Illustrator alternatives

dan_yell

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,486
Name
D
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello, as this program isn't really for photos, i've put it in the off topic section but as you're such a helpful bunch i thought someone might be able to help.

my (cash strapped) employer has said my stand alone version of Illustrator cs4 needs to be removed from my work machine as it breaches some security compliance that we have to adhere to. I am not an illustrator and only use it's very basic functions as part of my job, but never the less, not having it would disadvantage me - there is no way they are going to sign up to the subscription model, because of the way it's used so i've been trying to find an alternative but although i've found a few free/cheap programs which should replicate the functions of illustrator, it seem a big ask that any may be able to open .AI files - i wondered if anyone had any experience in this area as that really is the main issue that there are so many files created in .AI that the option of never being able to access them again would be problematic. Photoshop cs2 was also flagged up but i am hoping they will cough up for Adobe elements which should fufill needs there. i was looking into what the security issues might be and found there were some patches but not sure if they fix the issue my employer is particularly concerned with.

anyone got any clues?:)
 
Inkscape was what came to my mind, plus GIMP instead of photoshop CS2 or elephants.
 
Do they open Illustrator files? I found all of this when i was searching but none of them confirm that they can open AI files in their specs (that i could find anyway) - maybe you have used them in anger and they do?

Ive used GIMP in the past and i wouldn't want to use it again - i am hoping they will cough up for Elements.

& thanks
 
Do they open Illustrator files? I found all of this when i was searching but none of them confirm that they can open AI files in their specs (that i could find anyway) - maybe you have used them in anger and they do?

Ive used GIMP in the past and i wouldn't want to use it again - i am hoping they will cough up for Elements.

& thanks

Affinity designer says it will open .AI files. You should be able to download a trial anyway.

Whether sharing working files with a team or updating templates created on another platform, compatibility is an issue that very few graphics programs have addressed in the past. While other non-Adobe programs could convert PSD or EPS files and open in a non-editable format, Affinity Designer is able to open and edit PSD, AI and EPS with relative ease. Updating outdated logos in a native AI file created in CS2 can be completed within Affinity Designer in minutes. Saving back to AI, however, is not possible. Despite being a vector editor, Affinity Designer exports to PSD instead. Exporting completed files is easier as the separate export dialog saves to EPS, PDF, PNG, JPG, GIF and TIFF formats.
 
@ecoleman does "(containing PDF stream)" mean it only opens AI files which were then exported to PDFs (sorry am clueless about the terminology, it seems to read like a caveat to saying it opens AI files)
 
@ecoleman does "(containing PDF stream)" mean it only opens AI files which were then exported to PDFs (sorry am clueless about the terminology, it seems to read like a caveat to saying it opens AI files)

Sorry, I don't know. I don't use the software myself. Your best bet would be to download the trial and test it yourself.
 
Back
Top