Open Illustrator Files Online - AI, EPS and PDF Import

Quick answer

Drop an .ai, .eps or .pdf file onto the SVGSketch canvas, or choose it with File > Import.... The import dialog lists the artboards, lets you keep text editable or convert it to outlines, and places the result as a new document or inside the current one. Geometry, gradients, clipping masks, opacity and blend modes come from the file's PDF rendition; layer names, sublayers, object names, lock and hidden state, and text paragraphs come from the Illustrator source inside the file. Nothing is uploaded.

What the import keeps

Appearance from the PDF, structure from the source A two-layer Illustrator file run through the importer: the rendition supplies the artwork, the source supplies 3 layers (1 nested), the object names and 2 editable text objects in place of positioned glyphs.

What an Illustrator file really contains

An .ai file saved with PDF compatibility is a PDF with Illustrator's private document stored beside the pages. The PDF pages are the exact appearance Illustrator flattened: effects, brushes, meshes and transparency are already rendered into paths, gradients, masks and images. The private document keeps what the PDF loses: the layer tree with sublayers, object names, lock and visibility, and the text stories behind every glyph.

SVGSketch reads both. The rendition is the authority for how things look, and the source is the authority for how things are organized. The two are aligned by geometry, so a sublayer becomes a nested group around the same paths the rendition painted, and a paragraph becomes one editable text instead of a run of positioned glyphs.

Artboards, layers and names arrive intact

Each artboard becomes a view in the document at its Illustrator canvas position, so a two-artboard file exports back to a two-page PDF. Top-level layers and sublayers show up in the Elements panel with their names; a locked layer locks its contents, and a hidden layer is hidden through the eye toggle, not through an authored display rule you would have to hunt for later.

Objects that carry a name in Illustrator keep it. An empty layer, a guides layer or a hidden layer whose art never reached the PDF still appears in layer order, so the document you open has the layer list the person who made it would recognize.

Text stays text

By default the importer keeps text editable: the import dialog's "Keep text editable" option reads the story text, paragraphs and line positions and maps the font by its PostScript name, weight and style. A font you do not have is listed in the report with a "Load fonts" button, and never silently swapped for a lookalike.

Choose "Convert text to outlines" when the artwork must be pixel-identical to the file, for example a logo whose type was customized. Text set on a path keeps the rendition's per-glyph placement either way.

PDF import works the same way

A PDF from any application opens through the same engine: pages as views, optional content groups as layers, paths, images, gradients, soft masks, blend modes and text. Print-to-PDF output, LaTeX figures and exports from other design tools all go through the same route, with the same report.

Files saved without PDF compatibility, PostScript-era .ai files and Illustrator EPS files have no rendition to read, so SVGSketch draws them from the Illustrator source directly: paths, compound paths, clipping groups, CMYK and spot colors, gradients, embedded images and text. Effects on those files show their base geometry and are named in the report.

A report you can act on

Every import ends with a report, reachable again from File > Last Import Report.... It lists what was preserved, approximated, rasterized or dropped, the fonts the document needs and whether each is available, and the color mode of the source. "Copy report as JSON" hands the same data to a script or a bug report.

The same importer runs in the command line tool: svgsketch import file.ai writes the editable document, and svgsketch convert file.ai -o file.svg writes plain SVG, with the report as JSON on request.

FAQ

Do I need Illustrator installed to open an .ai file?

No. SVGSketch reads the file itself, in the browser. Nothing is uploaded and no plugin is required.

Which Illustrator versions are supported?

Files saved with PDF compatibility from Illustrator 9 onward, including CS through CC 2020 and later, open through the PDF rendition plus the Illustrator source. Older PostScript-era files and files saved without PDF compatibility open through the source alone, with effects shown as base geometry.

Is the text editable after import?

Yes, by default. The importer keeps paragraphs and line positions and maps fonts by name. Missing fonts are listed in the import report with a way to load them. You can also convert text to outlines in the import dialog.

What happens to effects, brushes and gradient meshes?

Illustrator flattens them into the PDF rendition, so they import with the appearance they had: paths, gradients, masks and images. They are not live effects afterwards, and the report names each one as approximated or rasterized.

Can I open a PDF that did not come from Illustrator?

Yes. Any PDF opens through the same engine, page by page, with optional content groups as layers and text kept editable where the fonts allow.

Are CMYK colors preserved?

CMYK and spot colors are converted to sRGB for the screen with the same conversion pdf.js uses, and the report states the document color mode and lists the spot colors it flattened.