6 replies to this topic

[GIStummy]

When exporting from ArcMap to Adobe Illustrator it says the file is too large. I have one layer (data set) that is HUGE. I have tried shaving it down by getting rid of some polygons, the whole search by attribute thing and I got rid of the small area ones that don't show up in print anyways. How can I, in ArcMap, erase the attribute table and simplify the data so the file will get smaller. This is for the purpose of cartography, not analysis.

[Martin Gamache]

When exporting from ArcMap to Adobe Illustrator it says the file is too large.  I have one layer (data set) that is HUGE.  I have tried shaving it down by getting rid of some polygons, the whole search by attribute thing and I got rid of the small area ones that don't show up in print anyways.  How can I, in ArcMap, erase the attribute table and simplify the data so the file will get smaller.  This is for the purpose of cartography, not analysis.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You may want to generalize you lines or polylines. Sometimes you have too many vertices, running some kind of line simplification, smoothing or generalization function will help especially graphically if the linework is too detailed for the compilation scale. The ET Geowizrds tool by Ianko have several functions that can help with this.

If that doesnt apply then you may want to export it in different sections. So chop-up your layer into different smaller layers and export them one at a time and rebuild the file in Ilustrator.

The attributes don't matter in the ARCmap to AI export since they don't get exported.

[frax]

I have never seen that problem. Make sure that you are actually exporting to Illustrator format (and not for instance eps) and perhaps check the dpi setting. I am not sure if the dpi setting is related to the size of the layout, you might want to check that as well.

[Matthew Hampton]

The only situation I can think of this happening is that you are either using a raster or transparency and exporting a large map at a high dpi.

Sometimes I export layer by layer and recompile (copy/paste) in illustrator.

How much ram do you have?

[Lori Martin]

I have run into this problem as well. I have gotten around it sometimes by exporting to .eps instead of .ai, but...

Don't include anything you don't need. If possible you can try selecting out what you need from your "huge" layer and exporting it. (Right click on layer, data, export).

I have 2GB of RAM and find I max out if not careful.

Good luck.

[frax]

oh one more thing, I always always always remove all "strokes" or "outlines" for anything polygonal, since (I think) they are exported as two sets, polygons and the outlnes separately. And remove any polygon fills that are not necessary.

[Martin Gamache]

Frax,

You are correct, they do export as a duplicate if you use a stroke and fill.
Labels also do this sometimes which is a real PITA when you find out you have a bunch of stacked labels and no way to split them apart.

mg.