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Index › Processing Development › Libraries,  Tool Development › Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
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Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta) (Read 8444 times)
fry
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #15 - Apr 1st, 2006, 1:44am  
how about posting the updated code for the lib? i wanted to look into the bug that's causing all the weird errors when aiexport is installed but i've got no source to work with.
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mark hill
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #16 - Apr 1st, 2006, 9:02am  
No problem!

I'll post a link in a wee while, just let me get in front of my machine.
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mark hill
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #17 - Apr 1st, 2006, 12:48pm  
Here you go, Ben!

http://www.mark-hill.co.uk/AIExport/AIExportSource060401.zip
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Alecsandru
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #18 - Feb 21st, 2010, 1:13pm  
Where i can find the AIExport library? i'm trying to export a sketch in different vector formats. I managed pdf svg...but i can't find the library for Illustrator? any sugestions?
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Cedric
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #19 - Feb 21st, 2010, 2:47pm  
as far as i know it doesnt exist. but i dont think there is a good reason to support ai, as you have the pdf export as you already found out.
What to you expect the ai export to do what the pdf cant?
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Alecsandru
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #20 - Feb 22nd, 2010, 4:47am  
Cedric wrote on Feb 21st, 2010, 2:47pm:
as far as i know it doesnt exist. but i dont think there is a good reason to support ai, as you have the pdf export as you already found out.
What to you expect the ai export to do what the pdf cant

I have to make a study case around the benefits of vector graphics (around data visualization). The more formats ... the better and diverse the comparisons. But if you say it doesn't exist... i will redirect my focus on other ones  Sad. Thanks.
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Cedric
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #21 - Feb 22nd, 2010, 5:06am  
the output wouldnt be any different. so i guess thats the reason why there is no ai library beside the pdf one.
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PhiLho 
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #22 - Feb 22nd, 2010, 6:13am  
Cedric wrote on Feb 22nd, 2010, 5:06am:
the output wouldnt be any different.

I am not a specialist, but AFAIK, the .ai format isn't PDF. I think it is pure PostScript, or some variant. I doubt you can open a .ai file with a PDF viewer. But I can be wrong.
If I am not mistaken, PDF is a superset of PostScript.
... I checked to verify I am not writing misleading information... Adobe confirms my statements...

Now, Adobe Illustrator will probably open happily PDF and SVG as well as AI files, so if the purpose is to output for this software, the first two formats are OK and more generic (there are more softwares able to process PDF and SVG than AI files).
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Cedric
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #23 - Feb 22nd, 2010, 6:21am  
sure they differ in many ways. you can store totally different things in an ai file than in an pdf and vice versa. Although a pdf could be quite similar in many ways when saved as editable pdf in Illustrator.

but the output files and data you would get when exporting a pdf, and a ai file if it would exist from processing would probably dont differ. so what i wanted to say, as long as there is no benefit from supporting other file formats because they can be easily converted, nobody will put some work in it i guess
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davbol
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #24 - Feb 22nd, 2010, 7:49am  
Cedric wrote on Feb 21st, 2010, 2:47pm:
but i dont think there is a good reason to support ai, as you have the pdf export as you already found out.
What to you expect the ai export to do what the pdf cant


The biggest thing for me that's lacking with export-to-pdf then import-to-illustrator, is that there is no way to create/preserve layers.  And layers are REAL handy if the purpose for bringing it into AI in the first place is to 'tweak' it.  (btw, you can create pdf layers, i've posted such code to the forum before, but pdf layers do not make illustrator layers when imported.  i won't get into the "why" of it, but it's not a "bug", and don't expect it to ever work)

It'd be handy to be able to do something like this:

PGraphicsAI ai = (PGraphicsAI)beginRecord(AI, "test.ai");
ai.beginLayer("layer1");
// draw a bunch of stuff
ai.beginLayer("layer2");
// draw some more stuff

And of course grouping would be useful for similar reasons, imagine:

ai.beginGroup("complex multi-part entity");
//draw
//draw
//draw some more
ai.endGroup();

..anyway, just adding my $.02 for later reference in case anyone ever goes back to work on a full-featured AI exporter.
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Cedric
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #25 - Feb 22nd, 2010, 7:55am  
dave, you are absolutely right, i missed that feature a lot in the past.
if people would add such features to an ai exporter this would be a good reason for it.
a workaround i used in the past was using slightly different colors, strokeWeights etc. When drawing a lot of lines, or other elements. you can easily select them by using "select same ..." stroke,fill,strokeweight, in Illustrator. So when you have alot of different elements saved into an pdf. you can use strokeWeight(1.01),strokeWeight(1.02),strokeWeight(1.03) for each group/layer to easily select them again in illustrator.
But you are still right, the suggested way of doing it by using something like beginLayer would be quite useful.
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Alecsandru
Re: Adobe Illustrator Export (Beta)
Reply #26 - Mar 7th, 2010, 6:03am  
As you can see...there are many differences between all vector formats - advantages and disadvantages on all sides, but my main issue still remains: so the library isn't available, but is there another way you can export a processing sketch in .ai format ?
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