Export problem with transparency and feather effects

**steps** · 20 November 2007, 09:12 PM

Hi, I use the transparency, and the feather tool a lot in my artwork. Well, I've found that these types of effects don't export at all to adobe illustrator. They all end up with a white box as the effect in the exported artwork. Well, I would like to ad my artwork to the I-Stock photo website. I didn't actually go through with uploading artwork because I figured that they would want a .ai file. Is there any solutions to this that anyone could recommend. Or are there any plans to try to fix this issue in future versions? Thanks,

**raynerj1** · 20 November 2007, 10:04 PM

.ai views filled shapes differently than xara and also has a very limited transparency. AS long as you staay within what ai can handle it will export fine...

Try doing a 300 DPI bitmap copy and sending that to .ai... then it should come across fine, and no one can really steal your masters...

**amoore** · 20 November 2007, 10:09 PM

As I understand it, those effects don't export to AI for any of several reasons (and I'm sure someone will correct me on the details):

- AI doesn't support those effects natively, so it can't accept them from Xara.

- The AI export filter in Xara is from an older version anyway.

- AI's current native format is pdf. Pdfs can't handle some of these effects, either.

- Some of these effects may actually be handled via bitmap in Xtreme.

The usual workaround is to take the parts that don't export to AI and make bitmap copies of them and use the bitmaps in the export instead. I don't know how that will meet your needs relative to istock. At least part of the image would be vector.

**steve.ledger** · 20 November 2007, 10:28 PM

Feathers/Transparencies/Drop Shadows etc all appear to export well from XaraXtremePro as PDF/X (default settings) and import fine into AI CS3.
The attached test.pdf retains all attributes when imported into AI CS3 for me anyway..

**steps** · 20 November 2007, 11:10 PM

I usually use the .pdf format, but I just had a revelation, or brain fart. I can export the xara file to a .pdf and import into illustrator. Then save the file as a .ai file after I ungroup it. Then everything seems to be working fine. But I never would've figured it out without your help. Thanks
Steps

**steve.ledger** · 20 November 2007, 11:27 PM

Interesting turn of phrase? Is that for an idea that really stinks??

Anyhow - good to hear you figured something out

**Albacore** · 21 November 2007, 09:21 AM

It is not quite so easy as Sledger states because feathering is an bitmap process so each area that you feather or place transparencies will be rendered as a bitmap therefore making then uneditable in Illustrator.

If you want to be able to do changes in Illustrator stay away from complex Blends, Transparencies, and completely leave out Bevels, Drop Shadows and feathering.

**steve.ledger** · 21 November 2007, 11:17 AM

For the purpose that steps required, it is indeed as easy as I state. Let's not over complicate things with if's and but's. Answering the question at hand was the purpose of the post, not to take into account every contingency.

If steps required an .ai result from his .xar file that would retain scalable blends & transparencies etc in Illustrator then the answer may have been quite different as you point out. However this I believe was not the case.