IMPORTING OPTIONS

When you select File, Place to bring an object into Illustrator, you have the option to link the placed file by clicking the Link check box in the Place dialog. If you select Link, the image you are placing is linked to its original file. If you uncheck Link, the file you are placing is embedded in the Illustrator document.

When files are linked, remember that if you send this current Illustrator file to be printed, you need to send the linked file along with it. You also have fewer options for editing the items in the file you placed. If you embed the file, your Illustrator file is larger because the file you are placing is stored inside.

If you are working with a file and you are not sure whether it is linked or embedded, choose Window, Links and check the Links palette. All linked files are listed in the palette.

To see a list of the type of files Illustrator allows you to place, see Chapter 13, "Understanding the Illustrator Environment," or select File, Place, and look at the Files of Type pop-up menu. In certain cases, you have additional options when you import.

Importing Adobe PDFs

When you import a PDF as a linked file, you can transform the image but you cannot edit it. If you embed the file, you can edit individual parts of the PDF.

If you choose to import a multiple-page PDF, you must choose which page you want to import. You can also specify how you want to crop the object (see Figure 21.1).

Figure 21.1. The PDF import options are listed in the Place PDF dialog.

In the Crop To pop-up menu in the Place PDF dialog, select from the following options:

• Bounding Box: Crop to the smallest area that encloses everything on the page, including page marks.

• Art: Crop to a rectangle specified in the PDF as artwork.

• Crop: Place what is displayed in Acrobat.

• Trim: Place the final produced page as it will be trimmed if trim marks are present.

• Bleed: Place a representation of where the page is trimmed if a bleed area has been set up.

• Media: Place the original PDF size on the InDesign page, including page marks.

Importing Bitmap Files

Remember that bitmap refers to any resolution-dependent file format, most notably digital images. The same rules about resolution apply when you place a bitmap file in Illustrator, meaning that the resolution of the image must be sufficient for its use (that is, higher for printing, lower for display only). The resolution of the original file is preserved when it is placed. You should not enlarge the image a great deal or do anything that might compromise the final printed quality of your file.

Importing Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) Files

EPS is a common format for vector files. You can open an EPS created in another program in Illustrator, or you can place an EPS in an Illustrator document. Like most file formats, you can edit an EPS if you embed it in your Illustrator document, but information can be lost if you place a file that contains effects Illustrator does not support. If you place a file that contains a color with the same name as a color in your Illustrator file, you are asked which color to use.

Importing Photoshop (PSD) Files

When you place native Photoshop files with multiple layers as embedded objects in Illustrator (that is, the Link check box is not checked), you have quite a few options as to how the files are displayed. When you select the file and click Place, a Photoshop Import Options dialog appears with the following options (see Figure 21.2):

• Layer Comp: If the Photoshop file contains layer comps, select the version of the image you want to import. Select Show Preview to display a preview of the layer comp. The Comments text box displays any comments saved with the Photoshop file.

• When Updating Link: Select from the following options for layer visibility settings when a linked Photoshop file that includes layer comps is updated:

  • Keep Layer Visibility Overrides: Show the layer you chose when you first placed the file.

  • Use Photoshop's Layer Visibility: Show the layer that is currently visible in the Photoshop file.

• Convert Photoshop Layers To Objects: Select this option and the application does everything it can to keep a file's appearance and text editability intact when it's placed. If there are effects applied that Illustrator doesn't support, it merges and rasterizes layers to preserve the appearance of the file.

• Flatten Photoshop Layers To A Single Image: Check this option and the file imports as a single bitmap that is not editable at all, unless a clipping path has been added. In that case, you can edit the clipping path only.

• Import Hidden Layers: Import all layers that exist in the Photoshop file, even those that are not visible.

• Import Image Maps: When available, select this option to preserve all image maps that exist in the Photoshop file.

• Import Slices: When available, select this option to preserve any slices that exist in the Photoshop file.

Figure 21.2. The Photoshop Import Options dialog.