PLEASE EXPLAIN A VECTOR PROGRAM THAT WILL NOT IMPORT EPFS FILES?

[gvictoria1]

I was working on a landscape design which had all shapes of Palm Trees - searched for symbols / vector images to import and use as symbols- only to learn that I COULD NOT import a vector (EPS) file from a common (paid) stock image website.  Had to have my neighbor with adobe photoshop import and convert to a PNG for me.  I cannot understand that my $1000 a year vector program will not import vector based files?   What am I missing?  I'm running Vectorworks 2024 v4 on an Apple M3 MAX - Sonoma 14.2.1

 

Thank you.  

[Jeff Prince]

You can drag and drop most .eps files into vectorworks and it will convert it to an image.

 

A better solution would be if you could directly import vector versions of .eps and .svg files and have their strokes and such preserved.

 

Currently, you can open a .svg or .eps in a graphics program like Affinity Designer, copy and paste the graphics you want into Vectorworks.

You then ungroup the resulting PDF import to access the vector portions of the design.  It works fairly well, though strokes and fills are not preserved.

The only trick is you need to have another graphics program, which is the complaint of your thread.  I highly recommend the Affinity suite as an affordable alternative to Adobe.  It runs on your computer, runs on an iPad, and gives you incredible capabilities for cheap.

[Pat Stanford]

Apple has stopped supporting EPSF in the OS so VW would have had to spend engineering time on adding a third party solution for a not extremely common format any more or drop the capability.

 

https://tidbits.com/2022/10/27/preview-in-ventura-drops-support-for-postscript-and-encapsulated-postscript-files/

[rDesign]

There are also plenty of websites that offer free conversion of EPS files to PNG. 

[DianaK]

On 4/7/2024 at 4:03 PM, rDesign said:

There are also plenty of websites that offer free conversion of EPS files to PNG. 

PNG doesn't help me import a client's logo that I have to extrude.  The bottom line for an EPS file is that it is vector, and I only ever need to import it when I need it in vector format. Which means I have to get anyone I know or possibly the client's client's client to open this in some Adobe program and exported as a DWG or DXF or whatever adobe will give me.  I should never have to trace a file that I could've received in a vector format.  

 

I don't think I need Vectorworks to support something that is unsupported by the operating system, but what I do need is a free converter from EPS to any CAD format that I can import to Vectorworks because there's no point in me buying an Adobe program, when I only have to do it every Year or so.  That being said, I've probably had to do this at least 10 times in my life.  

[Kevin Allen]

import and export of AI file format. Required

[rDesign]

1 hour ago, DianaK said:

PNG doesn't help me import a client's logo that I have to extrude. The bottom line for an EPS file is that it is vector, and I only ever need to import it when I need it in vector format.

The advice offered was in response to the original poster who was asking about converting EPS to PNG.

 

Those same websites also offer conversion from EPSF to vector formats like SVG, DWG, DXF, etc. You may have to try several of them because the results can differ.
 

There are also open source options like GIMP and Inkscape, both of which offer much the same functionality as Adobe’s products. They’re just a little less user-friendly. 
 

A google search for “convert EPS to DXF” will yield a multitude of options, and instructions on how to do it.
 

You’ll have to figure out a workflow that works best for you because the ability to import EPS files into Vw is not coming back.

[Kevin Allen]

22 minutes ago, rDesign said:

You’ll have to figure out a workflow that works best for you because the ability to import EPS files into Vw is not coming back.

Does Adobe want to much in licensing fees? I am an Adobe user. Every graphic designer I know uses Illustrator. Every show I do needs a logo. converting in Joe's really good free or cheap website is not necessarily a good option. Exporting from AI to DXF, importing the DXF and rebuilding in VW is fraught with the possibility of errors.

[rDesign]

4 minutes ago, Kevin Allen said:

Does Adobe want to much in licensing fees? I am an Adobe user. Every graphic designer I know uses Illustrator. Every show I do needs a logo. converting in Joe's really good free or cheap website is not necessarily a good option. Exporting from AI to DXF, importing the DXF and rebuilding in VW is fraught with the possibility of errors.

I do not know the reason why Apple has dropped EPS support, I’m just an end user like yourself. 
 

I know you’re already aware of old wishlist requests for Illustrator import. Here’s a few other related threads: