How to Choose a Different Artboard in an AI File
James wrote:
Let’s say you have an Illustrator CS4 file with multiple artboards. When you place it into InDesign you get a chance to select which artboard to place via Import Options. The question is once you place that file, how can you change to another artboard?
Many people cite multiple artboards as one of the best reasons to upgrade to Illustrator CS4, and as you noted, you can choose which artboard to import into InDesign via Import Options. Each artboard acts like a separate page, so you can choose one or more pages/artboards to place.
Here’s my Illustrator document, showing three artboards:
Here’s what I see when I place it with Import Options turned on:
But as you point out, it’s not obvious how to switch to a different artboard (or change any of the options in the Import Options dialog box) once the graphic is placed on the page. Fortunately, it’s not hard: Choose Relink from the Links panel, and relink to the same image. Adobe added a “Show Import Options” checkbox in the Relink dialog box, so if you turn that on, you get the Import Options dialog box again!
Note that this works with PDF files and other kinds of graphics, too, as Anne-Marie pointed out in this earlier blog post.
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Thanks David for answering my question!
so when I resize a poster for different publications, illustrator would be the choice to go, so to keep all the sizes in one illustrator file, vs. making multiple files in indesign
am I right?
@Amaltra: you’re right. I find Illustrator to be great for those sorts of things as it can scale everything in one go, where InDesign can be a rather big PITA unless everything’s grouped.
Once your design is done, use the Artboard tool, turn on “move contents with artboard” in the top of the screen and Alt-drag the artboard (and art) to duplicate it. Rinse & repeat as many times as you have to, then scale an artboard’s contents and match the artboard’s size.
Looks like a perfect solution, however, I find it very hard always go to the relink button, search the image again, then go to the import options, then choose the requested artboard, and then smash again on the “Enter” keyboard key….
Isn’t there a much easier solution provided by InDesign, such as right-click on the image and change import options???
Thank you for your remarks…
How do you then turn off that import options dialog box? I cannot figure out to turn it off, now it comes up every time I import and image.
Next time you use File > Place, you can turn off the checkbox. It’s sticky, so it should remember that it’s off from then on.
Here we are, 5 years later and using CC and still no easy way to change which artboard is used. Relinking is tedious as you have to locate the file again and if you’re working with multiple directories it becomes quite burdensome. I love the layer controls they’ve included for AI and PSD files, but to neglect artboards is awful.
Does anyone know how to do this in jsx mode?
When finding the file to relink to is not handy, my workaround is to do this:
open links panel. select your placed artwork. right-click its title in links panel > copy info > copy full path.
now click relink (chain icon). paste the clipboard text into the search box. Delete the folder path, leaving the file title > finder will locate your file. Make sure ‘show import options’ is ticked. Click ‘open’ and select your new artboard.
As Shawn said (in 2014), there should be an easier option here. Right click the artwork, maybe an option under ‘object layer options’ called ‘object artboard options’?
I am looking for a way to change the artboard InDi is dsiplaying *without* having to relink, similarly to how we can choose to view different layers.
Is this possible?