Keynote utilities: AI2Key and SVG2Keynote

Please send any feedback or suggestions to my email address and make sure to include AI2Key or SVG2Keynote in the subject. Or message me on twitter (@cholz).

AI2Key: Illustrator to Keynote converter

AI2Key is a small Adobe Illustrator plugin and exports Illustrator documents (left) to Apple Keynote files. AI2Key maintains shape information (path styles, fills), such that shapes can be edited in Keynote (right).

AI2Key

Download

Get AI2Key-v0.4.zip here. AI2Key was compiled for Adobe Illustrator CS5 and runs on Mac OS X Snow Leopard and OS X Lion.

Installation

Install AI2Key by copying the bundle into Illustrator's plugin directory (~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator CS5/en_US/Plug-ins/). Then (re)start Adobe Illustrator.

Usage

Open or create an Illustrator document and select File > Export > Keynote Document (key). AI2Key creates a Keynote presentation with a single slide, which has the measurements of the AI document (in pixels). Load the presentation in Keynote, select the shapes and click Format > Shape > Make Editable. Voila, happy editing of vector paths in Keynote.

Further information

  • FAQ and Answers

    I have received some emails with recurring questions and will list answers here.

    Convert shapes from PDF documents into Keynote and modify them

    Adobe Illustrator can either directly open PDF files, or content selected from PDF documents can be inserted as shapes using copy&paste. AI2Key can then convert the shapes to Keynote.

    Convert Illustrator shapes to Apple Pages or Numbers

    Shapes in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers are compatible. Once AI2Key has converted Illustrator files to a Keynote document, all embedded shapes can simply by copied to Pages or Numbers using copy&paste.

    Convert Illustrator documents to Powerpoint

    Copy&paste from Illustrator to Powerpoint (Paste special > Enhanced Metafile) and consequent ungrouping should do the trick.

    I don't have/use Illustrator, but want to import my documents as vectors into Keynote.

    Export your document as an SVG file and use SVG2Keynote to convert it to Keynote shapes.

  • Release Notes

    future versions

    I'm planning to incorporate support for

    • stroke miter limits
    • maintain grouping of objects
    • path cap styles (round cap, butt cap, projecting cap)
    • multiple artboards resulting in multiple Keynote slides
    • path join/corner styes (miter join, round join, bevel join)
    • copy&paste to transfer shapes (Keynote typically inserts PDF when pasting, which cannot be edited)

    v0.4 (May, 2011) supports

    • CMYK color model (no need to convert the document to RGB before exporting)
    • (linear) gradient fills
    • multiple stroke and fill styles
    • shape opacities (result in alpha values for stroke and fill colors in Keynote)

    v0.3 (January, 2011) supports

    • different path patterns (dashed, dotted, ...)
    • cutouts (compound shapes in Illustrator with holes/transparent parts, such that the background shines through)
    • AI2Key is now located under "File > Export" rather than "Save As"
    • (.key documents no longer show up in the list of recent documents)

    v0.2 (October, 2010) supports

    • exporting text
    • fonts (font faces, font sizes)
    • text transformations (e.g., rotation)

    v0.1 (October, 2010) supports

    • shapes (lines, rectangles, circles, arbitrary paths)
    • path styles (weight, color)
    • fills (none, color)

SVG2Keynote: SVG to Keynote converter

SVG2Keynote is a command line utility to convert Scalable Vector Graphics (left) to Apple Keynote documents. SVG2Keynote preserves shape information (path styles, fills), such that shapes can be edited in Keynote (right).

SVG2Keynote

Download

Get svg2keynote-v0.1.dmg here. SVG2Keynote runs on Mac OS X Snow Leopard and OS X Lion.

Usage

svg2keynote is a command line utility. Call svg2keynote with the SVG file as parameter. Supply a second parameter to specify the output file. If left empty, SVG2Keynote will append .key to the input file name. SVG 2 Keynote creates a Keynote presentation with a single slide, which has the measurements of the SVG graphic (in pixels). Load the presentation in Keynote, select the shapes and click Format > Shape > Make Editable. Voila, happy editing of vector paths in Keynote.

Further information: create Keynote shapes from SVG documents

  • About

    SVG2Keynote imports SVG files and uses AI2Key's document object model to store and export shapes. As such it provides similar functionality to AI2Key (Illustrator to Keynote converter).

    SVG2Keynote brings AI2Key's conversion of vectors into Keynote shapes to all applications that are capable of exporting SVG graphics, including Inkscape, Illustrator, OmniGraffle, EazyDraw, and exoNotes.

  • Release Notes

    future versions

    I'm planning to incorporate support for

    • gradient fills
    • a graphical Mac OS X application with a Cocoa open dialog
    • ... let me know if you need anything else.

    v0.1 (June, 2011) supports

    • converting shapes (lines, rectangles, rounded rectangles, circles, ellipses, polygons, polylines, arcs, arbitrary paths)
    • converting cutout shapes (i.e., compound paths featuring several parts or holes)
    • groups of objects
    • stroke styles (weight, color, dashed)
    • fills (none, color)
    • colors: words as well as hex codes
    • parsing the style attribute of elements
    • transformations (translation, rotation, scale, skew)
    • alpha blending of shapes (opacity)

Notice

Adobe Illustrator is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.

Apple Keynote, Pages, and Numbers are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.

Microsoft Powerpoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.