AI to PDF
How to use
Opens Adobe Illustrator .ai files as PDF, PNG or JPG without Illustrator. Drop the .ai file, pick the format, and download.
Step 1 of 4: Upload
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Step 1 of 4 · Upload
- 1Upload
- 2Options
- 3Convert
- 4Download
- Viewing a logo or design a designer sent as .ai, without Illustrator
- Sending artwork to a printer or client that wants a PDF
- Getting a PNG of a logo for a website or presentation
Why an Illustrator file can open without Illustrator
An .ai file saved by Illustrator 9 or later usually contains two things side by side: Illustrator's own private editing data, which only Illustrator understands, and a complete PDF rendering of the artwork. The PDF part is there because the "Create PDF Compatible File" option is switched on by default when saving. It lets other applications preview and place the file, and it is what this tool reads.
Getting a PDF out is therefore not really a conversion at all. The tool checks the start of the file for the PDF signature and, if it is present, hands you the file as a .pdf. Nothing is redrawn, so vectors stay vectors, colours are exactly as saved and the result is safe to send to a printer. PNG and JPG output renders that same PDF to pixels, one image per page, which is what you want for a slide, a document or a website.
If the check fails, the file was saved with PDF compatibility turned off, or by Illustrator 8 or older, and it is PostScript rather than PDF. No browser can render that, so the tool says so instead of producing a blank page. The fix is on the designer's side: re-save from Illustrator with the option ticked. That is also worth asking for whenever you receive .ai files, since it is what lets anyone without Adobe software view them.
Free and private. Everything runs on your own device, with no account and no uploads.
An Adobe Illustrator .ai file is, in most cases, already a PDF. Illustrator's default "Create PDF Compatible File" option writes a complete PDF copy of the artwork into the file, alongside its own editing data. This tool checks for that PDF, and if it is there, gives it back to you as a .pdf that any viewer opens, or renders it as PNG or JPG images, without needing Illustrator.
Yes. The PDF is the one Illustrator itself wrote into the file, taken as it is. Vectors stay vectors, nothing is re-rendered, and text and colours are as Illustrator saved them.
It was saved without "Create PDF Compatible File" ticked, or by Illustrator 8 or older. Those files are PostScript rather than PDF and cannot be read in a browser. Re-saving from Illustrator with the option ticked fixes it.
No. Layers and other editing data belong to Illustrator's private part of the file. The PDF and images show the finished artwork, which is what a client or printer usually needs.
PNG for logos and anything with transparency or sharp edges; JPG for artwork that is mostly photographic, where it gives a smaller file.
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Add the .ai file
Drop one or more Illustrator files.
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Pick PDF, PNG or JPG
PDF keeps the artwork as vectors; PNG and JPG render it as images.
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Convert and download
Several files, or a multi-page PDF rendered as images, arrive in a ZIP.
- ·For print, send the PDF rather than an image: it stays sharp at any size.