Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 - Manual (Page 324)

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Importing, exporting, and saving
Last updated 6/5/2015
Importing Adobe PDF files
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is a versatile file format that can represent both vector and bitmap data. You
can bring artwork from PDF files into Illustrator using the Open command, the Place command, the Paste command,
and the drag-and-drop feature.
• Use the Place command with the Link option selected to import a PDF file (or one page of the PDF if it is a multi-
page document) as a single image. You can modify the linked image using transformation tools; however, you
cannot select and edit its individual components.
• Use the Open command or the Place command with the Link option deselected to edit the contents of a PDF file.
Illustrator recognizes the individual components in the PDF artwork and lets you edit each component as a discrete
object.
• Use the Paste command or the drag-and-drop feature to import selected components from a PDF file, including
vector objects, bitmap images, and text.
note: If you are color-managing artwork in a document, embedded PDF images are part of the document and therefore
color-managed when sent to a printing device. In contrast, linked PDF images are not color-managed, even if color
management is turned on for the rest of the document.
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About linked and embedded artwork
Adobe PDF placement options
When you place an Adobe PDF file, you specify which page you want to import. You also choose how to crop the
artwork by selecting a Crop To option:
Bounding Box Places the PDF page’s bounding box, or the minimum area that encloses the objects on the page,
including page marks.
Art Places the PDF only in the area defined by a rectangle that the author created as placeable artwork (for example,
clip art).
Crop Places the PDF only in the area that is displayed or printed by Adobe Acrobat.
Trim Identifies the place where the final produced page will be physically cut in the production process, if trim marks
are present.
Bleed Places only the area that represents where all page content should be clipped, if a bleed area is present. This
information is useful if the page is being output in a production environment. Note that the printed page may include
page marks that fall outside the bleed area.
Media Places the area that represents the physical paper size of the original PDF document (for example, the
dimensions of an A4 sheet of paper), including page marks.
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Place (import) files
Importing monotone, duotone, and tritone images from Adobe PDF files
When you import artwork from an Adobe PDF file, it’s possible to introduce data that you can’t create within Illustrator.
This is called non-native art and includes monotone, duotone, and tritone images. You can also generate non-native art
within Illustrator by using the Flatten Transparency command to preserve spot colors.