KB89426540: Automation Engine - Is it possible to import an Illustrator (.ai) file with linked images and export to normalized PDF without embedding or creating .ct files

Question

Is it possible to import an Illustrator (.ai) file with linked images and export to normalized PDF in Automation Engine without embedding or creating .ct files and without using the Esko plugin for Adobe^® Illustrator^® to export to Normalized PDF?

Answer

When you save the AI file, the .ai file doesn't have any 'linked' images. It's all embedded.
So whether you use either fast normalize or classic normalize, it is impossible to keep the original TIFF's because we extract embedded images from the PDF.
If one wants to keep the original linked image, the only solution is to export the Normalized PDF from Adobe^® Illustrator^®.

So if you want to use the links to the TIFF's, you should use Export to Normalized PDF from DeskPack.