No EPS Preview (Thumbnail/Cover Flow) in Leopard
I don’t know what features you may or may not have been looking forward to in Apple’s Leopard release, but me. . . I’m easy to please. All I wanted for Christmas was an EPS preview in Finder. As a designer, not being able to view a thumbnail of EPS files drives me to crazy town, and also wastes a lot of time opening EPS files in Illustrator just to see what’s in them. I installed Leopard earlier tonite and out of all the bells and whistles, the one I wanted just isn’t happening. Oh, and don’t worry, i doesn’t work in Quick Look either. Maybe I’m not understanding something about EPS, (I’d like to hear your thoughts) but I would really like to know why there is never a thumbnail available for this format. A format that designers use very regularly.
As expected, you can preview AI files just like you always could, but no love for the EPS. Yes, you could convert all of your EPS files to AI format, but who wants to do that, just for a thumbnail? I don’t know about you, but I have tons of files in EPS format that don’t have an AI counterpart. Which = No Preview :(
Mail Previews EPS Just Fine. . .
It seems that you can view eps files in Mail, but not Finder. WTF. No love for the design community, only the business community who merely email EPS files to Designers. I guess once you get the EPS onto your hard drive, you’re on your own.
Related Posts:
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- OS X Workflow: Save a Click When Using Stacks
- Screenshots: CS1 Running in Leopard
- Mac/Adobe Developer Wanted:
- Pixelmator Now Leopard-Friendly with 1.0.2 Release
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Well, I’ve always gotten used to viewing previews of EPS files in Adobe Bridge and sizing them all the way up. I know it’s not as easy as it should be but it’s a hell of a lot better than guessing.
I boycotted Bridge long ago. It seems to slow me down. I wish it was perkier than it is.
~Bitt
Bitt,
Have you tried Ghostscript? Love your blog, BTW!
No preview in finder? Come on Apple! We know it can be done, And out of your 300 new features, you couldn’t find a way to make this happen?
Okay, rant over.
I use iView Media Pro. It previews for just about any file format — including EPS. And like Bridge, you can select to open the files in their native app. iView will set you back a Benjamin, but it works great.
As a bonus, you can share light boxes with other people (the viewer app is free) and even auto create website photo galleries.
The bad news (I guess) is that MS bought them and they’ve upgraded to a new app called Expression (I haven’t used it).
The good news is that you can still get the last iView version from Phase One. Considering that I used the second to last release for over two years, I think the latest should last a good long while.
What a bummr, surely this is something that can be fixed in an upcoming update
We shouldn’t have to run an entire application just to preview an EPS. I know you can view them in Bridge, but it’s soooo bulky.
~Bitt
Hello,
I tend to save my AI files without the PDF preview. I have found the file server at work tends to leave these files unmolested most of the time. This also reduces file size and file save times.
When I do searches the with spotlight the files with the embeded pdf will have thumbnails.
Have you tested Leopards various previews with various illustrator file save versions?
Michael
I heard in Steve Job´s thing that he does when ever they launch new stuff, that these thumbnails and quick look will work for any file type once the producer adds support for quick look. So I think there will be plugins to quick look. Which should mean that you get a nice thumbnail as a bonus.
Well, it should not be much of a problem for a programmer to implement support for at least the embedded bitmap preview for EPS files. Maybe Adobe will release it as part of their Leopard compatibility updates.
If you are inside of an Adobe Creative Suite application, you can always switch your open/save/export/place dialogs to “Use Adobe Dialog”. The Adobe Dialog integrates a bridge view, which means you should be able to preview EPS files there if you are in thumbnail mode.
I used to like iView a lot, but that changed abruptly when it corrupted a catalog of about 10 000 items. And when I tested the new version that Microsoft released some time ago, it seemed like there were very few improvements overall, but several things worked actually worse than in the previous version.
And iView is not a file browser. If somebody hands you a CD-ROM with a bunch of strangely named EPS files and you want to find the one you need, iView is not much help.
Ooh, I am sad now. I haven’t upgraded yet, but this would have been really nice.
come on guys, this is no reason to cry. I´d bet this is a fantastic product (Leopard) and I cant wait to get it. Adobe will release a plugin soon enough
I use Adobe CS2 and 3 and no longer save my files in EPS format. According to Adobe, it’s best practice when using their products, especially when dealing with transparency, to save their files in native format, i.e. AI or PSD. It also allows you do control aspects of those files, such as turning on or off layers in the file, from within InDesign. This can be very handy when using the same image in various files where you may or may not want to include say a drop shadow or some other feature of the image in the different documents without having to save multiple versions of the linked file.
So I’m curious if the new Leopard finder previews native Photoshop and Illustrator files.
im on pc but theres no preview for eps and illustrator files either. this is really the only reason i use bridge. is to browse through what i need.
if its not eps or ai’s then bridge is closed.
its very annoying though. i dont understand why they cant just help us out.
I’m sure they just missed the eps preview, and will hopefully catch it and send out a plugin for it.
BittBox,
You complain that you boycotted Bridge “long ago”? How long ago? Version Cs2 or CS3? If only CS2, then you know nothing about Bridge.
You also say that it is “bulky”. I don’t know what bulky means, but CS3 bridge does so much more than Cover Flow that I am surprised that anyone who understands how to use Bridge would want to live with the finder.
Leopard’s Finder Cover Flow can’t display most of the metadata that Bridge can: swatches, keywords, fonts, resolutions, orientation, DICOM info, Audio info, Video Info, and IPTC Core data.
Leopard’s finder is suitable for the majority of computer cleanup chores. But anyone who is using their Macintosh for Print or Multimedia work will want to use Bridge.
Sandee,
I’m in no way implying that Finder is better than Bridge.
I just happen to be one of those people who doesn’t like to use Bridge.
Everyone has their own personal workflow. None is better than the other, simply what each individual prefers.
The reason I posted about this is that it would be convenient for people (designers) if Finder could preview EPS.
~Bitt
This is a bit besides the point, but I’ve been wondering for a while know why EPS is still such an abundant format. It should have been replaced by PDF long ago, but still one cannot get around without it. Every time a company asks for EPS data, I ask them back if they can also handle PDF. Most of the time, they actually do, but still they ask for EPS first. It seems to me as though they are not really catching up with the times or do not or don’t want to realize that PDF is the better alternative. Why? PDF can do everything EPS can, and it’s much more efficient in terms of file size and the processing power (time) it takes to interpret and render PostScript code vs. the flat data structure that is PDF.
Most of my eps. files are vector stuff that either I or someone ales such as vector valt or a similer place has created so I just rename the files with out the number/ramdom file name to something different, usually bluntly obvious names, so as I know what im getting into. I was forced into bridge by work and Im actually starting to like it now. Were trying to set up a in general libary of stuff based on the micro data that were suposta enter on our pic’s and files.
To comment back at Schoshie. There a are postscript purists in the print industry, many of the developers of RIP systems who find PDF a less than adequate technology. While I use it a lot and in the same way that you do It can present some less than savory results when RIPing to plate. Even when the PDF is created in the proper way.
While I think it works in many situations it can create some really irritating problems in prepress workflow.
Michael
I think previewing EPS files are an order of a magnitude more complicated than viewing PDFs or JPGs/PNGs/other image formats.
EPS files are unlike almost every other graphics file, as they’re not really graphics. They’re self-contained, fully-executable files. They’re programs, real, honest-to-god Turing-complete programs, and they have to be opened and executed like programs.
I think that has something to do with the new Finder not displaying the files. In the window you showed in the beginning, the Finder would have to, basically, launch a huge number of programs on the fly, read their output, and then display them. I imagine that would slow things down considerably.
I’d have to go home to test this (no Leopard at school yet), but I’d be interested to see if EPS files with PICT resources embedded show up in the Finder. A lot of programs used to use low-resolution PICT resources to preview files, so I wonder if that would work.
(Oh, and somebody up above mentioned Illustrator files. This, in my opinion, is an EXTRAORDINARILY bad idea. You’re basically removing any other program’s ability to read Illustrator files. InDesign, for example, cannot render placed Illustrator files that don’t have embedded PDFs. All InDesign can see is the PDFs. Unless you’re very, very, very tight for space, you shouldn’t do that. I don’t even know why Adobe exposes that option in the save dialog box.)
Chris Perardi said:
“(Oh, and somebody up above mentioned Illustrator files. This, in my opinion, is an EXTRAORDINARILY bad idea. You’re basically removing any other program’s ability to read Illustrator files. InDesign, for example, cannot render placed Illustrator files that don’t have embedded PDFs. All InDesign can see is the PDFs. Unless you’re very, very, very tight for space, you shouldn’t do that. I don’t even know why Adobe exposes that option in the save dialog box.)”
I said this after having done a lot of research into problems we were having with transparency in InDesign. This included consulting with three print vendors as well as reading a lot of Adobe documentation. Granted not all Illustrator and Photoshop files contain transparency. But we wanted to maintain a consistent workflow and library of images. We work exclusively in InDesign. If you work in Quark, this wouldn’t apply. However, using native Illustrator and Photoshop files wasn’t my idea. It’s Adobe’s best practices when working with InDesign files that contain transparency in the InDesign file or any linked files. This is almost always the case in our situation.
Illustrator and Photoshop EPS files are flattened, while native files are not. According to Adobe, it’s best to wait until the last possible moment to flatten your graphics. This means importing native Illustrator and Photoshop files into InDesign. That way any other transparency effects you’ve added to the InDesign document (i.e. drop shadows), plus any interaction these effects will have with placed files, or placed files will have with each other, will be rendered by InDesign so that they flatten correctly. There are still some things to be aware of as of CS2. For instance, text needs to be placed above any transparency effects. This could be a drop shadow (either made in InDesign or imported in a file) or a clipped or masked Photoshop file where the bounding box overlaps the text. If the text isn’t placed above (either in the same layer or a higher layer), InDesign effectively outlines the text and it appears bold. I don’t know if they’ve addressed this issue in CS3.
There is another issue as well. Printers all have different workflows and RIPs as well. Often times they have specific EPS settings they use in house. It’s therefore wiser to let them make the EPS files to their specifications. That way, if there’s a mistake in the settings, it’s their fault and not the designer’s or agency’s. You also don’t have to save several versions of the same graphic for different vendors.
And I was only speaking for myself and the way I need to work. Everyone’s situation is unique. So, in deciding what file format to save your graphics files in, you need to consider all those aspects that pertain to you – layout program(s), transparency, who you are in the process (designer vs. print vendor, etc.) It also wouldn’t hurt to consult with your vendors to see how they’d like the files delivered. That’s what we did. We haven’t had a problem or a complaint from our print vendors yet.
To see Adobe’s documentation, visit adobe.com and search for transparency. There’s a lot of information available.
i use a primative method to get around this with my eps’s, it’s analogous to my vinyl collection…
when i have a bunch of white label(promos- not labeled for ‘official’ retail release- actually, not labeled at all, hence the name white label) records, i write a word that comes to mind on the label, so i can tell them apart when djing. for instance, i’m working on a retail catalog right now- there are many versions of each page for picking at, i’ll write ‘tugboat’ or ‘brocolli’ in the eps file name. something random that sparks my memory- ‘why the hell did i call it broccoli???’ usually the answer comes to mind faster than using an app to preview-or even previewing a big file in the finder for that matter. i’m sure this was no help at all, but your site sure is, and the email i was killing time waiting for has just arrived. sorry to say, but i guess there is no santa after all! :)
ThumbsUp (www.devon-technologies.com) creates thumbnails and icons of EPS files. It places a separate JPEG file next to the EPS. The Preview image can be seen in View by Columns.
The OSX drawing program Intaglio creates EPS files with thumbnails of the image.
I thought I was the only one in the world who was bugged by this. Nice to share the pain.
Even I would love to have EPS previews in Finder, but I think that wish is going to soon be granted once adobe releases some Leopard updates (And I think the updates are gonna be brought down by Santa during Christmas)
http://www.eternalstorms.at/utilities/epsqlplg/index.html
Plug in for Quick Look that will do just this, however.. doesnt work for me.. crashes finder.. you can try it out though..
- james.
i tried the plugin from eternalstorms and i had no problems with the finder - all worked fine.
I’m having no trouble with it, either. And happy as a clam to have it, too!
Codeline has just the solution!
http://www.code-line.com/software/sneakpeekpro.html
Previews Illustrator, EPS AND InDesign!!! Plus $5 bucks off for the next several days.
-chip.
Look, if you want it that bad, just write a quick look extension. This is the whole reason you are Able to write quick look extensions.
Very Good
WoWWWWW
http://www.boxdl.com
http://osx.iusethis.com/app/epsquicklookplugin
this little dude does the trick pretty well.
http://www.eternalstorms.at/utilities/epsqlplg/epsqlplg/download.html
It might be a bit late in the day folks but…
http://www.stalkingwolf.net/software/cocothumbx/
creates a thumbnail of any file. Install it, do a search for .eps drag and drop the lot into cocothumbX and then do the search for .eps again and hey presto.
I found a way without the need for plug-ins: save the AI file without the extension by deleting it before you save. I recommend saving it without the “Create PDF Compatible File” in the options checked (unless you need it) so you won’t think the file is a PDF (shown in the thumbnail). Viola! You have a preview. You will just have to remember the files that have no file extensions are illustrator files.
Correction: you DO need to check “Create PDF Compatible File” in order to get a preview, but if you give the file a custom extension (i.e. “.ILL” for Illustrator) it will replace “ILL” with the “PDF” that appears on the file. Believe it or not, this does not ruin the file…strange, eh?