The graphics card is almost certainly fine. Illustrator’s GPU-accelerated screen drawing is known to be glitchy, e.g.   https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/gpu-rendering-breaks-illustrator-is-there-a-solution-aside-from-cpu-view/m-p/13505829   OP may wish to report their observed bugs here:   https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/category/209149-rendering-issues-gpu-cpu   ... View more

Could be Illustrator’s screen drawing being glitchy. Try `View > View using CPU` and see if that makes a difference.   (If this fixes it, you can permanently turn off GPU rendering in `Preferences > Performance > GPU Performance`.) ... View more

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/import-csv-file/m-p/14427733#M397733 ... View more

  man sips   ... View more

This isn’t an Illustrator question. For bitmap image processing, use Photoshop. PS also has UXP (ES6), which is vastly more modern than JSX (ES3).   https://developer.adobe.com/photoshop/uxp   You might also look into NodeJS+NPM or PowerShell, where you can find libraries to extract the image data you want without the overheads of calling into PS. (Not great languages but highly capable and extremely well-supported, unlike Apple’s moribund tech.) ... View more

ID cards. Not business cards. That makes more sense.   Yeah, AI’s Data Merge is very limited. For any flexibility you need to use scripting.   Here’s a rudimentary script that takes an .ai document containing multiple named groups and inserts a line of CSV data into each. It uses the Layers palette (not the Variables palette) to name and number templated items. I have attached sample CSV and AI files that show how to set them up.   Save it as “render cards.jsx”, choose File > Scripts > Other Script and select the script, and pick a CSV file when prompted. All going well, it will populate N template objects with the first N rows of the CSV. (If your AI document has 40 templates and your CSV has 300 rows, you’ll need to delete the first 40 rows after each run.)     /******************************************************************************/ // render cards.jsx // Render CSV rows into multiple templates in a single document. // The template document must be frontmost in Illustrator before running the script. // Each template is a *group* of text frames and other items. // These groups must be named in the Layers palette as "card 1", "card 2", "card 3, etc". // // Text frames containing text to be replaced must be named in the Layers palette. // A text frame's name must exactly match a CSV column name. Unnamed/Unrecognized text frames are ignored. // // The script could be expanded to relink images, set colors, remove empty elements, etc. This is left as an exercise. // This code is released into the Public Domain. (function() { var TEMPLATE_PREFIX = "card "; /******************************************************************************/ // helper functions function readFile(f) { f.encoding = 'utf-8'; if (!f.open('r')) { throw new Error("Can't open file: " + f.fullName); } var s; try { s = f.read(); } catch (e) { f.close(); throw e; } f.close(); return s; } function writeFile(f, s, isAppend) { f.encoding = 'utf-8'; f.lineFeed = 'Windows'; if (!f.open(isAppend ? 'a' : 'w')) { throw new Error("Can't open file: " + f.fullName); } var s; try { if (!isAppend) { f.write('\uFEFF'); } f.write(s); } catch (e) { f.close(); throw e; } f.close(); } /******************************************************************************/ // parse CSV file data function parseCSVLine(data, headings) { // Parses one line of CSV data, returning it and the remaining data // data : string -- the CSV data // headings : [string] | undefined -- undefined when reading first (headings) line // Result: {fields: {string} | [string] | null, data: string} --the line's fields plus any remaining lines of CSV data // // Notes: On return, fields is an object if headings array is given (headings are used as object keys), or an array of fields if no headings are provided. The number of headings must match the number of CSV fields, otherwise an error is thrown. var col = 0, eol = false; fields = headings ? {} : []; var isEmpty = true; while (!eol) { // find next comma or double quote, or end of line var value = '', done = false, m = data.match(/[",]|[\r\n]+/); switch ((m || '')[0]) { case ',': value = data.slice(0, m.index); data = data.slice(m.index + 1); // step over text + comma break; case '"': // quoted field data = data.slice(1); // discard opening quote while (!done && data) { m = data.match(/"/); // note: quoted values can include line breaks so all we can do is read to next double-quote character if (!m) { throw new Error("Missing double-quote at end of CSV column " + col + "."); } var index = m.index; value += data.slice(0, index); if (data[index + 1] === '"') { // is the double quote followed by a second double quote (escape sequence)? value += '"'; // replace the 2 double quotes with 1 index++; } else { // it's a single double-quote, which ends the quoted value done = true; } data = data.slice(index + 1); // step over quote(s) } if (data[0] === ',') { data = data.slice(1); // step over trailing comma } else { data = data.replace(/^[\r\n]+/, ''); // strip trailing linebreak[s] eol = true; } break; default: // CR/LF = found end of line/end of file; last value is anything up to it if (m) { value = data.slice(0, m.index); data = data.slice(m.index + m[0].length); // step over text and comma } else { value = data; data = ''; } eol = true; } if (headings) { // values is object with heading strings as keys var heading = headings[col]; if (heading === undefined) { throw new Error("Mismatched CSV columns. (Did you choose the right CSV file?) Expected " + headings.length + " columns but found a value in column " + col + ": '" + value + "'"); } fields[heading] = value; } else { // values is Array of heading strings fields.push(value); } if (value) { isEmpty = false; } col++; if (col > 1000) { throw new Error("Too many CSV columns. (Did you choose the right CSV file?)"); } } if (headings && col !== headings.length) { throw new Error("Mismatched CSV columns. (Did you choose the right CSV file?) Expected " + headings.length + " columns but found " + col + "."); } return {values: isEmpty ? null : fields, remainingData: data}; } function parseCSVFile(csvFile) { // Parse a UTF8-encoded .csv file. The first line must contain column headings. // csvFile : File // Result: [{field1:value1,...}] var data = readFile(csvFile); var result = parseCSVLine(data); var remainingData = result.remainingData; var headings = result.values; var rows = []; while (remainingData) { var result = parseCSVLine(remainingData, headings); var row = result.values; if (row) { rows.push(row); } // ignore empty rows remainingData = result.remainingData; } return rows; } /******************************************************************************/ function renderGroup(group, values) { for (var i = 0; i < group.pageItems.length; i++) { var item = group.pageItems[i]; var value = item.name ? values[item.name] : undefined; switch (item.typename) { case 'TextFrame': if (value !== undefined) { item.contents = value; // insert text into text frame } break; case 'PlacedItem': if (value !== undefined) { // linking to a named image file is left as an exercise } break; case 'GroupItem': renderGroup(item, values); break; } } } function renderCards(csvFile) { if (!csvFile) { return; } var doc = app.activeDocument; var data = parseCSVFile(csvFile); var templates = doc.layers[0].groupItems; for (var i = 0; i < templates.length; i++) { //var template = templates[i]; // iterate templates by stacking order var template = templates.getByName(TEMPLATE_PREFIX + (i + 1)); // or by name, e.g. "card 1", "card 2",... var values = data[i]; if (!template || !values) { break; } renderGroup(template, values); } } renderCards(File.openDialog("Please choose a .csv file:")); })();     ... 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Why do you want to put 40 different cards in one file? Who’s asking for that? What does your print provider require? Are they asking for 40 different designs on one artboard, or 40 different designs in one PDF file, or something else?   As Monica says, Illustrator’s Data Merge feature is designed to generate 40 different artwork files, one file for each CSV row. The rest is an imposition problem. ... View more

Does InDesign have a fit-text-to-frame option for reducing the long names to fit (as shown in OP’s attachment)?   There’s GREP tricks or third-party scripts if not:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFzWt_hrS-A   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CACgHaM2RRA     ... View more

AI is a 30yo app and its limitations are baked in deep. (e.g. Pasteboard and font sizes are also limited.)   Affinity Designer 2 opens the SVG without problem (except it can’t zoom out far enough to fit the entire thing on screen: AfD reports it as 4km²!).   I’ve attached a copy with the long path split in half so it now shows up in AI. Depending on what you’re using this artwork for, simplifying that monster path would be a very good idea. ... View more

“the branding got me confused”   Indeed. I believe it’s a Redmond motto. (Tho’ far from alone!) ... View more

Being an automation consultant myself I cannot offer a specific recommendation beyond the obvious, but here are some known community names:   Carlos Canto (@CarlosCanto) Vasily Hall (@Silly-V) Hamish Sanderson (that’s me) Tom Scharstein (@Inventsable)   That’s just off the top of my head; there will be more, I’m sure. I’m certainly available for remote consulting; you would have to ask the others their status.   Are you looking for ongoing maintenance and/or new development? If you have a new project coming up, you might consider posting a brief in a separate thread and see who responds.     ... View more

Yes I can export to xml file   Promising start. If the exported file is XFDF, the process of extracting it from the PDF can be automated later. The Acrobat forum can tell you if you this can be done by automating Acrobat directly (it’s been years since I’ve used Acrobat so can’t tell you myself). Alternatively, there are 3rd-part libraries for popular scripting languages that will read the .pdf file and output its XFDF content.   As to importing the XML data into Illustrator, you might be able to do this using Illustrator’s built-in Data Merge feature:   https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/data-driven-graphics-templates-variables.html   Google “Illustrator Data Merge” for more information, tutorials, etc. DM has limited capability but may be sufficient if your needs are simple. Otherwise, the XML file can be read and its content inserted using ExtendScript (AI’s embedded JavaScript engine).   If you want more detailed advice or want someone to develop a script for you, please post an example of the XML file, the .ai template into which the data should be inserted, and a manually-finished .ai artwork for Before & After comparison. (You can replace any business-sensitive information with mockup text/art; it’s just so we can see what content goes where and propose solutions.) ... View more

“adobe pdf pro” is not a thing; do you mean “Adobe Acrobat Pro” or “PDF Pro”?   Extracting data from a PDF can be easy or difficult/nightmare depending on how the PDF is constructed.   If it is built as a PDF form, with editable text fields, you can easily export that text to XFDF (XML) file which other software can read:   https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/acrobat/using/collecting-pdf-form-data.html   OTOH, if the PDF contains print data only, extracting that and turning it back into editable text is a PITA. There are 3rd-party libraries for popular scripting languages that will attempt to reconstruct the text directly from the underlying data, using various heuristics to determine words, spaces, lines in paragraphs. Alternatively Acrobat and other advanced PDF reader apps may have an OCR feature that does something similar. The accuracy of the output can be very hit or miss, so this approach is really a last resort. If a third-party is sending you these print-only PDF files for you to copy-paste text from them, ask them if they can send that text in a simpler text-based format which is more reliable to work with, e.g. CSV, JSON, XML, XLSX.   Extracting the data and inserting it into Illustrator are really two separate tasks, so I recommend you solve the hard part first—getting data out of the PDF and into a machine-readable XFDF/CSV/JSON/XML file. That’s a question better directed to the Acrobat forum. Once you have that working, come back here for assistance placing that data into an .ai document. ... View more

I think there is a department of experts in applied automation for companies.   Yeah, I think you’re looking at it.   I’m guessing Adobe will ramp up “Automation as a Service” once it finishes UXP and putting PS, AI, and ID into its Adobe Cloud. But that’s probably 2–4 years off. For now it’s pretty much BYO.   If you are looking to subcontract a developer to connect FileMaker and Adobe apps for you, post your project description here and on FileMaker’s user-to-user forums. Several folk here do freelance work.   Also try a Google search to see if a suitable off-the-shelf integration already exists as that will likely be cheaper than bespoke development.   If you already know how to automate both FM and AI and are struggling to connect them together, post a description of your problem here and maybe someone can offer some pointers. ... View more

Communicating from AS to JSX? Ask teh Google:   https://www.google.com/search?q=applescript+illustrator+%22do+javascript%22+arguments   First hit:   https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/parameter-pass-from-applescript-to-javascript/m-p/11343884#M188394   For JSX to AS, you are hobbled by AI’s ExtendScript API. InDesign’s JSX API has a handy:     Application.doScript(script, [language], [arguments], ...)     Illustrator’s does not. If you want to AI’s JSX to communicate with outside systems you’ll have to bodge it somehow, e.g. via Google again:   https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/use-command-line-from-illustrator-script/td-p/11110833 ... View more

As others have noted, the .ai file format is proprietary and nasty, and the AI licensing terms do not allow running it on a public-facing server.   A further concern: it sounds like you’re reinventing InCopy.   https://www.adobe.com/products/incopy.html   If you can share some details of your product, perhaps we can offer more useful advice. ... View more

Sounds like a script is the way to go them. OP is welcome to DM me for a quote; FMCG artwork automation is my area of expertise. ... View more

@MONIKA: Can Vasily’s VariableImporter script insert multiple spreadsheet rows into a single artwork? (I was under impression it worked much like AI’s own Variable Data feature: 1 row = 1 artwork.)   If you look at OP’s supplied Excel and artwork screenshot, you’ll see the Excel is structured in blocks of 9+ rows representing the 9 special offers for that week. There is 1 row per sku, and the artwork has nine offers to populate from these rows. (For offers which have >1 sku, e.g. the DUDU FRUIT DRINK 500ML has 4 variants, I assume OP’s brand guidelines dictate how to fit them into the available space.) Can Vasily’s VariableImporter can handle that level of complexity? ... View more

If the artwork is built in InDesign, you may be able to insert the Excel text into it using ID’s built-in Data Merge feature. You would have to ask on the InDesign forum if it can be done with ID’s data merge and style rules, or if it requires scripting.   To do it in Illustrator, you will need a script. Maybe a day’s work to write. If you don’t know JavaScript, myself or someone else here can quote you a price to write it for you. We’d need the .ai template file(s) to be automated, plus 2–4 finished .ai files which you’ve previously built by hand so we see how the generated artwork should look.   Please DM me if you wish to discuss over email. ... View more

That can be automated. We would also need to see several examples of the finished artworks to determine the best way to do it and how much work is involved. ... View more

Simple enough to do with a custom JavaScript.   Name your .ai file’s text frames “LABEL 1”, “LABEL 2”, “LABEL 3”, etc in the Layers palette, as shown in the screenshot, and re-save it. Save the script as “update template labels.jsx”.   With the .ai template open in Illustrator, choose File > Scripts > Other Script... and select the “update template labels.jsx” script. It will prompt you to select your .csv data file (its headings must match the 3 column headings shown in your screenshots), and will update the existing text frames with the new data.       // update template labels.jsx // Read lines from a comma-separated text file and insert each line's values into a named text frame in the AI document. // This code is released into the Public Domain. (function() { function parseCSVLine(data, headings) { // Parses one line of CSV data, returning it and the remaining data // data : string -- the CSV data // headings : [string] | undefined -- undefined when reading first (headings) line // Result: {fields: {string} | [string], data: string} --the line's fields plus any remaining lines of CSV data // // Notes: On return, fields is an object if headings array is given (headings are used as object keys), or an array of fields if no headings are provided. The number of headings must match the number of CSV fields, otherwise an error is thrown. var col = 0, eol = false; fields = headings ? {} : []; while (!eol) { // find next comma or double quote, or end of line var value = '', done = false, m = data.match(/[",]|[\r\n]+/); switch ((m || '')[0]) { case ',': value = data.slice(0, m.index); data = data.slice(m.index + 1); // step over text + comma break; case '"': // quoted field data = data.slice(1); // discard opening quote while (!done && data) { m = data.match(/"/); // note: quoted values can include line breaks so all we can do is read to next double-quote character if (!m) { throw new Error("Missing double-quote at end of CSV column " + col + "."); } var index = m.index; value += data.slice(0, index); if (data[index + 1] === '"') { // is the double quote followed by a second double quote (escape sequence)? value += '"'; // replace the 2 double quotes with 1 index++; } else { // it's a single double-quote, which ends the quoted value done = true; } data = data.slice(index + 1); // step over quote(s) } data = data.slice(1); // step over comma break; default: // found end of line/end of file; last value is anything up to it if (m) { value = data.slice(0, m.index); data = data.slice(m.index + m[0].length); // step over text and comma } else { value = data; data = ''; } eol = true; } if (headings) { var heading = headings[col]; if (heading === undefined) { throw new Error("Mismatched CSV columns: expected " + headings.length + " columns but found this value in column " + (col + 1) + ": '" + value + "'"); } fields[heading] = value; } else { fields.push(value); } col++; if (col > 1000) { throw new Error("Too many CSV columns (this is probably a bug)."); } } if (headings && col !== headings.length) { throw new Error("Mismatched CSV columns (this is probably a bug)."); } return {fields: fields, data: data}; } function readFile(f) { f.encoding = 'utf-8'; if (!f.open('r')) { throw new Error("Can't open file: " + f.fullName); } var s; try { s = f.read(); } catch (e) { f.close(); throw e; } f.close(); return s; } // main // prompt the user to select the CSV file manually each time: var f = File.openDialog('Please choose the .CSV file:'); // OR, if the file is in a fixed location, replace the above line with this: // var f = File('~/PATH/TO/INVENTORY.csv'); // (edit the path to the CSV file's actual location, e.g. '~/Documents/inventory.csv') if (!f) { return; } var data = readFile(f); var headings = ['COLOR', 'QTY', 'ORDERNO']; // these MUST match the spreadsheet headings data = parseCSVLine(data).data; // step over the headings line var doc = app.activeDocument; // read each line of the CSV and insert into text frame named 'LABEL 1', 'LABEL 2', 'LABEL 3', etc. var i = 1; while (data) { try { var result = parseCSVLine(data, headings); data = result.data; fields = result.fields; doc.textFrames.getByName('LABEL '+ i).contents = fields.COLOR + '\n' + fields.QTY + '\n' + fields.ORDERNO; i++; } catch (e) { alert("Error processing CSV line " + (i + 1) + ": " + e); return; } } alert("Updated " + (i - 1) + " labels."); // delete this line if you don't want the confirmation message }());       I already had the functions written so it was just a matter of adding the loop and testing it; 15 minutes work (plus the time to write this post). If this solves your problem a $30 donation to a homeless charity of your choice is appreciated.   ... View more

You can set up a create a simple web app in PHP or Node.js that takes the customer’s data and writes it to XML or CSV file, which AI’s Variable Data feature can import into the template and save as PDF. You will still have to run AI on desktop and trigger the import manually.   What you can’t do is host AI on a public-facing web server to make the whole process 100% automatic, with the customer receiving the generated PDF immediately after clicking Submit. Adobe’s standard licencing terms don’t allow this for their desktop apps, only InDesign Server, which is hellish expensive for a small business. I expect once Adobe finishes UXP and has all PS, ID, and AI running headlessly in the Adobe Cloud, they will offer UXP-automation-in-the-cloud as pay-per-use service, though it will likely be a couple more years before that is ready.   Depending on your artworking/automation needs it may be worth looking into alternate PDF renderers with more web-friendly licensing terms. Feel free to DM if you want to discuss in more detail. ... View more

What you ask is a problem because JSX’s `app.activeDocument.selection` gives you the currently selected PageItem objects, not the Layer objects highlighted in the Layers palette. If you can think of some other way for a script to identify the layers to be renamed, that may be achievable via JSX. ... View more

Works here. Run it via File > Scripts > Other Script… and choose QR.jsx. It’ll pop up a simple dialog for you to enter the data and size. Takes a second or two to run and creates a new file when done.   If you want the JSX script to appear permanently in the Scripts menu, put it in Illustrator’s Scripts folder and restart AI. Finding this folder is an exercise in itself and modifying will likely require admin permissions, e.g. on Mac it’ll be something like:   /Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2023/Presets/en_GB/Scripts ... View more

Please don’t make a new thread. The forum automatically promotes this thread back to the top whenever a new post is made in it.   Do add all the information I listed above. That will greatly improve your chances of getting productive help. ... View more

This sounds like a general automation task, not specific to Adobe tools (although you could certainly use those too):   Pull a list of spec numbers from the Excel, Locate the corresponding product sheet PDFs in a folder, and Append those PDFs’ contents to the end of your main Quote PDF.   Worth searching around online to see if there are existing apps/scripts which do what you want. It’s probably quite a common business task so I’d wager there are and you can find something that’ll work out of the box. Microsoft’s own 365 would be the natural place to start: Excel is MS’s bailiwick and PDFs are used everywhere in business.   If you don’t find something that quite fits your needs, the next step would be to create a script that does. It’s a small, straightforward job for someone with scripting experience and a little familiarity with the file formats involved.   If you know a little JavaScript you can probably lash it together yourself. I’d suggest a quick rummage on npmjs.com, searching for the following phrases:   xlsx pdf merge   That will turn up libraries for reading cell values from Excel files and for merging PDF files together.   (I can’t comment on the quality/appropriateness of specific libraries on npm, but I expect there’ll be something Good Enough.)   If you don’t know any scripting, write up a brief of what you require (basically the list above), with some Before and After example files/screenshots (a picture paints a thousand words), and find someone to write a script for you. From what you’ve described I’d estimate 4 hours coding plus 4 hours to iron out any details in user testing.   HTH ... View more

From your description a JavaScript solution might be quickest and simplest. It will help if you add the following information to your post:   * A screenshot of the folder containing your barcode PDF files. (I assume you already have an app/plugin which generates these; it might be useful to know its name.)   * A screenshot of your logo file opened in Illustrator. (If you don’t want to show your identity, just draw a solid box of the same size.)   * Before and After screenshots of an artwork in Illustrator which you have assembled it by hand. ... View more

Actions are quick and easy to create but lack fine-grained control. A scripted solution may be more appropriate to your needs, being able to examine and manipulate individual objects within the document. Worth having a rummage online to see if there’s a cleanup script out there that already does what you want. Otherwise, if you don’t know how to script Illustrator yourself, someone here may be happy to create you a free/paid JavaScript if your needs are simple. You would need to provide more a detailed description of the artwork, what constitutes “garbage” vs wanted content, and some sample Before and After files for study. HTH ... View more