This is a read-only archive of the inkscapeforum.com site. You can search for info here or post new questions and comments at Hi, I'm super uber new to vector anything. I've NEVER created one, don't know the first thing about it other than sizing up and down isn't an issue. However, I've got a subscription to a vector image site and I can download their files. They say I can edit their ai files in Inkscape. My assumption is that ai files are not flat files like jpgs, and I should see their layers. But when I open the ai files, I can't tell if there is one layer or many layers. It just looks like one layer in what I think is the layers palette (I use photoshop, lightroom, and the like). How can I see the supposed many layers in these files? I want to be able to individually select the various elements of the image.
My other question is that whenever I try to open the ai files, I get a pdf dialog. Why is that? The file I'm opening is ai, not pdf.
My last question is how responsive is Inkscape supposed to be? When I open the ai file, it takes a long time (like 30-45 seconds) and each time it'll say not responding and then it opens. Then, once I have the file open (I've cancelled out of the pdf dialog), I click on the image and a selection box appears. I try to move that box around and it either doesn't do anything or it takes a really long time to respond.
Sorry to ask what are probably really basic questions, but I can't seem to find the answers elsewhere (probably because I don't know what to look for!). I just want to be able to open an ai file, pull out some of the elements, save as a new file (a jpg) and open it in photoshop.
If you are able to help, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!
MEA
Trying to edit ai file I didn't create
Re: Trying to edit ai file I didn't create
Hi MEA,
about your last question: there's a bug in the 64bit Windows version of Inkscape 0.91 for certain graphics cards that can slow it down significantly. If you're on Windows, try if hiding the rulers will speed things up: View -> Show/Hide -> Rulers.
If this doesn't help, there's still a lot you can do to speed it up, e.g. in the preferences, change the number of threads in Preferences -> Rendering (more is faster, but too many can block other applications on your computer).
But maybe this is also due to the file itself. If it contains many objects, many clips, many nodes, then Inkscape will become slower. Typically, this is not a big problem with vector images, as many are rather 'simple', but some images really are slow to work with.
Opening AI via a dialog that says PDF: if it works, then that's ok. AI files are sometimes just pdf files with extra data (that's not the case for all AI files, I think).
For the layers: There *is* a layers dialog, see Layers -> Layers... that lists all layers. But layers are just an Inkscape-internal concept. They do not translate to Inkscape's native file format, which is SVG, where they are just groups. It doesn't appear as if layers from AI or pdf are imported as Inkscape layers, but only as groups.
SVG only knows about groups and stacking order. So you may need to ungroup, or to double-click on a group to enter it, so you can access the objects inside, which are stacked above one another. Select an object, and look at the status line at the bottom to know what kind of thing it is (group, path, rectangle, circle,...).
Inkscape comes with a set of tutorials (Help -> Tutorials), and if you have some time to read a text, you could also take a look at some entry level tutorials made by other users, like the ones listed here: http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php
about your last question: there's a bug in the 64bit Windows version of Inkscape 0.91 for certain graphics cards that can slow it down significantly. If you're on Windows, try if hiding the rulers will speed things up: View -> Show/Hide -> Rulers.
If this doesn't help, there's still a lot you can do to speed it up, e.g. in the preferences, change the number of threads in Preferences -> Rendering (more is faster, but too many can block other applications on your computer).
But maybe this is also due to the file itself. If it contains many objects, many clips, many nodes, then Inkscape will become slower. Typically, this is not a big problem with vector images, as many are rather 'simple', but some images really are slow to work with.
Opening AI via a dialog that says PDF: if it works, then that's ok. AI files are sometimes just pdf files with extra data (that's not the case for all AI files, I think).
For the layers: There *is* a layers dialog, see Layers -> Layers... that lists all layers. But layers are just an Inkscape-internal concept. They do not translate to Inkscape's native file format, which is SVG, where they are just groups. It doesn't appear as if layers from AI or pdf are imported as Inkscape layers, but only as groups.
SVG only knows about groups and stacking order. So you may need to ungroup, or to double-click on a group to enter it, so you can access the objects inside, which are stacked above one another. Select an object, and look at the status line at the bottom to know what kind of thing it is (group, path, rectangle, circle,...).
Inkscape comes with a set of tutorials (Help -> Tutorials), and if you have some time to read a text, you could also take a look at some entry level tutorials made by other users, like the ones listed here: http://forum.inkscapecommunity.com/index.php
Something doesn't work? - Keeping an eye on the status bar can save you a lot of time!
Inkscape FAQ - Learning Resources - Website with tutorials (German and English)
Inkscape FAQ - Learning Resources - Website with tutorials (German and English)