It seems that I can't export path to Illustrator as AI file and then import it back into Photoshop

[Muriel Finetin]

Hello everybody,

I am currently using Photoshop Beta (Windows 11), but the problem also occurs in the up-to-date Photoshop application, and I can't find the solution.

I created my first path and saved it in my shapes so that I can use it easily. This works perfectly well.
However, when I select this path and try to export it as an Illustrator AI file — please note that I do not have the Adobe Illustrator application — I do not succeed in importing it back into Photoshop afterwards. When I try, it seems that the file is empty. The file only opens as an empty layer and I cannot see any path in it anywhere. I tried both opening it as a smart object and importing it, but nothing worked.

Is there something I should do to be able to see the path if it was correctly saved to the AI file? Or was there a problem that prevented me to save the path correctly? I have no idea of where the problem is and how to fix it.

I tried to open the AI file to check its content online but there was an error message and it was impossible to open it.

Any help is welcome. Thank you!

-- AI file attached

[D Fosse · Accepted solution]

Photoshop cannot open Illustrator files (.ai) as vector data. It can only open as flat raster.

There is a new workaround for opening .ai in Photoshop as vector, but it requires opening in Illustrator first. You can then copy the file from Illustrator and Paste as Layers in Photoshop. Note that only fairly basic vector data will survive into Photoshop, much of it will be rasterized anyway, because it simply cannot be translated between applications.

[Muriel Finetin]

Thank you for your reply.

[jane-e]

@Muriel Finetin 

I have never used your particular workflow to export a path from PS to Illustrator (which you don't have) and import it back into PS. I have a few questions:

• Can you tell us why Illustrator is involved in your process? (Stephen also asked this one.)
• Paths can be copied an pasted between PS and Illy, but you would need Illustrator for this. 
• When you copy a path from Photoshop and paste to Illustrator, it is a path with no fill or stroke. Does the path appear in the Paths panel in Photoshop? 
• When you created your first path in Photoshop, which mode did you use? Choices are Path, Shape, or Pixels.
• Which tool did you use to create the Path?

Jane

[Muriel Finetin]

Thank you for your message. I changed a black and white image into a path, put color in it, then recorded as a shape in PS and just wanted to know if I could send to someone else the vector image I had created by saving it as an AI file. Because I didn't have AI, I needed to check the contents of my AI file in PS but that didn't work. However I could eventually check the AI file contents in AI and my path was included in it, so everything is OK. Thank you everybody!

[jane-e]

You're welcome, and I'm glad you were able to confirm it was working by looking at it in Illustrator!

Jane

[Stephen Marsh]

@Muriel Finetin 

Why do you save the path to .ai file and try to open the file with Photoshop?

[Muriel Finetin]

Because I didn't have AI, I needed to check the contents of my AI file in PS but that didn't work. However I could eventually check the AI file contents in AI and my path was included in it, so everything is OK. Thank you!