File formats for exporting artwork – Adobe Illustrator CS4 User Manual
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USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Importing, exporting, and saving
3
Select a format from the Save As Type (Windows) or Format (Mac
OS) pop-up menu.
4
Click Save (Windows) or Export (Mac OS).
For a video on exporting content from Illustrator, including an overview on different formats and when you should
use them, see
See also
File formats for exporting artwork
Note: You can export multiple artboards only to the following formats: SWF, JPEG, PSD, PNG, and TIFF.
AutoCAD Drawing and AutoCAD Interchange File (DWG and DXF)
AutoCAD Drawing is the standard file format for
saving vector graphics created in AutoCAD. AutoCAD Interchange File is a drawing interchange format for exporting
AutoCAD drawings to or importing drawings from other applications. For more information, see “
Note: By default, white strokes or fills in Illustrator artwork are exported to the AutoCAD formats as black strokes or fills;
and black strokes or fills in Illustrator are exported to the AutoCAD format as white.
BMP
A standard Windows image format. You can specify a color model, resolution, and anti-alias setting for
rasterizing the artwork, as well as a format (Windows or OS/2) and a bit depth to determine the total number of colors
(or shades of gray) that the image can contain. For 4-bit and 8-bit images using Windows format, you can also specify
RLE compression.
Enhanced Metafile (EMF)
Widely used by Windows applications as an interchange format for exporting vector
graphics data. Illustrator may rasterize some vector data when exporting artwork to EMF format.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
Commonly used to save photographs. JPEG format retains all color
information in an image but compresses file size by selectively discarding data. JPEG is a standard format for
displaying images over the web. For more information, see “
” on page 278. You can also save an
image as a JPEG file using the Save For Web & Devices command.
Note: Artifacts, such as wave-like patterns or blocky areas of banding, are added to a file each time you save the file as a
JPEG. Always save JPEG files from the original image, not from a previously saved JPEG.
Macintosh PICT
Used with Mac
OS graphics and page-layout applications to transfer images between applications.
PICT is especially effective at compressing images with large areas of solid color.
Flash (SWF)
A vector-based graphics format for interactive, animated web graphics. You can export artwork to the
Flash (SWF) format for use in web design, and view the artwork in any browser equipped with the Flash Player plug-in.
For more information, see “
” on page 276. You can also save an image as an SWF file using the
Save For Web & Devices command (see “
SWF optimization options (Illustrator)
” on page 398), and you can export
text as Flash Dynamic or Input text (see “
” on page 334). In addition to exporting artwork
in Flash format, you can copy Illustrator artwork and paste it into Flash. The fidelity of artwork is maintained across
the clipboard.
You can create vector artwork for Flex skins in Adobe Illustrator and export it using the Create Flex Skin script. Flex
. For more information
about Flex skins and Flex Builder, see the Flex documentation on Adobe.com.