Wolfi Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hello all of you, Quite often we require a graphic file in the Adobe illustrator format for further processing in a manual. Will Affinity Designer support this export format? Kind regards, Wolfgang Callum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff Callum Posted July 5, 2016 Staff Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hi Wolfi,. Welcome to the Forums :) Unfortunately we can't add this as the the AI format is private. C Please tag me using @ in your reply so I can be sure to respond ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_K Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hi Wolfi I don't believe we will be in the near future. Ai files are a propriety format so we don't not have access to all the nuances. When we read AI files we can only read the PDF stream so it prevents us from being able to import certain features. Therefore we would only be able to export the PDF side of an AI file, which is slightly redundant as we already have PDF export Serif Europe Ltd - Check the latest news at www.affinity.serif.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfi Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hi Wolfi,. Welcome to the Forums :) Unfortunately we can't add this as the the AI format is private. C Thanks for your fast reply. It's really a pitty as this format is very often used as for example with Adobe Framemaker and Indesign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Harris Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Most apps that can import AI can also import PDF. If it doesn't work directly, renaming the file extension to .pdf may be enough to make it work. It can also be worth trying EPS. Hofnaar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tupaia Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hello! Just installed Affinity Designer for Windows beta - very very promising! Congratulations so far!! I've been waiting for the day when Illustrator becomes obsolete in my toolbox... However, it's a pity that you don't support the AI format, since it's a de-facto "industry standard"! Don't underestimate the importance of interoperability/file exchange! I understand that it's a closed format, but how is it possible that CorelDraw does support the AI format, even the latest versions? Do they pay license fees? Other software I use (Rhino, Cinema4D) support AI, too, although mostly older versions. Best regards Eugen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeh64 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 It is true that there are many software titles that can export AI - though I do know it is proprietary. How can they and Affinity can't? It is such an important format for a vector app - though I would love to have Affinity be my primary app I simply can't until I can get a layered AI file in to After Effects. Would there be some other approach or file format that could accomplish moving a layered file in to other apps while maintaining layers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesusSheep Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 PDF is flat. AI Is Vecter. Would Be good if Affinity Read in Drawplus Files it after that people could save in Affinity Format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Pdf doesn't need to be a flattened format. It can consist of all vector and live text with the exception of bitmap effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 PDF has supported layers for very many years. Acrobat has supported layers since version 6, and version 9 introduced the ability to add new layers (instead of requiring the use of a separate authoring program). Alfred Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbert123 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Corel may have reverse-engineered the AI format, or are just outputting the PDF stream and saving it as AI. Most applications read the PDF stream in an AI file, and cannot deal with the older AI format (pre-pdf stream) at all. Even the official Adobe PSD format's documentation is rather lacking (a lot). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeh64 Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Yes, technically PDF supports layers, but in my tests going from Affinity Designer to After Affects via PDF it is not usable. Make four layers and put one simple shape on each layer - import into After Effects. You'll get many of the shapes existing on multiple layers, some layers simply gone and merged with another layer, any type will be a vector shape (no longer live), etc. Could it be the the Affinity PDF export just needs help? Or maybe the PDF spec is just never going to work well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Harris Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Try opening the PDF in Acrobat. The layers should be present there, if you've used a compatibility setting which supports them (eg, "PDF (for export)", but not PDF-X). If Acrobat understands them then it may be that the other app just doesn't import them. Text is not normally converted to curves for PDF export unless you've requested it or used a feature that PDF doesn't understand. Again it's worth checking whether Acrobat understands it as text. It can also be worth opening the PDF in Affinity again. We don't add special data that only we understand, so if the text is imported to Affinity as text then it must be text in the PDF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tupaia Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Would it be possible then to at least support the (old) Illustrator 8 format? That would open the door (without needing some software inbetween) to many 3D programs, like Cinema4D, 3ds Max... Just saying: the world of 3D is one gigantic scene, so it could be in Serif's interest to also place it's products also as companions in bigger production pipelines, together with 3D, video editing, compositing applications etc., not just cater to the graphics design market. So, again, let me emphasize the importance of being compatible with the industrie's standard file formats! Many a weakness can be forgiven in a software, but getting in a dead end with it's data is just not good. That's one of the virtues of CorelDraw. It's a great hub for file exchange. Supports the latest AI formats, DWG, ... you name it. Thanks! Best regards Eugen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeh64 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Good idea on the old AI 8 format - that would do the trick for layers at least (still no live text) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svend Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 I needed to export a designer file to adobe illustrator... SVG export worked, with only bummer being text was converted to path. The "fix" here was to then copy all text from Designer to clipboard, and then paste into illustrator so the text is editable! (not super elegant, but it is a good workaround sometimes, and no need to retype all text ! Svend ;-) www.svend.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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