Image Not Displayed in AI When File Opened

[dapster]

I am a bonafide newbie to AI and am using AI Version 10. I am going through some tutorials in a book I recently purchased and am having problems when opening graphics from the CD included with the book. When I click on a logo image, for example, I see a preview of the graphic in the open dialog box. But, when the file opens in AI there is only a white rectangle on the document page. Is there some switch or setup that I need to do to be able to see images inside of AI?

Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[blueark]

The rectangle you're looking at is the artboard, and ideally, the graphic should be on that. There are a few possibilities why you're not seeing anything:

1: Sometimes you'll get artwork that's positioned off the artboard. Try zooming out as far as you can to see if you can see anything. If you can, select all and drag it back to the artboard.

2: Is the graphic itself white? Go to View > Outline in the menu which will reveal it.

3: Did you get any errors when you opened it? AI 10 is a little old now, and if the graphic was created in a newer version of AI, it might have trouble reading it.

 

[dapster]

Thanks for the ideas. The graphic is white and I am using the Outline view. You are probably right in that I am using an older version of AI and this graphic may have been made with a much newer version.

Thanks again for getting back to me.

 

[blueark]

Oh, if you're in outline view, another possibility is that the rectangle you're looking at is a placed image. Does it have an 'X' going through it?

 

[dapster]

Yes, it has an X placed in it!!!

 

[blueark]

Try drawing a black rectangle covering the image, and Object > Arrange > Send to Back, so that the image is now in front of a black background. Then go back to View > Preview and see if the image is visible now.

How you proceed depends on what you want to do with the image, and also what type of image it is. If it's a placed AI file, then you might be able to embed the image, allowing you to edit it further. Raster images are more limited in Illustrator though.