Expert: Laith Ibrahim - 5/14/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello Laith,
Tech info:
OS: MAC OSX Panther
Versions: CS
Experience: High 5 years
Learning how to incorporate my work to the web.

I am trying to find a way(if any) to save my Illustrator CS file so it can be opened and editable in Adobe Image Ready CS.  Is it possible to save as an XHTML? I can open an Illustrator CS file in Image Ready CS but It won't let me edit it for web? Any ideas or suggestions?

ANSWER: Hi Sara,
The best way is to save your Illustrator file as a PSD file. You can do that by exporting it to PSD. make sure you organize your work by using layers so that you can have a better control on your objects inside ImageReady and you'll be able to slice your work easier.
Now that you have a PSD file, open it in image ready and start adding any enhancements you like to do. Slice your work and when you're done you can save your file as an HTML and its images (which will be saved in a separate folder). You can do that by selecting "File/save optimized as". Select "HTML and images" from the "Save as type" drop down menu. when you save your work, you'll get an HTML file and its images. You can either use this file as a web page (I don't recommend that) or open it in a web design program like Adobe DreamWeaver and edit it further.
You can change your output settings: select "File/Output Settings/ HTML" and change the settings to your liking. Note that you can opt to generate XHTML code by checking the small box that says "Output XHTML".

If you have any other questions please feel to ask and I'll be glad to help.

Best regards,

Laith

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much Laith! I've tried to save a .pdf but the option to save layers is grayed out and only lets me save a flat file. Am I doing something wrong?

Answer
Hi Sarah,
In your follow up you said that you were trying to save to a PDF but I think you meant to say PSD, right?
To resolve the issue your having with saving to a PSD with layers, please check the color mode of your file. Take a look at the top bar of your file and you'll find it next to the file name. It should say either RGB or CMYK. In your case you should be working in RGB mode. If you're file is CMYK, you can simply change the mode from File>Document Color Mode>RGB".
When you export your file to PSD please take a look at the "Export Options". At top you'll see a drop down menu where you specify the color mode of your PSD file. If you choose a mode that is different from what you have in your file, the "Write layers" options will be grayed out!!! So if you're file is in RGB make sure that it's also RGB in the export options.
I think this is where the mystery was.
Let me know how it goes with your file and good luck with your web design project.

Best regards,

Laith