About saving artwork


    When you save, Illustrator writes the artwork data to a file. The structure of the data depends on the file format that you select. There are four basic file formats--AI, PDF, EPS, and SVG--that can preserve all Illustrator data. (For PDF and SVG formats, you must select the Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities options to preserve all Illustrator data.) There are also a variety of non-native formats that let you export data for use outside of Illustrator. (See Exporting artwork.)

    Keep in mind that when you choose a non-native format, Illustrator will not be able to retrieve all of the data if you reopen the file in Illustrator. For this reason, it is recommended that you save artwork in AI format until you are finished creating it, and then export the artwork to the desired format.

    Note: If you're working with managed files from an Adobe Version Cue project, see also Working with Adobe Version Cue managed projects.

    You can use the following commands to save artwork in a native format:

    • File > Save to save changes you've made to the current file.
    • File > Save As to save changes to a different file.
    • File > Save a Copy to save an identical copy of the file while leaving the original file active.

    Note: You may receive an error message when saving artwork that includes linked EPS files, if those files were saved in binary format (for example, in Photoshop's default EPS format). In this case, resave the EPS files in ASCII format, embed the linked files into the Illustrator artwork, or save the artwork in AI or PDF format instead of EPS format.