How to open .AI files (Adobe Illustrator artwork) on Android, Windows and Linux

A designer finishes your logo and sends the “master file”: logo.ai. Your phone shows a blank icon, and on a PC without Adobe software Windows asks which app to use. Illustrator is a paid subscription, a lot to pay for one look at a logo.

Folders shows most .ai files without Illustrator. It draws the artwork from the PDF copy that Illustrator normally saves inside the file, on Android, Windows and Linux. It’s for viewing, checking and passing the file on, not for editing.

What is an .AI file?

An .ai file is the working file of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe’s vector drawing program. Vector art is made of shapes, curves and text described by maths rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at any size. That’s why logos, packaging and signs are so often drawn in Illustrator, and why printers ask for the .ai file instead of a JPG.

The useful thing to know is what’s inside. When Illustrator saves an .ai file with its Create PDF Compatible File option turned on, which is the default, it stores two things together: its own editing data, and a full PDF version of the artwork. Other programs can’t use the editing data, but they can show the PDF part. Very old .ai files were built on PostScript instead, much like EPS files.

If someone turns the PDF option off to make the file smaller, other apps can’t show the artwork. They show a placeholder page from Adobe saying the file was saved without PDF content.

Extension	What it is
.ai	Illustrator’s working file: editing data plus, usually, a PDF copy of the artwork
.eps	An older exchange format for vector art, based on PostScript
.svg	The open vector format of the web, readable by any browser
.pdf	The finished, shareable version; Illustrator can also save PDFs that keep its editing data

How to open an .AI file with Folders

On Android

1. Install Folders from the download section (Android 7.0 or newer).
2. Open it and allow All files access when it asks, so it can see your files.
3. Find the .ai file, often in Download, or search for .ai from the box at the top of a folder.
4. Tap it to see the artwork.

If the file is still in your email or a chat app, tap it there and choose Open with → Folders.

On Windows and Linux

1. Install Folders on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) or on Linux.
2. Double-click the .ai file in Folders.
3. On Windows you can also right-click it in File Explorer and choose Open with → Folders; the installer adds Folders to that menu for the types it opens.

What you can do with it in Folders

• See the artwork. For a PDF-compatible .ai file, Folders draws the first page of the PDF inside, which is normally the first artboard. If your file has several artboards, expect to see only that first one.
• Older files without a PDF part show the preview picture saved inside them, when there is one. If there’s nothing to draw and no preview, Folders says No preview to show.
• Details lists the file’s name, size and date, along with information Folders could read from the file itself, such as the program that made it.
• Share sends the file on to a printer, a colleague or another app.

It’s a preview: no editing, no layers, no changing colours, no exporting to PNG or SVG. For that you need a vector editor.

Other ways to open .AI files

• Adobe Illustrator: the only program that opens every part of the file and edits it fully (subscription).
• Inkscape (free, Windows and Linux): imports PDF-compatible .ai files and can save them as SVG or PDF. Complex effects may come out differently.
• Affinity Designer opens .ai files that have PDF content, as editable shapes.
• Any PDF reader: because the PDF part is a real PDF, many readers show the artwork if you make a copy and rename it from .ai to .pdf. This only works for PDF-compatible files.

Problems opening an .AI file?

• You see a page of text instead of the artwork. That’s Illustrator’s placeholder for a file saved without PDF content. Ask for it to be saved again with Create PDF Compatible File turned on, or for a PDF.
• The text looks wrong in Inkscape. Editing apps need the same fonts installed, otherwise they substitute others. Viewers that draw the PDF part, like Folders, usually use the fonts stored in it.
• It’s a very old file. Illustrator files from long ago are PostScript-based and may have no preview at all. Illustrator still opens them, and Inkscape can import many of them with Ghostscript installed.

Questions people ask

Can I open an AI file without Illustrator? Yes, to look at it. Folders, Inkscape and most PDF readers can show a PDF-compatible .ai file. Editing it the way the designer did needs Illustrator.

Can I open an .ai file on Android? Yes. Folders draws the artwork on the phone, offline, and you can share it from there.

How do I convert AI to PDF, PNG or SVG? In Illustrator, use Save As for PDF or Export for PNG and SVG. Inkscape can open the file and save it as SVG or PDF. Folders doesn’t convert .ai files.

AI vs EPS: what’s the difference? Both hold vector art. EPS is an older, simpler PostScript format that almost any design program accepts. AI is Illustrator’s own richer format, which only Illustrator opens completely.

Related guides: how to open EPS and PostScript files and how to open SVG files. Or browse all 382 file types Folders opens.