Edit AI files in your browser, free, without Illustrator
For when a designer sends you an .ai logo or poster, you only need to change a few words or one color, and there is no Illustrator on your computer. It opens AI files with their layers, groups and paths intact, lets you edit them, and saves them back as AI, SVG or PDF or exports PNG and JPG. Everything happens inside the browser, so the file is never uploaded to a server.
How to edit an AI file
- 1
Open the AI file
Drag an AI, SVG, EPS or PDF file onto the editor, or click "Open File". To start from an empty artboard, click "New Document".
- 2
Edit paths and text
Pick objects with the Selection tool (V) and move anchor points with the Direct Selection tool (A). Menus and shortcuts match Illustrator, so the Pen (P), Type (T), Pathfinder and Shape Builder work the way you expect.
- 3
Save
Under "File › Save As" (Ctrl+Shift+S), choose AI (PDF-compatible), SVG or PDF. For a picture you can use right away, choose PNG, JPG or WebP under "File › Export › Export As". The saved file downloads as a new file and your original stays as it was.
What it can and cannot do
What it can do
When you open an AI file, its layers and sublayers, groups, clipping masks, colors and gradients, transparency and artboards come in as they were. AI files saved without PDF compatibility, and old ones from Illustrator 3 to 8, open from their editing data.
You get the Pen and anchor editing, Pathfinder, Shape Builder, gradients, type and type on a path, Image Trace, alignment and transforms, with unlimited undo. Besides AI, it opens SVG and SVGZ, PDF, EPS, DXF, EMF and WMF, and Affinity files.
The editor is the open-source VectorCraft (MIT and Apache-2.0, by the ArtCraft team), rebuilt with a white theme, a Korean interface and the hookup to this site. Its interface comes in ten of this site's languages, English included.
What it cannot do yet
It does not have everything Illustrator has. By VectorCraft's own estimate it covers roughly 70% of Illustrator's features. Live effects, symbols, pattern fills and brushes can come in as their drawn look rather than as objects you can edit. For important files, save, reopen and check once.
A web editor cannot read the fonts installed on your computer. If the file uses a font the editor does not have, the text is drawn in a similar font.
Depending on the AI file, art placed outside the artboards may not come in. Very large files use a lot of memory and can stall the browser while opening. Phones are too small for it; it opens in a computer or tablet browser.
Why your file is not uploaded
The editor itself is downloaded into your browser, and opening, editing and saving all happen there. Client logos and unreleased designs never leave your device. You can check this yourself by keeping the Network tab of your browser's developer tools open while you edit. The editor files are kept after the first visit, so it opens faster the second time.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Adobe Illustrator?+
No. It is a separate free editor with no connection to Adobe. Its menus and shortcuts follow Illustrator, and it is built on the open-source VectorCraft. Illustrator is a trademark of Adobe.
Can I open an AI file without Illustrator?+
Yes. Open this page in your browser and drag the AI file in. There is nothing to install and no account.
Can I save my changes back as AI?+
Yes. Choose AI under "File › Save As" and you get a PDF-compatible .ai file, which Illustrator can open too.
Can I turn it into SVG or PNG?+
Choose SVG or PDF under "File › Save As", or PNG, JPG or WebP under "File › Export › Export As".
The fonts look different.+
A web editor cannot read the fonts installed on your computer, so when a font used in the file is missing, a similar one is drawn instead. If the exact fonts matter, ask the sender to run "Create Outlines" in Illustrator before sending.
Is my file uploaded to a server?+
No. Everything from opening to saving happens in your browser, and the file stays on your device.
Does it work on phones? Is it free?+
It is free with no sign-up. With this many panels it does not open on phones, but it works in a computer or tablet browser. The first time, it downloads about 15 MB of editor files.
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