Help exporting Macromedia Freehand files to Anime Studio 6

tigertoons · Post by **tigertoons** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:16 am

Hi wizards,
Anybody have suggestions on exporting Freehand MX files into Anime Studio? Tried exporting to .ai file, but AS6 does not recognize them on import. I created quite a few vector characters with many separate limbs before I bought AS6 and would prefer not to recreate them in AS6 if I do not have to. Would take weeks.

In searching for answers on this forum, it looks like the best way is to create all art within AS6 as it is not always reliable in importing Illustrator files, etc. Is that correct?

Thanks for any help.

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:06 am

You need to save them in the Illustrator 8 format, not any later version.

tigertoons · Post by **tigertoons** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:37 am

Thanks, fellow tiger, but AS does not show any ai file in the import window. I opened my file in Illustrator and saved it back to version 8 (and several other versions) but AS just recognizes the png's. Any help appreciated. -Noob.

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:50 am

Sounds strange. Now, what exactly is within the file? Any AI file imported to AS should contain only vector information.

If there's any image "placed" into the AI file, it will not import correctly into AS: not only the image content will not show up, other elements will be destructed too.

Edit: do you by any chance have AS Debut? I think this doesn't import AI files. (please, someone confirm this)

tigertoons · Post by **tigertoons** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:45 pm

Yes, I have the debut version, not the Pro. Maybe that's it. I can't find any documentation on the official site that discloses this limit on importing files.

Nothing special in the .ai or Freehand files. Just some simple vectors.

tigertoons · Post by **tigertoons** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:09 pm

Good call, Slowtiger! I contacted SmithMicro and received the following reply. Thanks so much; I will definitely explore the many good tips on this forum!

"My apologies for any confusion, but only Anime Studio 6 Pro can import Illustrator 8's AI files. The Debut version cannot.

The comparison chart indicates this; you can look up the comparison chart in the "Explore More Features" dropdown menu's "Anime Studio vs Anime Studio Pro" entry at:

http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/anime/index.html

You can upgrade to the Pro version of Anime Studio 6 for $129.99 at:

http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/anime/updates.html"

Help exporting Macromedia Freehand files to Anime Studio 6

Help exporting Macromedia Freehand files to Anime Studio 6

import window does not recognize ai file