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1. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Al Ferrari Mar 26, 2008 6:26 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)Does the problem also occur with earlier versions of either application?
Can you describe the contents of the AI file a bit? Are there objects from the AI file partially visible in the IDCS3 file? Is High Quality display turned on? Are there non printing layers or attributes to objects in the AI file?
Al
Edit: After placing, but before scaling, what size is reported by ID for the placed file when re-selected with the direct selection tool? -
2. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Michael Brown12 Mar 26, 2008 7:07 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)I had similar problems with CS2, but not exactly the same. In that instance, the two applications are incompatible regarding their size limits. If I remember correctly, AI has a limit of 227" and ID has a limit of 216"--an inexcusable lack of attention by Adobe. My present problem has neither application at its size limit.
Regarding the contents of the AI file, etc., nothing unusual. I think I didn't fully explain what is happening. Imagine you have a picture box and you import an image into it. Do a "fit frame to contents". This makes the frame to the exact size of the image. In my case, the frame seems to be too narrow, obscuring a part of the image on the right. If you enlarge the frame it does not matter. That part of the image is not there. It is as if you sliced it off with a knife. No matter how large you make your frame the image is still missing that part on the right. It has nothing to do with the objects in the file, the status of HQ display (which is on, by the way), printing layers, nor attributes in the AI file.
Thanks for taking a shot, but I don't think the things you mentioned are relevant to my problem.
MGuilfoile -
3. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Michael Witherell Mar 26, 2008 8:50 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)Did you describe a crop area in the Illy file and turn on Show Import Options when placing the ai file into InDesign? For the purpose of setting Crop To the Crop?
Is everything patched current?
You might consider, nonetheless, about working at quarter scale. Fonts should scale with no complaint!
Mike -
4. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
BobLevine Mar 26, 2008 8:57 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)What results do you get if you place the Illy artwork at 100% into an
fully sized InDesign document?
Are you placing into an existing frame? If you open the frame up is the
entire graphic there?
Have you tried saving as PDF instead of AI? Shouldn't matter but it's
worth a shot.
Bob -
5. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Al Ferrari Mar 26, 2008 10:02 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)I can confirm the problem with some simple tests:
An AICS3 file set up as 210 in. wide by 11 high, with a 50 X 5 green rectangle at 2, 3, and a 50 X 5 red rectangle at 158,3. The art is 2 in from each left or right pasteboard edge, or 206 wide.
A landscape tabloid IDCS3 with a black bar .1 x 15.45 (7.5% of 206), and two other black bars .1 x 3.75 (7.5% of 50) placed at either end of the ID page. These will serve as visual gauges.
Place the AI file and scale the content to 7.5%. The red right hand rectangle is indeed cut off. This is confirmed in the exported pdf as well.
Testing variations of the AI file, I find that the cut off occurs in the ID file when the width of the AI art is greater than 200, but not when smaller (bring the rectangles closer together, without scaling them). In ID, the with of the placed file before scaling is always reported as 200 after reselecting with the direct selection tool for the files with content grater than 200 wide.
Bob's suggestion of placing on a full size ID page offers no improvement on the cut off, but the pdf idea leads to some possible insight into the problem. Trying to save the 210 in wide AI file as pdf produces an error that the page dimensions are out of range, even when the width of the art is made less than 200. But this error does not occur when the AI doc size is below 200.
Revisiting the place dialog in ID for the AI files when import options is checked, I notice that the title of the options dialog window is "Place PDF (filename.ai)". This leads me to suspect that the pdf page size limit plays a role in how ID pics up the placed AI file width info.
Al
Edit: AICS3 13.02; IDCS3 5.02; OS X 10.4.11 -
6. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
BobLevine Mar 26, 2008 10:57 AM (in response to Al Ferrari)That's it!
PDF has a 200" limit. Since the AI file is in reality a PDF file there's
the problem right there.
Only solution I can offer is scale it down..and please...if you have any
complaints about it, direct them to Adobe, not to your fellow users here.
Bob -
7. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Michael Brown12 Mar 26, 2008 11:02 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)Thanks, Al, for all your testing! That seems to confirm that it is a problem with Adobe products not using the same criteria for all their programmers. I suppose I'll have to split my file into two separate files. That's not a big deal, but it does make me wonder what other incompatibility problems are lurking. So far, text and dimensions don't seem to work well across the different applications. Those are pretty big things.
Also, I won't bore everyone with the details, but suffice it to say that working at a smaller size and then blowing it up somewhere at the end of the process is not a solution.
Perhaps this should go to the CS feature request list.
Thanks again.
MGuilfoile -
8. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Al Ferrari Mar 26, 2008 11:23 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)OK, but this means that ID uses the pdf component for both content and preview.
However, the illustrator file does reopen with the data intact at full size. When saved as an eps, and placed in the ID test file described earlier, ID reports the size as 206 before scaling, and when scaled to 7.5%, the full length of the red bar is there both in the open ID page and in the exported pdf.
Let's hear it for eps! :-)
So software is imperfect, and it is certainly never finished.
Al -
9. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Michael Brown12 Mar 26, 2008 1:09 PM (in response to Michael Brown12)Thanks, Al, for the eps trick. And they said it was a dead format!
It is true no software is perfect, but such an egregiously negligent oversight is unconscionable and indicates indifference at best and contempt at worst for one's customers. There is so much I like about Adobe's software, but they just don't seem to know how to pay attention to what they are doing. But, as Robert said, that is for a letter to Adobe--not all the helpful people on this forum. Thanks to all for getting me out of a mess!
MGuilfoile -
10. Re: InDesign cutting off AI file
Al Ferrari Mar 27, 2008 6:25 AM (in response to Michael Brown12)Reviewing this thread, I see that I was a bit sloppy in describing the InDesign test file in #5.
The three black bars mentioned should all be horizontal to serve as a quick visual gauge in determining if the red bar in the scaled placed art is getting cut off or not.
Al



