✏

Adobe Illustrator (AI)

Open Beta

.ai · application/illustrator

AI is the working format of Adobe Illustrator, the industry-standard tool for vector graphics. Since version 9 it is built on PDF: the export is a single artboard with paths, fills, and editable text -- a ready base for design work.

Export AI now ✨ Open Beta — free, no limits

Key Features

✓PDF-compatible vector

✓Editable label text

✓RGB (convert to CMYK in your editor)

✓Single artboard, A4 page

Example AI export (central Moscow, 1x0.5 km) — Example: central Moscow, ~1×0.5 km, medium detail

About AI Format

AI is the working format of Adobe Illustrator. Since version nine it has been built on top of PDF, so such a file opens not only in Illustrator but also in Affinity Designer, CorelDRAW and Inkscape (as an import), and if need be it can be viewed in any PDF viewer.

An OSM map is exported to AI when design work is ahead of it: a map poster for the wall, a directions scheme in a corporate style, an inset in a booklet or an infographic. Instead of tracing the city by hand, the designer gets a ready vector base and changes its colors, line weights and typography.

The output is a single vector file: objects stay curves and fills, and the labels arrive as real text rather than outlines converted to curves, so names can be re-laid out or translated. The default sheet is A4 landscape; raster elements, if the map style has any, are rendered at 300 dpi for print.

What Program Opens AI Files

The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with Adobe Illustrator (AI) (.ai) files exported from OSM2CDR:

✏Adobe Illustrator 🎨Affinity Designer 🎨CorelDRAW (import) ✏Inkscape (import)

Format specifications

Proprietary format
2D only
Lossless (no quality loss)
Stores feature attributes
Output: 1 file
Adobe Illustrator .ai (PDF-compatible, written by the PDF engine): one RGB artboard with editable text, without native Illustrator layers. Best opened in Illustrator CC 2018+.

Who Uses AI Maps

🏗

Graphic Design

A vector base for posters, covers and print work that the designer adjusts to the layout.

💻

Branding

Maps in brand colors: directions schemes, marketing materials, brand presentations.

📊

Cartographic Design

An artistic map of the city: free work with the style of lines, fills and labels.

🎨

Print Production

Preparation for the print shop: a vector file scales to any sheet size without any loss of quality.

🗺

Illustrations

Illustrations and infographics where the map is a background or an inset rather than a document of its own.

How to Export AI

Select area

Draw a rectangle or polygon on the interactive map at osm2cdr

Choose AI

Select Adobe Illustrator (AI) from the list of 127 available export formats

Export

Click Export and receive your .ai file in 1-5 minutes

Download

Download the ready AI file and open it in Adobe Illustrator

How to Open After Export

Adobe Illustrator (CC 2018 and newer) — File → Open; after that it is normal work: select by color, change strokes, replace label fonts.
Affinity Designer — opens the file as a PDF document; on import enable keeping text as text, otherwise the labels will arrive as curves.
CorelDRAW and Inkscape — File → Import; full compatibility with Illustrator's own effects is not guaranteed, but geometry and text carry over.
Before printing — check the color model of the document and convert it to CMYK with your editor's tools if the print shop requires exactly that.
If the file is only needed for viewing — it opens in any PDF viewer, and you do not have to rename the extension for that.

Popular maps in AI

Free

Get Adobe Illustrator (AI) map exports

Download professional AI maps from OpenStreetMap. Instant generation, any area.

Free / export

Export AI now →

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I open AI in CorelDRAW? ▼

What Illustrator version is needed? ▼

Are layers preserved? ▼

Do the labels arrive as text or as curves? ▼

Why does the AI file open in a PDF viewer? ▼

What sheet size does the export use? ▼

Compare with Other Formats

⚖ AI vs EPS ⚖ CDR vs AI

Related Formats

Frequently Exported Together

AI+📄PDF 🖨EPS 🌐SVG

comparison