Illustrator: exporting layers to PNG / journal / hicksdesign

17/09/08

Illustrator: exporting layers to PNG

49 icons selected

So, I had an Illustrator file with 49 icons, each on a different layer. I put up a question on twitter, asking whether you can export each layer as a PNG, just like Fireworks would do. Within a hour this script was written and boom! All 49 icons output as PNG in one go, cropped to the artboard size!

If this is something you happen to need too, just download the script and pop it in your Adobe Illustrator>Presets>Scripts folder. Big thanks and multiple pints of Guinness must go to Jack Westbrook for helping me out with this one!

(The image above shows all 49 icon layers – visible and selected)

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Comments are now closed, but you can still have a jolly time reading what others have left:

Alex said 111 days ago:

Great script – Illustrator has a lot to learn from Fireworks in some respects. Cheers Jack!

Ps. Can anyone else see Jesus in that picture?..

ROCO said 111 days ago:

I really appreciate your entry and Mr.Jack Westbrook’s fabulous script!!! Too nice, a ton of thanks!!

I reviewed about this in my blog, here.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/ROCO/20080918/1221697110

Colin Lewis said 111 days ago:

This is exactly what I need today! I usually use Fireworks, but had to use Illustrator for the latest project’s nav…I didn’t know what I was going to do next.

So serendipitous; thank you!

Daniel Kedinger said 111 days ago:

Very nice! I hate have to fight through the drama of exporting icons to png!

Marcus Taylor said 110 days ago:

This is brilliant! I’ve been looking for a similar solution to run out .pdf files from layered Illustrator files for years (years, I tell you!). Anyone seen a version for .pdf files (the Javascript scares me)?

Marcus Taylor said 110 days ago:

Ah… for a .pdf version go here…

http://tinyurl.com/4rv2ls

Eric Wiley said 110 days ago:

Thank you for sharing that, and to Jack hats off for writing it.

frank said 103 days ago:

Finally, someone sent us some help on this!

Thank you!

Mac McBurney said 98 days ago:

How do I change the resolution of the exported pngs? Is there a parameter in the script, or a setting in AI (CS3)? I had been exporting manually with “Other resolution” set to 200 dpi.

My exported PNGs are 72 dpi and when I open in a graphics viewer or import to PowerPoint, the PNGs are smaller H x W dimensions than the Illustrator source layers. I’m still new to both Illustrator and Javascript, so I hope this is one of those easy noob questions.

Thanks for sharing this excellent script with the rest of us.