AI to PDF Converter
Turn an .ai file into a PDF you can send, print or open anywhere, without the app it was made in. An .ai file saved with PDF compatibility already holds a complete PDF of the artwork, one page per artboard, so this tool does not redraw anything: it hands that PDF back, with the original vectors, text and fonts. By default it also removes the hidden Illustrator editing data, which only matters for reopening the file in Illustrator, so the PDF is often much smaller; or keep everything, byte for byte. Choose all artboards or a range such as 1-3, 5. Before you download, the new PDF is opened again and every page is compared with the original artboard, so you know it opens and looks the same. If the .ai file was saved without PDF content, or is an old PostScript-only file, the tool says so plainly and makes nothing. Your file is never uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; your .ai files are never uploaded.
What goes in the PDF
Artwork only removes the hidden Illustrator editing data. Both keep the vectors, text and fonts exactly as saved; the editing data only matters for reopening the file in Illustrator.
Artboards
Type all, or artboard numbers such as 1-3, 5. Choosing some artboards also removes the editing data, because it describes the whole file.
Runs in your browser: pdf.js (Apache-2.0) reads the .ai file’s PDF part and checks the result, and pdf-lib (MIT) removes the editing data or artboards; both load from jsDelivr when you add a file. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved. .ai files saved without PDF content and old PostScript-only .ai files have no PDF inside: the tool says so and makes nothing. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own artwork stay as they were. Not affiliated with Adobe.
How to convert an AI file to PDF
- Drop your .ai file on the box, or click Try a sample.
- Keep the default (artwork only, smaller) or choose everything, byte for byte.
- Type the artboards you want, or keep all of them.
- Read the size and the check under the box, then click Download PDF.
What you can use it for
- Send a design to a client or printer who does not have the app
- Make a smaller PDF of a heavy .ai file for email
- Pull one artboard out of a file with many as its own PDF
- Print an .ai file from any computer
- Keep a PDF copy of artwork for the records
- Check that an .ai file really holds a PDF before sharing it
Artwork only or everything
| Choice | In the PDF | Opens in Illustrator as | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artwork only (default) | Every chosen artboard, vectors, text, fonts, layers | A PDF | Often much smaller |
| Everything, byte for byte | The .ai file’s PDF exactly as saved, editing data included | The original .ai, fully editable | Same as the .ai |
| Some artboards | Only those artboards; editing data removed | A PDF | Smaller |
| Real Illustrator file we tested | .ai file | Artwork-only PDF | Smaller by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logo, 1 artboard (CC 2017) | 2,189,478 bytes | 547,767 bytes | 75% |
| Illustration with 4 layers (CC 22.1) | 767,800 bytes | 291,139 bytes | 62% |
| Web graphics, 2 artboards (CS6) | 470,046 bytes | 90,962 bytes | 81% |
In real files the editing data sits in numbered blocks named AIPrivateData, kept in the PDF’s page-piece dictionary, the place the PDF standard sets aside for an app’s own data. Removing that entry and every object only it pointed to leaves the visible PDF as it was. In each of these files every page of the smaller PDF drew the same as the artboard.
Which .ai files work
| Kind of .ai file | How to tell | What happens here |
|---|---|---|
| Saved with “Create PDF Compatible File” on (the usual setting) | Opens in a PDF viewer and shows the artwork | Works: every artboard is a page |
| Saved with that option off | A PDF viewer shows only a notice that it was saved without PDF content | Clear message, nothing faked: save it again with the option on |
| Old PostScript-only .ai | Starts with %!PS-Adobe instead of %PDF | Clear message: save it as a newer .ai or a PDF |
| A PDF renamed .ai, or a real PDF | Starts with %PDF | Works like any .ai with PDF compatibility |
An .ai file saved with the option off still starts like a PDF, but its only page is a notice that reads: “This is an Adobe® Illustrator® File that was saved without PDF Content. To Place or open this file in other applications, it should be re-saved from Adobe Illustrator with the ‘Create PDF Compatible File’ option turned on.” The tool reads that notice and tells you, instead of showing the notice as if it were your artwork.
Why nothing is redrawn
- Converters that redraw the artwork can turn text into pictures, lose fonts or change colours; handing back the PDF that is already inside keeps everything as the designer saved it.
- Spot colours, transparency and layers come through exactly as saved.
- The check after making compares every page with the original artboard, up to 40 pages.
Next steps: join PDFs with Merge PDF, split them with Split PDF, reorder pages with Organize PDF or clear the title and author fields with the PDF Metadata Remover. Need a picture of an artboard instead? Use PDF to PNG on the new PDF.
Not affiliated with Adobe.
Sources
Sources: a real .ai file saved without PDF content (Texas State University laser template), whose page carries the notice quoted above; ISO 32000-2, the PDF 2.0 standard (page-piece dictionaries, optional content, 1 point = 1/72 inch); pdf.js on GitHub (Apache-2.0 licence); pdf-lib on GitHub (MIT licence).
More free PDF tools
Need to change the PDF?
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See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this AI to PDF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on files. Everything happens in your browser, so your .ai file never leaves your device.
Does it keep the vectors and text?
Yes. Nothing is redrawn: the PDF you download is the PDF your .ai file already holds, with its own shapes, text and embedded fonts. Text you could select in the original stays selectable.
What is the Illustrator editing data?
When an .ai file is saved with PDF compatibility, Illustrator stores its own editing data next to the PDF copy, in a part of the PDF set aside for an app’s private data. Other programs ignore it. Removing it does not change how the PDF looks; it only means Illustrator would open the PDF like any other PDF, not as the original .ai.
How much smaller does the PDF get?
It depends on the file. The editing data can be as large as the artwork itself, so the PDF is sometimes less than half the size; a file without editing data stays about the same. The tool shows both sizes before you download.
Can I pick some artboards?
Yes. Type a range such as 2 or 1-3, 5. Each artboard is one page. Choosing some artboards also removes the editing data, because it describes the whole file and would otherwise bring back every artboard in Illustrator.
How do I know the PDF is right?
After making it, the tool opens the new PDF, counts its pages and draws every page next to the original artboard at a small size. The line under the box says whether they look the same.
Why does it say my .ai file was saved without PDF content?
Illustrator can save an .ai file without the PDF copy of the artwork that other programs read; the option is called Create PDF Compatible File. Such a file holds only the Illustrator editing data, which no browser tool can read. Open it in Illustrator, choose Save As, tick Create PDF Compatible File and add the new file.
Can it open very old .ai files?
Not the old PostScript-only kind, which start with %!PS-Adobe instead of %PDF. They need a PostScript interpreter, which this tool does not have, so it says so plainly. Save the file as a newer .ai with PDF compatibility, or as a PDF, and try again.
Is this for pictures made with AI?
No. AI here is the .ai file extension of vector artwork from Illustrator and similar apps. Pictures from AI image generators are usually PNG, JPG or WebP files.
Is my .ai file uploaded?
No. pdf.js and pdf-lib are downloaded from jsDelivr and run in your browser; the file itself stays on your device.