Guides

One question per guide, answered at the top. Written by the people who build Pathside.

• How to open an AI file on Android

  Why your phone refuses it, the reason most .ai files are secretly PDFs, and what to do when one will not open at all.

• Why an .ai file opens in a PDF reader

  Illustrator writes a complete PDF inside the file. What that means for editing, artboards and text.

• How to open an EPS file on Android

  EPS is a program, not a picture. Which ones can be drawn on a phone, and what to ask for when they cannot.

• How to open an SVG file on Android

  Why it vanishes from your gallery, what .svgz is, and the three reasons an SVG looks blank.

• How to turn an AI file into a PNG on your phone

  Choosing the pixel size, PNG versus JPG, and why an online converter is the wrong tool for a client's artwork.

• Why your CDR file will not open on Android

  What is actually inside a CorelDRAW file, why the phone apps disappoint, and what works instead.

• An AI file will not open: five reasons, in order

  Truncated downloads, missing PDF compatibility, renamed files, apps that need a server, and white artwork on transparency.

• What size should you export a logo at?

  The two sums — ×2 for screens, ×300 for print — and the common slots worked out.

• Checking a logo on your phone before it goes to print

  The five things that go wrong between approval and the press, and the one thing a phone cannot judge.