TechNote

Import Illustrator CS2-CS3 artwork into Photoshop CS2-CS3

What's covered

In Adobe Photoshop, you can import Adobe Illustrator artwork in several different ways, each of which offers a different level of control. When you open or place AI, EPS, or PDF files created by Illustrator, Photoshop rasterizes vector artwork and removes the ability to edit transparency, fonts, layers, and paths. To retain more control over imported Illustrator artwork, Adobe recommends that you drag or paste it into a Photoshop image or export it in Photoshop format.

Drag Illustrator artwork into Photoshop

Dragging Illustrator artwork is the quickest way to import it into Photoshop. By default, Photoshop creates a new layer for the dragged artwork and imports the artwork as a Vector Smart Object. (For more information, see "Smart Objects" in the Photoshop Help.) You can import dragged vector artwork as a work path, however, by holding down Control (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) while dragging. To center imported artwork in the Photoshop image, hold down Shift while dragging.

Note: To import dragged type as a work path, you must first convert it to outlines in Illustrator. For more information, see "Modifying letterforms as graphic objects" in Illustrator Help.

Paste Illustrator artwork into Photoshop

When you copy Illustrator artwork, you can paste it into Photoshop and retain many Illustrator features. To do so, however, you must properly configure Clipboard preferences in Illustrator.

Clipboard preferences in Illustrator

The Illustrator Clipboard supports a variety of formats including: PICT, PDF, and AICB. Though Illustrator always copies PICT data to the clipboard, you can configure Illustrator so that it also copies PDF or AICB format. These two formats allow you to retain Illustrator features in artwork pasted in Photoshop. PDF retains Illustrator transparency, while AICB format retains Illustrator paths.

You should only select the AICB format by itself if you are going to be pasting paths in to Photoshop. In all other cases, select the PDF format or the PDF format in conjunction with AICB. The PDF format retains transparency and other features in Illustrator such as extended support for spot colors.

To configure Clipboard preferences in Illustrator:

Choose Edit > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Mac OS X).
In the Clipboard section, select the desired format.
If you selected AICB, select either Preserve Paths or Preserve Appearance.
Click OK.

Paste options in Photoshop

When you use the Paste command to import copied Illustrator artwork, Photoshop provides the following options in the Paste dialog box:

Paste as Smart Object: Pastes the art as a Vector Smart Object that can be scaled, transformed, or moved without degrading the image before it's placed into the Photoshop document. As the art is placed, its file data is embedded in the Photoshop document and the art is rasterized on a separate layer.
Paste as Pixels: Pastes the copied artwork in a new layer and rasterizes it at the resolution of the Photoshop image. Use this option when pasting raster objects.

Note: When you use this option, clipping masks for raster images are not retained as paths. These masks still clip images, however.
Paste as Path: Pastes the copied artwork as a work path.
Paste as Shape Layer: Pastes the copied artwork in a new vector shape layer. Compound Illustrator shapes retain their attributes and remain editable. Multiple copied paths and clipping masks are pasted as multiple paths that use the unite attribute .

Note: When you use this option, pasted objects use the foreground color in Photoshop, not the fill color they use in Illustrator. Likewise, transparent objects become opaque.

Export Illustrator files in Photoshop format

Exporting Illustrator documents files in Photoshop format gives you the most control over Illustrator artwork in Photoshop. With this method, you can specify resolution and enable anti-aliasing for rasterized artwork. You can also retain the following Illustrator features:

Editable text
ICC profiles
Layers, including nested and hidden layers
Masks
Transparency
Compound shapes
Slices and image maps

Note: A compound shape must have either no stroke or a stroke with a round join that uses whole integers for the stroke weight. However, the compound shape can reside on a layer with other objects. In that situation, Photoshop places the other objects on a separate layer in the same layer set.

For more information about exporting Illustrator files in Photoshop format, see "Photoshop export options" in Illustrator Help.

Open Illustrator (AI) files in Photoshop

You can open AI files in Photoshop if you save them using the Create PDF Compatible File option.

To save an AI file using the Create PDF Compatible File option:

Choose File > Save As.
Choose Illustrator (*.AI) as the file format, and click Save.
Click Create PDF Compatible File in the Illustrator Options dialog box, and click OK.