into InDesign will remain vector, without being converted to an image.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 15, 2018 Nov 15, 2018

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It's also based on how complex the graphic is that you're copying. The vector graphic needs to be less than about 500 paths as described in this old article I wrote years ago:

The Magic Number - InDesignSecrets.com : InDesignSecrets

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Guest
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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All I want to do is try to bring the gradient swatch over from Illustrator over to InDesign. At one point you could copy and paste it but it does not work. Everything that has been suggested has been done. Thank you for your article which Ive read and thats why I posted the question. Im stuck

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Hi erpdesigns ,

did I ask too much from you?

Regards,
Uwe

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Guest
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Hi Laubender​,

Don't be rude. I'm trying to have a constructive discussion on this and every possibility simply does not work. There is a bug.

Thank you for your efforts and I appreciate everyone's time

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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What version of ID and AI are you using? And can you confirm that the AI document’s color mode is CMYK?

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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In the other thread mentioned, I tested this.

Copy and paste with a gradient from Illy to InDesign works in 2018. It fails when pasted to InDesign 2019, even when created in Illustrator 2018. It is a reproducible bug.

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Advocate ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Hi, I am using IND and AI 2019 Mac, if I copy paste the gradient works

Doesn't work on the page but will save the gradient on the panel

E

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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I think it is broken in 2019. The thread I posted in #4 shows the same problem.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Hi Eugenio.NYC ,

yes! That's exactly the behavior I can see with CC 2019.

The gradient will show up in the Swatches panel, but it is not applied to the pasted object. Or it is applied in a strange way to the pasted object. I assume, that one of the base colors of the gradient is applied…

Our OP here may be plagued by a different problem: No new gradient in the Swatches panel.

But I'm not sure about that.

Regards,
Uwe

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Hi Jane,

do you have a sample Illustrator file?

I cannot see, that the gradient will not appear in the Swatches panel.

However, I can see that the gradient is not applied to the pasted element from Illustrator.

Regards,
Uwe

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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erpdesigns  wrote

All I want to do is try to bring the gradient swatch over from Illustrator over to InDesign. …

So I thought, that this is not working.

And I still think, the discussion is very constructive. Never thought differently.

Regards,
Uwe

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Guest
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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All I want to do is try to bring the gradient swatch over from Illustrator over to InDesign. At one point you could copy and paste it but it does not work. Everything that has been suggested has been done

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Hi,

so we need some real samples to play with.

Do an Illustrator file with your gradient only and post it here.

Dropbox, WeTransfer link or a similar service.

Regards,

Uwe

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Community Expert ,
Nov 15, 2018 Nov 15, 2018

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It looks like there is a problem with CC2019, and you also have to set the Clipboard preferences correctly in both applications before you cut and paste. Check this thread:

https://forums.adobe.com/message/10736367?et=watches.email.outcome#10736367

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Here is the link on User Voice where the bug has been reported to the engineers. As of now, it only has one vote:

I have problems copying illustrations from illustrator into documents InDesign. – Adobe InDesign Fee...

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Community Expert ,
Nov 18, 2018 Nov 18, 2018

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jane-e  wrote

… As of now, it only has one vote:

I have problems copying illustrations from illustrator into documents InDesign. – Adobe InDesign Fee...

Just voted to fix the bug.

Thanks for the link, Jane!

Regards,
Uwe

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Guest
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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Laubender​

It is constructive if my question was how to do it in general. That is not the issue.

Your comment of if you asked too much of me was not necessary and also condescending.

Please choose your words differently.

Thank you and this forum is answered.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 16, 2018 Nov 16, 2018

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erpdesigns  wrote

Laubender

…Your comment of if you asked too much of me was not necessary and also condescending.

It was not meant this way. Sorry, if you recieved it like so.

Maybe I should have asked if you could do some screenshots first to illustrate the problem.

My fault.

Regards,
Uwe

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Community Expert ,
Nov 18, 2018 Nov 18, 2018

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Some details on the bug we are seeing here:

Actually the gradient swatch is applied to the copied object.

CopyPaste-GradientFill-AI-CC-2019-to-INDD-CC-2019-Bug.PNG

But with the wrong values for GradientFillStart and GradientFillLength.

I compared the values from an exported IDMS file of a pasted rectangle to InDesign CC 2018.1 and one to InDesign CC 2019 14.0.1.209. The values in CC 2019 were way off. Not so with the same rectangle pasted to a CC 2018.1 page.

CC 2019 ( all values are in points 😞

GradientFillStart="4877.823136474006 -5013.555344725959"

GradientFillLength="7231.69921875"

CC 2018.1:

GradientFillStart="-41.991211531998275 110.90551181102363"

GradientFillLength="84.30709838867188"

How GradientFillStart and GradientFillLength should be calculated.

This sample:

1. New document with non-facing pages 100 x 100 mm page size.

2. Drag out a rectangle 100 x 100 Pt from [0,0] towards the right and the bottom.

3. Fill it with a linear gradient.

HowToCalculate-GradientFillStart-GradientFillLength-INDD.PNG

The bug is clearly with InDesign CC 2019.

Gradient Fill with CMYK colors

AI: Copy rectangle with applied gradient fill > INDD: Paste

AI CC-2018 > INDD CC-2019 > Bug

AI CC-2019 > INDD CC-2019 > Bug

AI CC-2018 > INDD CC-2018 > No Bug

AI CC-2019 > INDD CC-2018 > No Bug

What's wrong wth INDD CC-2019?

Wrong GradientFillStart

Wrong GradientFillLength

Regards,
Uwe

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