Illustrator

Import text files into artwork

You can import text into your artwork from a file that was created in another application. Illustrator supports the following formats for importing text:

  • Microsoft Word for Windows 97, 98, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2007

  • Microsoft Word for Mac OS X and 2004

  • RTF (Rich Text Format)

  • Plain text (ASCII) with ANSI, Unicode, Shift JIS, GB2312, Chinese Big 5, Cyrillic, GB18030, Greek, Turkish, Baltic, and Central European encoding

    One advantage of importing text from a file, rather than copying and pasting it, is that imported text retains its character and paragraph formatting. For example, text from an RTF file retains its font and style specifications in Illustrator. You can also set encoding and formatting options when importing text from a plain text file.

    Important: When importing text from Microsoft Word and RTF files, make sure that the fonts used in the file are available on your system. Missing fonts and font styles—including fonts that have the same name but different formats (Type 1, TrueType, or CID)—may cause unexpected results. On Japanese systems, differences in character sets may prevent text that was entered in Windows from appearing on‑screen in Mac OS.

Import text into a new file

  1. Choose File > Open.
  2. Select the text file you want to open, and click Open.

Import text into an existing file

  1. Choose File > Place. Select the text file you want to import, and click Place.
  2. If you are placing a plain text (.txt) file, do the following, and then click OK:

    • Specify the character set and platform that were used to create the file.

    • Select an Extra Carriage Returns option to determine how Illustrator processes extra carriage returns in the file.

    • Select the Extra Spaces option if you want Illustrator to replace strings of spaces in the file with tabs. Enter the number of spaces to be replaced by a tab.