vector shape stroke in pixels in photoshop is points in illustrator

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
November 23, 2022
6 replies
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I have vector shape objects in a PSD that have a fill and stroke. The stroke is set to 8 pixels in Photoshop, and I don't see a way to change that to any other units.

My issue is when I bring that file into Illustrator, all the strokes are converted to points — but the values stay the say. That is, they come in with strokes of 8 points where they were only 8 pixels (at 600 dpi) in Photoshop.

I don't see a way to set a stroke on a vector shape to a unit other than pixels. And I don't see a way to set the units on bringing the files into Illustrator so 8 px doesn't become 8 pts. My Preferences in Illustrator, Units > Stroke are set to Pixels.

I've tried doing community and support searches, but I keep getting results for "how to bring Illustrator art into Photoshop" or how to draw paths or vectors. In other words, nothing helpful.

Cross-app workflows

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David Cardillo, PRHAuthor

Inspiring

Checking the Document Raster Effects setting was in the hopes of changing the resolution AI interpreted the open image file as. Right now it appears it renders image files as 72 dpi.

Someone else (this thread?) noticed that if you change the resolution of the art to 72, keeping the number of pixels the same (not resampling), then it opens properly in AI. Unfortunately, now the dimensions are more than 4x larger (for 300 dpi art) and replacing and relinking in layouts is an issue.

Imaginerie

Community Expert

I wrote a message yesterday that was lost in the ether (maybe hit the wrong button, that seems to happen to me sometimes 😁), about you being at a resolution that coincidentally meant that 8pt = 8px. Since pixels depend on resolution. I would have suggested to change the resolution of one of the 2 files (say the photoshop one, irrespective of the file format it's saved in).
I didn't follow through because I am not maths oriented, and I wasn't sure it did even make sense.
But you get the gist.
That said, I don't really know the reasons so I guess you're none the wiser.

One thing I'm curious about is how the document raster settings could affect a stroke if the document haven't been rasterised. I thought it was about either the way illustrator is handling raster effects in a vector environment or the way the whole file is rendered when you decide to rasterise it (or part of it).

It is possible that I missed something though.

Sorry for leaving you there with more questions than answers!

D

David Cardillo, PRHAuthor

Inspiring

Update:

I created a new test file, 4200 pixels wide @ 300 dpi (14") in Photoshop. Created a vector shape with a 6-pixel stroke.

Saved as both PSD and TIFF. Brought both into Illustrator and the stroke remained 6 pixels — but the width of the file was now just over 1000 pixels (still 14"). (Document Raster Effects settings are 300 dpi.) So at about 1/4 the resolution, the same 6-pixel stroke is now 4x thicker.

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David Cardillo, PRHAuthor

Inspiring

sorry, I tried that.

my Units > General is set to Inches, Stroke is set to Pixels (I changed it for this) and Type is set to Points.

I restarted Illustrator after making that prefs change, and strokes set to 8 px in PS still come in as 8 pts in AI.

My Stroke Units was set to points — and I had this issue. I changed it to Pixels, the issue persisted. I changed it again to Inches, and still an 8 pixel stroke comes in as 8 points.

Imaginerie

Community Expert

You can change your units in illustrator by going to edit>preferences>units