How to Save a Document in Different File Formats in Adobe Illustrator

This tutorial will show you the different ways to save a document in Adobe Illustrator. In the last tutorial you learned how to create a new document. Now you will learn the different ways of saving a document. It is important that you know what format you will need to save your document in. This could be an ai file, jpeg file, gif file, and so on. If you're unsure which file format is best, read a comparison of all the image file formats. To get started with this tutorial, create yourself a new document like I showed you in the previous tutorial. You do not have to do anything with this document, we are simply using it as an example for this tutorial.

Saving a document as an Illustrator file will allow you to open the document back up and work on it at a later date. To save the document as an Illustrator file, go to the top of the window and click File > Save As. When the box opens, drop the Save As Type box down and select Adobe Illustrator. This extension is also known as .ai. Type a name for your file in the field above the save as type. Then click the Save button. After you click Save, the Format Options box will open. Click OK on that box. Now your document is saved as an Illustrator file.

Most graphics and photos are saved as a jpeg. Saving an Illustrator file as a jpeg means that you can’t edit it later. You could save it first as an Illustrator file and then save it as a Jpeg. To save it as a Jpeg, go to the top of the window and click File > Save For Web. A box will open and you will need to look for the Settings section. It is on the right side of the box that opened. The first box says GIF. You will need to drop this box down and select JPEG. Then click the Save button at the top of the box. In the File Name field you will need to type the name of your document. Then click the Save button on that box. The file was saved as a JPEG.

Next, I will show you how to save an Illustrator document as a GIF file. Go to the top of your Illustrator window and click File > Save For Web. You will see the same box that you seen when you saved the file as a JPEG. The difference is you will need to drop the top box down and select GIF. Then click Save and enter a name for your document in the box that opens. Then click the Save button again.

Those are the three different ways to save an Adobe Illustrator document.

All screenshots were taken by the author for educational purposes only.