Sark

Hi all.

Can anyone using Illustrator tell me if it can export a Photoshop .pdf (not generic .pdf) that will open in Photoshop (complete with paths intact as paths).

I ask this because I'm trying to work out a way of getting my CorelDRAW paths into Photoshop. I know it can be done by opening a PS .pdf exported from Photoshop, so, if Illustrator can export and open paths in PS like this, it would be worth me trying to find a PS .pdf plugin for CorelDRAW.

Thanks in advance.

Sark

Welles

Hi Sark,

Sorry it took me so long to find an answer (I think) to your question. This is the relevant information from PS CS Help.

"You have two options for putting Adobe Illustrator art into Photoshop: exporting or copying. You can export an Adobe Illustrator file using the Photoshop file format. Exporting as a Photoshop file retains layers, masks, transparency, compound shapes, slices, image maps, and editable type where possible. If your Illustrator file contains elements that Photoshop does not support, Illustrator preserves the appearance of the artwork by merging the layers or by rasterizing the artwork. Photoshop can open a file exported as a PSD file as it would any file created directly in Photoshop.

If you set the clipboard preferences in Illustrator to copy as PDF and AICB, you can copy your artwork in Illustrator and paste it directly into a Photoshop file. The AICB option lets you choose to preserve the appearance of the artwork or to copy the selection as a set of paths.

Do one of the following:
? To export the illustration so that Photoshop can open it, choose File > Export. In the Export dialog box, choose Photoshop for File Format, and click OK. The file is ready to open in Photoshop.
? To change the preferences so that you can copy the illustration and paste it into Photoshop, choose Edit > Preferences > Files & Clipboard. In the Preferences dialog box, select AICB (No Transparency Support). Then select one of the AICB options, and click OK. You can now copy all or a portion of an illustration, switch to Photoshop, and paste it into a Photoshop image."

Does that help?

Sark

Welles

Thanks for the reply, it's much appreciated.

I think it actually confirms that what I was hoping to do is not possible.
PS's primary vector/path import method appears to be the clipboard. This is fine from Illustrator but, Corel just puts .cdr vectors on the clipboard, not .ai and of course PS just rasterizes them.
I recently discovered the PS .pdf export can retain paths when exported and opened back in PS. I was hoping to find a .pdf plugin for CorelDraw that could export the Photoshop .pdf rather than the generic version.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Thanks again for the reply.

Sark

ladyfinger007

Corel can export simple files in AI format... from there, it might be easier to get vectors in Photoshop!

Sark

sPECtre

You would think it should be that easy, but PS does not open/import .ai files as paths, it rasterizes them.
You can drag and drop paths from Illustrator to PS or, use the clipboard, not open or import.
Why you can't open an .ai file as a path is beyond me, but you can't, not in my version (7) at least.

Sark