The Adobe Illustrator Exchange (AIX) file format allows you to export maps and layouts from ArcGIS Pro and Map Viewer and use them with ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud to open files in Adobe Illustrator with organized layer structures for graphic editing workflows. This workflow is ideal for maps made in ArcGIS Pro or Map Viewer that you want to stylize in Illustrator.
Note:
Exporting .aix files is a one-way workflow. If you make edits to the map or layout in ArcGIS Pro or Map Viewer, export it again to generate a new .aix file.
Export and open .aix files
Complete the following steps to export an ArcGIS Pro or Map Viewer map or layout as an .aix file and open it in Illustrator for further graphic editing and design. After opening the file, you can also add more spatial data to your maps using the corresponding AIX-generated mapboard in Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Open either ArcGIS Pro or Map Viewer.
- In ArcGIS Pro, with a map or layout view active, export and save it as AIX.
- In Map Viewer, with the map you want to export open, click the Print tool, then export and save the map or layout as AIX.
Tip:
In ArcGIS Pro 3.1 and earlier, for best results keep the Compress vector graphics setting turned on when exporting to AIX.
- If necessary, install ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Open Illustrator and sign in to the extension with an ArcGIS organizational account (Viewer, Contributor, Creator, Professional, or Professional Plus user type).
- In Illustrator, click File > Open. For the file type, choose ArcGIS - Adobe Illustrator Exchange (AIX).
- Browse to the location where you saved the .aix file and choose Open.
After the file opens and processing is complete, artwork appears from the exported map. The artwork is organized into an understandable layer structure that's ready to edit using Illustrator tools.
Caution:
If you plan to add more data using the extension, don't change the layer names that correspond to the map frames in your ArcGIS Pro project because they must match the names of the AIX-generated mapboards.
- If you are opening an .aix file for the first time, and if your file contains ArcGIS point symbols, the following alert appears:
ArcGIS point symbols detected in your file. Would you like to automatically convert them to Adobe Illustrator Symbols?
Click Yes or No to open the file. Your choice is saved in settings and applied to future AIX imports. You can change this setting in the Settings window.
Converting ArcGIS point symbols to Adobe Illustrator symbols is useful because Illustrator symbols can be globally edited. Converted symbols appear in the Symbols panel. You can also save Adobe Illustrator symbols in an Adobe Illustrator symbols library so that you can reuse them with future maps.
Learn more about Adobe Illustrator symbols
Note:
If you choose to convert symbols, all point symbols in the .aix file become Adobe Illustrator symbols, including raster point symbols.
You can only convert symbols from .aix files created with ArcGIS Pro 3.4 or later. You can only convert symbols from synced maps if you sign in to the extension with an account from ArcGIS Enterprise 11.4 or later.
- Save the file with your changes and use it in your graphics
workflows. Choose from one of the following file types:
- Adobe Illustrator (*.AI)—This is the default. The AI file format is the native vector file type for Adobe Illustrator. (Once you save the result as an .ai file, you cannot save it later as a georeferenced PDF because the geospatial coordinates don't persist in the file.)
- ArcGIS - Georeferenced PDF (Beta) (*.PDF)—When you save the result as a georeferenced PDF, it retains geospatial coordinates in the final design to support measuring and geolocation tools in Adobe Acrobat. Creating a georeferenced PDF with Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud allows you to continue designing in Illustrator. This is a beta feature that's not yet intended for use in production or business-critical tasks.
Note:
The georeferenced PDF file is created using the settings specified in Adobe PDF Presets from the last PDF that you saved in Illustrator. (Refer to the Illustrator help for more information.) Using the Illustrator Default preset is recommended. At minimum, if you plan to continue designing the map in Illustrator, the Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities setting must be turned on when the file is created.
Add more data
After opening an .aix file, Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud automatically generates a corresponding mapboard in the Mapboards window. This allows you to add more spatially aligned content to your map design in Illustrator. A mapboard is created for each map frame in your file.
Note:
If you are exporting from ArcGIS Pro, for a mapboard to be generated correctly, the .aix file must be created with ArcGIS Pro 2.6 or later, and your map or layout must meet the following conditions before exporting the file:
- Turn off Clip to graphics extent when exporting a layout.
- Turn off Enable wrapping around the date line in the Map Properties window, on the Coordinate Systems tab.
- Confirm that the map frame fits entirely within the layout area.
Mapboards are created using the properties of your .aix file, including the spatial extent, scale, and map projection. If the map or map frame in your .aix file is rotated, the mapboard won't appear rotated, but synced layers will align with the data rotation in your artboard. To preserve the file association and alignment with the map layers in the artboard, mapboards generated from .aix files are locked and cannot be modified.
Caution:
Do not change the layer names in Illustrator that correspond to the map frames in your ArcGIS Pro project; otherwise, syncing will fail. The extension matches the mapboard name to the name in the Illustrator layers to sync and align them to the correct map or map frame. The map frame layer must also remain visible and unlocked in Illustrator when you sync the map in the extension.
- With the AIX-generated file selected in Illustrator, open the Mapboards window, select the mapboard (if necessary), and click Preview.
The Compilation window appears, with which you can find and add content. The window doesn't display the layers from your .aix file, but when you sync the compiled map into your artwork layers, the added content will be spatially aligned and clipped appropriately.
Note:
To ensure that data aligns with the layers from your .aix file, you cannot change the projection in the Current map settings window.
- In the Compilation window, click Add Content, and add the files or layers that you want to include in your map, or search for and add places of interest. Modify the content, as needed, using the options and tools in the extension.
For example, you can filter a layer to show only features that meet certain criteria, use smart mapping to style a layer based on its data, and generate new layers from spatial analysis.
Tip:
If a basemap is displayed in the Compilation window and you don't want to download it when you sync the map, click the layer's Toggles Sync button
in the Contents pane to exclude the basemap. - In Illustrator, verify that the map frame layer that corresponds with your mapboard name is turned on and unlocked (otherwise, syncing will create a new file).
- In the Compilation window, click Sync to download the compiled map layers to your file in Illustrator.
When syncing is complete, your file in Illustrator includes the layers you downloaded from Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud combined with the layers from ArcGIS Pro.
Your compiled map is also embedded as part of your file saved in Illustrator, so you can return to it and work on it again in a later session.
- Optionally, run processes, such as applying custom libraries or adding a legend or scale bar for the respective map in Illustrator.
- Save the file with your changes and use it in your graphics workflows.
Optimize vector tile layers
If you open an .aix file that includes vector tile layers, or if you sync vector tile layers using the extension, you may see boundaries between vector tiles.
Vector tile layers are designed for the web. In web maps and in ArcGIS Pro, they continuously update as you zoom in and out so you never see the boundaries. In a static .aix file, artwork is split at vector tile boundaries. These boundaries are not always visible, but you may see them if your artwork has a stroke, or outline color.
You can use the Unite tool to remove the boundaries.
- In Illustrator, open the Pathfinder panel by clicking Window > Pathfinder.
- Select the artwork that you want to unite.
- Under Shape Modes, click Unite.
Note:
Vector tile layers do not have visible boundaries in PDF exports from ArcGIS Pro. This is because .pdf files do not undergo the same layer organization processing that is necessary for .aix files.