Importing files (PDF, AI, SVG, PSD)

Popcorn Editor can open existing artwork, not just create it. Import a PDF, Illustrator, SVG or Photoshop file and it becomes a new, fully editable document, with a clear report of anything that had to be simplified along the way.

Start an import#

You import from the File menu inside the editor:

1. Open the File menu and choose Import file….
2. Pick a .pdf, .ai, .svg or .psd file. The maximum file size is 300 MB.
3. The Import file dialog opens and converts the file in your browser, showing progress (for multi-page files, Page 1 of 4 and so on). Click Cancel at any time to abandon the import.
4. Review the result, then click Open as new document.

Everything runs locally in your browser: the file is parsed on your machine, not uploaded to a conversion server.

Note: Import file… is different from Import JSON… in the same menu. Import JSON restores a design saved in Popcorn Editor's own portable JSON format; Import file converts foreign formats. If you pick a design JSON in the Import file picker, it is routed to the JSON path automatically.

Read the import report#

Before anything touches your workspace, the dialog shows what came out of the conversion:

• Counts: how many Pages, Objects and Images were produced. A quick sanity check that the whole file was read.
• Conversion notes: a list of anything that was substituted, approximated or flattened, with warnings first. If nothing needed changing, the dialog simply reports that the file converted cleanly with no issues found.

Click Open as new document to commit. The result opens as a fresh, unsaved document, so your current design is never overwritten. Save it like any other design; see Signing in and saving.

Tip: read the notes before committing. If a PSD reports many rasterized layers, for example, you may prefer the flattened fallback described below.

PDF#

PDF is the strongest import path. Vector shapes, text, images, gradients and clipping stay editable objects, and page geometry carries over:

• Text imports as live, editable text. Fonts you do not have are substituted, and each substitution is listed in the notes (see Fonts and the font book).
• Spot colors become document swatches, listed by name in the notes, so separations keep working; see Spot colors and separations.
• Bleed is detected from the PDF's page boxes. If pages disagree, one value is applied to the whole document and the notes say so.

Round-trip PDFs#

If the PDF was exported from Popcorn Editor with the Include editable source option turned on in the Export dialog, importing it back does something better than conversion: the original editable document embedded in the PDF is restored exactly, with all its live text, styles and swatches.

When that happens, the report says the original document was restored and offers an extra button, Import PDF as-is, which re-imports the visible PDF contents instead. Use it when you specifically want what the PDF looks like now (for example, after another tool modified it).

Illustrator (.ai)#

Modern .ai files contain a PDF-compatible version of the artwork, and Popcorn Editor imports that stream, so the experience matches PDF import. The notes remind you that Illustrator-only features may be simplified.

Two cases are rejected with guidance instead of a bad result:

• Legacy .ai without PDF content: re-save it in Illustrator with Create PDF Compatible File enabled, or export a PDF and import that.
• EPS and InDesign files: not supported directly. Save as PDF from the original application, then import the PDF.

SVG#

File ▸ Import file… turns an SVG into a new document: paths, shapes, text and gradients become editable objects, and text on a path is reconstructed as live curved text where possible.

Some SVG features have no equivalent and are dropped, always with a note: filter effects, masks, pattern fills, line markers (arrowheads) and embedded HTML content. Images that reference external URLs are skipped for security. If the SVG declares no size, a default page size is used.

Note: dragging an SVG onto the canvas is different. That places the SVG as a single image object inside your current document, which is handy for logos. Use File ▸ Import file… when you want to edit the SVG's contents.

Photoshop (.psd)#

PSD import keeps the layer structure: layers and groups become objects and groups, layer opacity and common blend modes carry over, and text layers become editable text where the type data can be read.

Photoshop is a raster editor, so more gets baked than with PDF. Expect notes such as: layer masks baked into pixels, smart objects imported as flattened images, adjustment layers skipped (colors may shift), and unsupported layer effects removed.

When the layered conversion had to compromise, the report offers Re-import flattened (exact appearance). That imports the file's flattened composite as a single image: nothing is editable, but it looks exactly like Photoshop's render. Choose it when fidelity matters more than editability.

Tip: if a PSD fails with a message about no readable layers or composite, re-save it in Photoshop with Maximize Compatibility enabled.

Limits and safeguards#

Very heavy files degrade gracefully instead of failing:

A damaged or password-protected PDF cannot be read; re-export it without security and try again.

What's next#

Once your artwork is in, set up bleed and check output settings in Document setup and bleed, then walk through the full workflow in Import from PDF, Illustrator and Photoshop.