Packaging a file in Adobe Illustrator involves gathering all the contents of the file in one place. This includes vector graphics, linked images/graphics, icons, fonts, and a report summary.
Why should I package files in Adobe Illustrator?
There are two main reasons for doing this:
- It allows you to share the complete file and all the necessary assets with a web designer, print shop, or publisher. They will be able to access and use all the required resources.
- It enables you to store the file for future use, ensuring that everything it needs will be readily available when you open it later.
Let’s start packaging!
To package files in Adobe Illustrator, navigate to the File menu and select the “Package” option.
A dialogue box will appear, prompting you to choose a destination for saving. It will automatically create a folder for you, but feel free to rename it to whatever name you’d like to use.
Under the Options section, all checkmarks are checked by default; you can review and leave them as they are or uncheck the ones you do not want to copy.
We recommend leaving everything checked.
Links:
Adobe Illustrator will copy all the links and organize them into a folder you have specified and named in the “Location” and “Folder Name” options.
It will also update and relink the linked files and documents.
Fonts:
Please note that all the fonts, except Adobe fonts, will be copied. The reason behind this is that anyone opening the file would require Creative Cloud, which consequently grants access to Adobe fonts and non-Adobe, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts.
While copying fonts, you will receive a warning about the potential illegality of font distribution without a license. So, be mindful of this warning.
Report:
Also, Illustrator will generate a detailed report, providing you with an overview of all the collected elements.
Please read it, and it is useful to share it with the other package files with whomever you are sending the files to.
Here is a sample of the report.
Moving on, we’ll confirm that selecting “okay” and the packaging process will start.
Once completed, open the folder, and you should see the following:
- As mentioned above, you’ll find a detailed text report listing everything in the package.
- You will also have the artwork file in .ai format.
- All the fonts.
- You will also find linked image files, if any.
Here is what your packaged folder should look like.
That’s it! As you can see, packaging files in Adobe Illustrator is very easily done with a few clicks; now, you can distribute or archive them.
Just keep in mind the font restrictions if you need to share or preserve it for future use.
To improve your Illustrator skills even further, you might find these tutorials helpful.
