Using the Clipboard to copy artwork


    You can use the Clipboard to transfer selections between an Illustrator file and other Adobe applications including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe GoLive, and Adobe InDesign. You can also set Clipboard preferences.

    The Clipboard is particularly useful for importing paths because paths are copied to the Clipboard as PostScript language descriptions. Artwork copied to the Clipboard is pasted in PICT format in most applications. However, some applications take the PDF version (such as InDesign) or the AICB version. PDF preserves transparency; AICB lets you specify whether you want to preserve the overall appearance of the selection or copy the selection as a set of paths (which can be useful in Photoshop).

To specify copying preferences:

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Mac OS).
  2. To copy the selection as PDF, select PDF.
  3. To copy the selection as AICB, select AICB and select one of the following:
    • To discard any transparency in the copied artwork, select Preserve Paths.
    • To flatten any transparency, maintain the copied artwork's appearance, and preserve overprinted objects, select Preserve Appearance and Overprints.

To add artwork from another application to an Illustrator document:

  1. Select the object or objects you want to copy in a non-Illustrator file. Then choose Edit > Copy.
  2. In the Illustrator file to which you want to paste the object, choose Edit > Paste.
  3. For information on controlling where artwork is pasted in the layer hierarchy, see Pasting objects in the current layer.

    Note: Some file formats cannot be pasted into Illustrator, but can be dropped into Illustrator by applications that support the drag-and-drop feature.