FXG format | Illustrator CS5.5, CS6

When creating structured graphics in Illustrator for use in Adobe Flex®, you can save in the FXG format. FXG is a graphics file format based on a subset of MXML, the XML-based programming language used by the Flex framework. You can use FXG files in applications such as Adobe Flash Builder/Adobe Flash Catalyst to develop rich Internet applications and experiences. When saving as FXG, images must be under 16,777,216 total pixels and less than 8192 pixels in width or height.

For more information on using these formats, see the Adobe Flex website at www.adobe.com/products/flex.

You can directly import both Illustrator(.ai) and FXG (.fxg) documents in Flash Catalyst. To import specific Flash Catalyst content in Illustrator, use the Edit in Illustrator option available in Flash Catalyst. However, some of the objects or attributes are treated differently in Illustrator and Flash Catalyst. Using the FXG options, you can control the conversion of these objects and attributes. In addition to this option, you can also paste Illustrator content directly into Flash Catalyst.

When saving content in FXG format in Illustrator, any object or attribute that is not compatible with the FXG specifications is expanded, rasterized, outlined, or dropped based on the complexity of the content and the FXG mapping. For example, to preserve the artwork with 3D effect, which is not supported in FXG, the content is rasterized to save in FXG format.

For a list of object and attribute mapping between Illustrator and FXG, see FXG mapping of Illustrator objects and attributes.

Use the following guidelines while saving Illustrator files in FXG format and editing them in Flash Catalyst:

Use Flash Catalyst or Basic RGB profile for creating content for FXG.
Avoid using brushes as it may cause performance issues due to expanded paths.
FXG provides mapping only for Drop Shadow, Inner/Outer Glow, and Blur, so prefer these effects over others.
Avoid horizontal or vertical scaling of text to avoid outlining when saving to FXG.
FXG does not support blends on filters. If you need to save FXG with filters editable or auto-save option, ensure that you set blend to Normal while applying filters (Drop Shadow, inner/outer glow) on any object for accurate appearance.
In most cases, items created in Illustrator are rendered as pixel-snapped in Flash Catalyst to make horizontal or vertical stroke edges look sharp. To avoid content from shifting between Illustrator and Flash Catalyst, select the Align to Pixel Grid option while working in Illustrator. For more information about aligning objects to the pixel grid, see Drawing pixel-aligned paths for web workflows.
Objects with a blend mode other than normal that are blended against the default document background may display differently in Flash Catalyst. Objects with non-normal blend modes should always have another object behind them.
Skewed items are not supported, and may be positioned differently when imported to Flash Catalyst.
9-slice scaling grids are not supported in Flash Catalyst.
Reflected bitmaps and symbols are not supported in Flash Catalyst.
Spot and process colors are not supported in Flash Catalyst.
Vertical text is not supported in Flash Catalyst.
Warning messages are displayed to guide you about specific data modifications to the selected object or attributes. However, in some cases, the warning message may not be relevant to you. For example, a warning message such as "Some open type properties are dropped' when you deliberately set the language to a value other than USA. These warning messages about content editability are displayed only if the Save Illustrator Private Data option is selected.

To map Illustrator content in FXG while preserving maximum appearance and editability, you can save a document in FXG format. This document can then be opened in either Illustrator or Flash Catalyst.

Click either File > Save As or click File > Save A Copy.

Type a filename, and choose a location for the file.

Select Adobe FXG (*.FXG) as the file format, and click Save. The FXG Options dialog box is displayed.

FXG Options Dialog Box

In the FXG Options dialog box, set the required options. The options available in this dialog box are:

Save Illustrator Private Data

This option is selected by default. It enables better re-editability, when you import FXG files in Illustrator:

It allows maximum editability of FXG files, if you import these files in Illustrator.

note: This option does not guarantee that all the content would be supported in the native Illustrator format. For example, brush strokes are not preserved because there is no support for retention of Illustrator private data for brush strokes. However, effects are preserved live on FXG import through Illustrator private data.

Include Unused Symbols

Use this option to keep or discard unused symbols in the FXG file. Saving unused symbols in FXG may increase the file size.

Downsample Linked Images (72 ppi)

Use this option for downsampling linked image files at 72 ppi, which is the standard web requirement.

Filters

Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, and Gaussian Blur are supported as filters in FXG. Illustrator provides a trade-off between appearance and editability for these filters, when exported. If you want to preserve editability of these filters with some loss of appearance, select Maintain Editability (Convert to FXG). If you prefer appearance over editability, select the other options: Preserve Appearance (Expand), Preserve Appearance (Rasterize).

Text

To retain the appearance and maintain the editing capability, select the Automatic Conversion option. If editability cannot be maintained for the selected artwork, it is either expanded or rasterized to preserve appearance. To preserve visual appearance of text, select the Preserve Appearance (Rasterize) option or Preserve Appearance (Create Outline) to convert to Vector Outline for smaller file size. For maximum editability of text, select Maintain Editability (Convert to FXG). However, this option may result in loss of appearance.

Gradients

Gradients are not fully compatible with FXG when the gradient has more than 16 stops. Gradient mid points that are not equal to 50% are also mapped directly into FXG. Illustrator first tries to extrapolate those midpoints to actual stops and if they cannot be extrapolated, gradients are rasterized.

Illustrator has the capability to determine the priority when exporting gradients in FXG. If content editability is high priority, then select Maintain Editability (Convert to FXG). Select the Automatic Conversion option to preserve visual appearance and maintain the editing capability. Automatic conversion analyses and determines if content can be kept editable and still match the appearance. If keeping the content editable does not match the appearance then the art is rasterized.

Blend

You can rasterize to preserve the appearance, by selecting Preserve Appearance (Rasterize) or select Automatic Conversion to allow Illustrator to automatically expand or rasterize the blending options based on the complexity of the blend.

Show Code

Click this button to view the FXG code before generating the FXG file.

FXG is always saved with the Use Artboards option enabled. Artboards are imported as states in Flash Catalyst.

Note:

The artboard range specified while saving FXG content decides the creation of pages or states for Flash Catalyst. If you save a document with multiple artboards in FXG format, any content that lies completely outside the artboard is not saved.

For overlapping artboards, any content that is shared across artboards is saved on each page, when saving in FXG format. Therefore, multiple pages with the same content are saved.

Click OK. If Illustrator makes any changes to save the content in FXG, the content changes are displayed in the FXG Save Warning dialog box.

FXG Warning Dialog Box

To import or open an FXG file in Illustrator, click File > Open and select the .fxg file.

You can also open an FXG file in Illustrator by selecting the Edit in Illustrator option in Flash Catalyst. For more information, see Round-trip editing of artwork in Adobe Flash Catalyst documentation.

Note:

You cannot link FXG content in Illustrator, you can only embed it.

To edit objects and attributes of an FXG file in Flash Catalyst, use the Edit in Illustrator option in Flash Catalyst. The selected objects are opened in Illustrator. After you finish editing in Illustrator, the object is reconverted to the FXG format, and passed back to Flash Catalyst.

You can edit an FXG file object in Illustrator, while working on the file in Flash Catalyst. To edit an object in Illustrator:

In Flash Catalyst, select the object that you want to edit in Illustrator

Do one of the following:

Right-click on the object, and then select the Edit in Adobe Illustrator CS5 option.
Choose Modify > Edit in Adobe Illustrator CS5.

Illustrator CS5 opens and the corresponding FXG file is automatically opened for editing. At the upper-left corner of the Illustrator window, the Done and Cancel options are available.

Done and cancel options for FXG file opened in Illustrator

Note:

In Illustrator, only the selected objects are available for editing. All other objects are visible, but cannot be edited.

Change the selected object or create new objects.

Exit this mode by clicking the Done button at the upper-right corner in Illustrator.

When you click Done, the edited object and any new objects are reconverted into FXG format and passed back to Flash Catalyst.

If you click cancel, a dialog box is displayed to confirm that you do not want to save the changes made to the file.

Dialog box to confirm cancellation of edit in Illustrator

In Flash Catalyst, set the required options in the FXG Options dialog box, and then click OK.

Flash Catalyst uses the FXG (.fxg) format files to create rich Internet applications and experiences. You can use content between Illustrator and Flash Catalyst in three ways:

Import a .ai file directly in Flash Catalyst.
Import a .fxg file in Flash Catalyst, which was saved as .fxg in Illustrator.
Copy any object from Illustrator and paste it into a Flash Catalyst document.

For more information, see Round-trip editing of artwork in Adobe Flash Catalyst documentation.

When you copy and paste content into Flash Catalyst, certain objects and their attributes may not be compatible with the FXG specification. You can specify settings to manually control and preserve visual appearance, editability, or both.

To paste an Illustrator object in Flash Catalyst:

Select and copy the object from an open Adobe Illustrator CS5 file.

Paste the object in an open Flash Catalyst file.

In the Illustrator Import Options dialog box, specify the correct options as stated in step 4 of Save an Illustrator file in FXG format.

Following is the list of objects and attributes that are directly mapped into FXG:

Illustrator object/attribute	Object/attribute sub-area	FXG tag	Export to FXG	Import FXG	Illustrator Private Data support	Behavior
Paths/Open	Move Segment	<Path>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Line Segment	<Path>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Cubic Bezier Segment	<Path>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Line	<Line>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Compound Paths	<Path>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
Shapes/Closed Paths	Ellipse	<Ellipse>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Rectangle/Rounded Rectangle	<Rect>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Star/Polygon	<Path>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Flare	<Path>	Expansion	Expansion	No
	Compound Shape	<Group><Path>	Expansion	Expansion	Yes
Fill	Solid Fill	<Fill><Solid Colors>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No	Colors are not preserved for Swatch libraries.
	Process/Spot Color/Registration/Global Process	<Fill><Solid Colors>	Convert to Solid	Convert to Solid	No	Colors are not preserved for Swatch libraries.
	Linear Gradient Fill	<Fill><LinearGradient>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes	You have the option to choose Gradient export in FXG by using the FXG save options.
	Radial Gradient Fill	<Fill><RadialGradient>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes	You have the option to choose Gradient export in FXG by using the FXG save options.
	Pattern Fill		Rasterized	Rasterized	No
	Multiple Fills (Appearance panel)		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
Stroke	Multiple Stroke (Appearance panel)		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Pattern Stroke		Rasterization	Rasterization	No
	Solid Color Stroke	<Stroke><SolidColorStroke>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No	Colors are not preserved for Swatch libraries.
	Stroke Depth		Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Line Joins/Line Caps	<Stroke> <joints=””> <caps=””>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Dashed Line/Dotted Line/Stroke Align		Expansion	Expansion	No
Transparency
	Opacity on Objects/Layer/Groups/Fills/Strokes	<alpha>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
Transparency panel Options	Transparency
	Knockout		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Isolate Blending		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
Attribute panel Options	Attribute Panel
	Overprint Fill/Overprint/Stroke/Image Maps/URL		Dropped	Dropped	No
Layers and sublayers		<Group>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Hidden/Lock layers		Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
Group		<Group>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
	Blend Group		Expansion	Expansion	No	Blend is handled with FXG Save Options: Auto: automatically detects the complexity of blend based on steps, shapes, and rasterizes it if output is too complex otherwise expand. Rasterize: always rasterizes the blend output.
	Live Paint Group		Expansion	Expansion	No
Symbols	<Graphic/Movie>	<Library><Definitions>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
Placed Images (Embedded/Linked)	Linked/Embedded Images		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes	Private data is written just to retain embedded art in Illustrator on round trip.
Raster Art			Rasterization	Rasterization	No
Opacity Mask		<maskType=luminosity>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes
Effects	3D
	Extrude & Bevel		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes	Thumb rule for vector effect mapping in FXG is to expand the object with effect. However, 3D effect is rasterized because expanding objects with 3D effects generates numerous paths and causes performance issues in Flash Catalyst.
	Revolve		Rasterization	Rasterization	Rasterization	Thumb rule for vector effect mapping in FXG is to expand the object with effect. However, 3D effect is rasterized because expanding objects with 3D effects generates numerous paths and causes performance issues in Flash Catalyst.
	Rotate		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes	Thumb rule for vector effect mapping in FXG is to expand the object with effect. However, 3D effect is rasterized because expanding objects with 3D effects generates numerous paths and causes performance issues in Flash Catalyst.
	Effects Converts to shape
	Rectangle/Rounded Rectangle/Ellipse		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Distort and Transform
	Free Distort/ Pucker and Bloat/ Transform/ Twist/ Zigzag		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Roughen/Tweak		Expansion	Expansion	No
	Path
	Offset Path/ Outline Object/ Outline Stroke		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Pathfinder
	Add/ Intersect/ Exclude/ Subtract/ Minus Back/ Divide/ trim/ Merge/ Crop/ Outline/ Hard Mix/ Soft Mix/ Trap		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Rasterize		Rasterize	Rasterize	Yes
	Stylize
	Add Arrowheads/Round Corners/Scribble		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Drop Shadow	<filters> <DropShadowfilter>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes	When you save content as FXG, the "Mode" is always set to "Multiple" and "Darkness" is replaced by last used color in the Drop Shadow effect.
	Inner Glow	<filters> <GlowFilter inner=”true”	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes	When you save content as FXG, the "Mode" is always set to "Normal" and "Center" is converted to Edge.
	Outer Glow	<filters><GlowFilter> or <filters><GlowFilter inner="false">	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes	When you save as FXG, “Mode” is set to “Normal”.
	Warp
	Arc/ Arc Lower/ Arc Upper/ Arch/ Bulge/ Shell Lower/ Shell Upper/ Flag/ Wave/ Fisheye/ Rise/ Fish/ Inflate/ Squeeze/ Twist		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
	Blur
	Gaussian Blur	<filters><BlurFilter>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes
	Smart/Radial Blur		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
Graphs
	Column/ Stacked Column/ Bar/ Stacked/ Line/ Area/ Scatter/ Pie/ Radar Graph		Rasterization	Rasterization	No
Graphic Style			Expansion	Expansion	No
Tracing Objects			Expansion	Expansion	No
Image Maps			Dropped	Dropped	No
Envelope Distort			Expansion	Expansion	No
Foreign Art			Rasterization	Rasterization	No
Mesh Art			Rasterization	Rasterization	No
Pattern			Rasterization	Rasterization	No
Clipping Path and Clip Group		<Mask maskType="clip">	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No	Masked objects with filled clipping path are rasterized on FXG save.
Gradient	Linear/Radial Gradient/Gradient Stops/Location/Angle		Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes	Gradient are handled with FXG Save Options: Auto: automatically detects whether gradient is mappable in FXG. If gradient is mappable, then gradient mapping is saved in FXG content otherwise the gradient object is rasterized. Maintain Editability [Convert To FXG]: This option preserves the editability of gradient in FXG preferred over appearance, regardless of the mapping being available.
Transformations on Image/Symbols/Gradients	Move/Scale		Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
<Through Transform Effect>	Rotate/Reflect/Scale		Expansion	Expansion	Yes
Variables			Dropped	Dropped
Flash Text			Dropped	Dropped
SVG Interactivity			Dropped	Dropped
Plug-in Art Adobe			Expansion	Expansion	No
Plug-in Art Third Party			Expansion	Expansion	No
Blend Mode	Darken/ Multiply/ Color Burn/ Lighten/ Screen/ Color Dodge/ Overlay/ Soft Light/ Hard Light/ Difference/ Exclusion/ Hue/ Saturation/ Color/ Luminosity		Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No
Brushes
	Calligraphic/ Scatter/ Art/ Pattern/ Bristle		Expansion	Expansion	No
Units	Points/Picas/Inches/Millimeters/Centimeters		Convert to Pixels	Convert to Illustrator Units as per Preferences	No
	Pixels		Mapping Live	Convert to Illustrator units as per Preferences	No
Document Profiles			Convert to RGB profile	Convert to RGB profile	No
Document Orientation	Portrait (Vertical) / Landscape (Horizontal)		Dropped	Dropped	Yes
Perspective Grid			Dropped	Dropped	No
Embed Color Profile			Dropped	Dropped	No
Photoshop Effects	Artistic
	Color Pencil/ Cutout/ Dry Brush/ Film Grain/ Fresco/ Neon Glow/ Paint Daubs/ Panel Knife/ Plastic Wrap/ Poster Edges/ Rough Pastels/ Smudge Stick/ Sponge/ Underpainting/ Watercolor		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Blur
	Gaussian Blur		Mapping Live	Mapping Live	Yes
	Radial/Smart Blur		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Brush Strokes
	Accented Edges/ Angled Strokes/ Crosshatch/ Dark Strokes/ Ink Outlines/ Spatter/ Sprayed Strokes/ Sumi-e		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Distort
	Diffuse Glow/ Glass/ Ocean Ripple		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Pixelate
	Color Halftone/ Crystallize/ Mezzotint/ Pointillize		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Sharpen
	Unsharp Mask		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Sketch
	Bas Relief/ Chalk & Charcoal/ Charcoal/ Chrome/ Content Crayon/ Graphic Pen/ Halftone Pattern/ Note Paper/ Photocopy/ Plaster/ Reticulation/ Stamp/ Torn Edges/ Water Paper		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Stylize
	Glowing Edges		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Texture
	Craquelure/ grain/ Mosaic Tiles/ Patchwork/ Stained Glass/ Texturizer		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
	Video
	De-Interlace / NTSC Colors		Rasterization	Rasterization	Yes
Slices			Dropped	Dropped	No
Guides			Dropped	Dropped	No
Symbol Set		<Group><Symbol>	Expansion	Expansion	No
XMP			Dropped	Dropped	No
Multiple Artboards	Single Artboard	<d:layerType=Page>	Mapping Live	Mapping Live	No	Objects outside artboards are always discarded.

Size of the Main Graphic is:
- Width: Artboard with maximum width
- Height: Artboard with maximum height
Use Artboards options for FXG, generates a single FXG file with only pages corresponding to respective artboards:
- Illustrator does not generate an FXG file for each artboard.
- If you select all artboards then a single FXG file having all the artboards is generated.
- If you select a range such as 1, 3, 5, then only a single FXG file containing page corresponding to artboard 1, 3 and 5 are generated.

Following text attributes are compatible with FXG:

Attribute Type	Illustrator Attribute	FXG Tag	Map/Outline/Drop/Conversion/Partial
Character Attributes
	font Name	fontFamily	Preserved
	font Size	fontSize	Preserved
	leading	lineHeight	Preserved
	underline	textDecoration	Preserved
	strikethrough	lineThrough	Preserved
	tracking	trackingRight	Preserved
	fill color	color	Preserved
	transparency	textAlpha	Preserved
	kerning		Dropped
	baseline shift	baselineShift	Preserved
	Japanese properties (Aki, Tsume, Warichu, Tate-Chu -Yoko)		Text is outlined for CJK languages (for non-default values) and is dropped for others.
Paragraph Properties
	Alignment	textAlign	Preserved
	Justify with last line aligned (left, center, right, or all)	textAlignLast	Preserved
	First line left indent	textIndent	Preserved
	Left Indent	paragraphstartindent	Preserved
	Right Indent	paragraphendindent	Preserved
	spaceBefore	paragraphspacebefore	Preserve
	spaceAfter	paragraphspaceafter	Preserve
	Horizontal/Vertical text frame	blockProgression	Preserved
Rich Text Attributes
	width	width
	height	height
	x	x
	y	y
	Indent Spacing	paddingLeft
	Indent Spacing	paddingRight
	Indent Spacing	paddingTop
	Indent Spacing	paddingBottom
	Legacy Text		Expanded
	Text on Path		Expanded
	Text objects with unsupported Area type options		Unsupported Area type options are dropped
	Text objects with wraps		Expanded in Auto mode
	Text objects with non-rectangular shape
Other features
	Character attributes other than the ones mentioned in the table previously		Dropped
	Paragraph Attributes other than the ones mentioned previously		Dropped
	Character styles		Dropped (Appearance will be preserved)
	Paragraph styles		Dropped (Appearance will be preserved)
	Tab settings	tabStops	Preserved
	Open Type features		Preserved (partially)
	Composite fonts		Replaced by the default font of the script.
	Text Frame Fill		The object is expanded

Following is a list of attributes that are not supported by Illustrator but are supported by FXG:

Attribute Name	FXG tag	Illustrator Import: level of support	Behavior
LinearGradientstroke	<Stroke><LinearGradientstroke>	Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.
RadialGradientstroke	<Stroke><RadialGradientstroke>	Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.
ColorTransform		Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.
Blend Modes:
Add/ alpha/ erase/ invert/ subtract		Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.
9 Slicing Attributes on Groups		Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.
Effects:
GradientBevel / Bevel/ GradientGlow/		Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.
ColorMatrix/ Displacement Map/ Convolution/ AdjustColor Filters		Preserved till not tampered	Illustrator preserves FXG data for this attribute until tampered. If any editing in Illustrator affects this attribute directly, then Illustrator overwrites the data causing drop of this attribute.

Legal Notices | Online Privacy Policy

FXG format | CS5.5, CS6

About FXG

Best practices for using FXG

Save an Illustrator file in FXG format

Illustrator and Flash Catalyst workflow

Add or edit Flash Catalyst objects in Illustrator

Import Illustrator content in Flash Catalyst

FXG mapping of Illustrator objects and attributes

Ask the Community

Contact Us