XnView Software

How about show thumbnails for Adobe Illustrator .ai files?

ghost zero wrote:How about show thumbnails for Adobe Illustrator .ai files?

Do you have AFPL ghostscript?

what is that?

ghost zero wrote:what is that?

FAQ: How to display vector formats like PDF, AI,...? GhostScript!

I believe Adobe Illustrator .ai files have embedded thumbnails. Can those be read?

this one would be cool and if ever add coreldraw files as well if possible.

ghost zero wrote:I believe Adobe Illustrator .ai files have embedded thumbnails. Can those be read?

Yes, XnView can read these thumbnails. But remember: Not all AI, EPS or CDR files have previews embedded in them. It depends on the program they were saved with/exported from and on the settings made by the file's author.

Forum references:

• crashing when viewing .ai files
• Thumbnail AI
• Handling limited Corel format support

Off-site resources:

• emotion picture: Create Watermark for Photo Protector » Adobe Illustrator Export
• BittBox: Workflow – Preview EPS Files in Finder and QuickLook
• RSC Publishing: Create A File With CorelDraw » Saving An EPS Image
• WebReference.com: CorelDraw 101 » Import and Export » Export CDR File » Choose Thumbnail Size

Adobe Illustrator File Format Specification wrote:%AI3_DocumentPreview: keyword

• [ 3.0/3.2 ] [ 5.0/5.5 ] [ 6.0 ] The %AI3_DocumentPreview comment describes the type of preview image contained in the file. If no preview is included, keyword is None.

FAIK XnView reads .ai files using Ghostscript and builds the thumbnail based on the vector image. I doubt that XnView reads the embedded thumbnail. @Pierre: Please shed some light on this.

For Corel files (.cdr, .cps, ...) the answer is clear: Image is not read, only embededded "thumbnails" are displayed, XnView cannot read the Corel format because it's a proprietary and closed format. See topic Handling limited Corel format support.

thumbnails for .ai files are displayable in Adobe Bridge file browser, so i was wondering if that was possible in xnview

I don't have GhostScript installed on my Windows 2000 PC. XnView behaves exactly as I want it to:

• For AI files without an embedded document preview, XnView displayes the system's file type icon.
• If an AI file contains an embedded document preview, XnView extracts it and uses it as thumbnail in the browser and for the preview pane (even if %AI3_DocumentPreview: None).

Other than with EXIF thumbnails in JPEGs, embedded previews in AIs are located at the end (after %%EOF) of the file and are either in TIFF (PC) or PICT (Mac) format.

XnTriq wrote:... [*]If an AI file contains an embedded document preview, XnView extracts it and uses it as thumbnail in the browser and for the preview pane (even if %AI3_DocumentPreview: None). ...

Ah, o.k.. This prooves that XnView does read the embedded thumbnail in ai files.