Expert: Amy - 10/2/2007

Question
How do I place an illustrator drawing either AI or eps made in Adobe Illustrator CS3 into word?  I do get a box when I click on it but no drawing. I tried all settings in the adobe program, nothing works?

Answer
Hi George,

You should be able to save your graphic as an EPS but SAVE IT DOWN TO VERSION 9 EPS with NO OPTIONS selected. After you choose save and choose the EPS format, you'll get a screen where you can choose the legacy version.

Then in Word, use the Insert > Picture > From File command, choose the EPS file and select Encapsulated PostScript from the list. If you can't get to this point, Word does not have the filters it needs. If successful, you'll get a low-res preview placed. When you print to a postscript printer, the image will be nice and clear.

If display is an issue, you could do a Save for Web... from Illustrator and save it as a Jpeg. Jpegs will print nicely on inkjets and PS printers and they look pretty on the screen. If you do this, I recommend increasing the size of the file by 300-400% before you Save For Web. Then reduce the image once you've placed it in word. Save for web only gives you 72dpi and you'll need more for print... enlarging then reducing gives you the resolution you need.

I hope this is good enough for what you need to do!

Amy