Embedding, Linking, and Relinking Images in Illustrator

In this post, we’ll be exploring Embedding and Linking in Illustrator, a workflow practice for placing images into graphic design projects that ensures high efficiency and quality standards. After reading this post, you will understand what sets these methods apart as well as their advantages and disadvantages. You will also know how to manage embedded and linked images inside a project, including relinking missing images. Even if you’re a more experienced designer, you may find yourself raising an eyebrow and thinking: “huh, I should have started doing this a long time ago!”

This post is based on my Illustrator Essentials course. When you become a BYOL member, you gain access to this course as well as my 30+ additional courses on Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Figma, and more. As a BYOL member you will also enjoy personalized support, earn certificates, and tackle exciting community challenges. Head here to sign-up!

Ready for some workflow magic? Read on!

Embedding vs. linking Images

Let’s start from the top. When we use these two methods we are tackling one common issue, especially when working with complex projects, with multiple artboards, layers, objects and effects, among others: file size and the impact it has on our computer’s resources. The heavier the file, the heavier the load on our machines. That’s when coolers and fans start buzzing, everything slows down, freezes or, eventually, crashes – and that’s usually also the time we curse the day we decided not to become lawyers.

Fortunately, Illustrator offers us valuable help when working with assets like images – on most occasions, these are the most resource-demanding elements in a project.

So, the question is: how do we save file size when we place multiple images on an artboard?

We link images to the project, instead of embedding them.

And now in English:

Linking Images

Linking means that when we bring an image into an Illustrator project, we are placing a reference in the document. Illustrator displays the image in the artboard, but the actual data (and size) remains in its original location (like a folder inside your hard drive, Adobe Creative Cloud Library, or stored in a Cloud service).

Advantages:

Keeping a project’s image data outside the Illustrator document significantly reduces file size, making it easier to create and change complex designs. 

It’s perfect for the iteration process, as any changes made to the original image file are automatically updated in Illustrator.

Disadvantages:

Strengths have a weak side, of course. Linking makes us depend on external files and their connection between Illustrator and a specific location. If the linked files are moved, renamed, or lost, the link to the project breaks.

Linking also adds an extra layer of work and management complexity, we must keep track of all the linked files and their exact location. This may be a bit overwhelming in larger projects and when working with multiple team members in different computers or workplaces. Saving the files on a shared Cloud storage service can help minimize these issues, of course, but there’s always that additional need for order and attention – you know what they say about more than one chef in a kitchen.

How to Link an Image to an Illustrator Project

We start by “calling” the image into the document. Let’s click File on the top menu and then select the Place… option. There is a key shortcut for this action: Shift + Command + P on a Mac or Shift + Control + P on a PC.

Once inside the browse window, select the image file and make sure the Link box is checked. It should be checked as Illustrator default but give it a look before moving on and clicking the Place button.

To verify the Linking or Embedding status of an image, we use the Links panel. We can access it by clicking Window in the top menu and then selecting the Links option in the flyout menu. As we can see below, with the placed image selected, we can find it represented in the Links panel, identified with a chain link icon to the right of its thumbnail and file name.

Embedding Images

Embedding means that when we place an image on an artboard, its data is incorporated into the Illustrator document, becoming a part of the saved file. There is no link to an external file in our hard drive, CC Library, or external Cloud service location.

Advantages:

Makes sharing with team members, clients, or printers as easy as possible. Since all data is stored within the Illustrator document, we don’t need to worry about missing files or any broken links. What we send is what they get! Cool, huh?

All the assets we need are stored inside that single file. We can change, reorder, and manage them online or offline, working alone or sharing efforts with others.

Disadvantages:

We’ve already checked this issue: embedded images increase file size, especially when we are working with high-resolution photos. This slows workflow down and may cause computers to freeze or crash mid-process when we work with complex designs.

Any changes made to the original images will not be reflected in the Illustrator file, either automatically or prompted. Once again, in large projects this may slow workflow down and call for more manual updates.

How to Embed an Image to an Illustrator Project

First steps are the same as before. Click File on the top menu and then select the Place… option or hit the shortcut Shift + Command + P on a Mac or Shift + Control + P on a PC.

Inside the browse window, select the image file and make sure the Link box is unchecked. Click the Place button to import the image into the artboard.

Back in the Links panel, with the newly placed image selected, we can see that a new layer was added without any chain link icon visible. This means that our image is now part of the Illustrator file we are working on, fully editable and ready to share across multiple team members and computers. Awesome!

 Now I’m using my amazing guessing abilities to anticipate some questions that should be crossing your mind right now: “If I accidentally delete a linked image from my hard drive or Cloud service, what happens to the image placed in the Illustrator file? Is it lost? Do I have to import it again?” Those are great questions! Let’s explore them in the next step!

Timeout #1

Graphic Designers often work with demanding clients and tight schedules. Planning a design and establishing an efficient workflow can save you valuable time and resources. Invest time setting these strategies and shortcuts, they always pay off!

How to Relink an Image previously placed to an Illustrator Project

I’ve added a third image to my Illustrator project, properly linked to a file stored in a folder on my desktop. You can do the same and get a few more minutes of good practice or use the linked image you have previously placed in the previous steps. Let’s have a look at the links panel and check if the link to the original final is active.

Ok, we’re ready to push on. First, let’s save the Illustrator file. We can use the shortcut keys Shift + Command + S (Mac) or Shift + Control + S to name and save the file for the first time. In the File menu, that’s the Save As… option. If the file has been previously named and saved and you are working on an update, the option File > Save will be enough – that’s the shortcut Command + S (Mac) or Control + S (PC). Finally, close the file.

Next, we move the third image’s original file (the one that is linked inside the Illustrator document) into a new or different folder in our hard drive. Time to open the Illustrator project once more and…

We have a problem! Illustrator can’t find the file we’ve linked earlier. It’s not clear in the screen above, but the placed image even lost some quality. Can we fix this? Yes, we can relink the image back to its original file and continue working on a light-sized document. How do we do it? Quick and easy!

One important note: recent Illustrator versions prompt a warning window telling us that “files are missing or modified in the Links panel” and ask if we want to update them. We simply click the ‘Yes’ button to search for the original file to relink it back to the document or update any changes that may have been applied to it.

If you’re using previous versions, it may be necessary to do this manually. Here’s how it’s done:

Inside the Links panel, with the missing link layer selected, we click the Additional Settings button (the one with three grouped horizontal lines in the top right-corner) and select the Relink from CC Library… or Relink… command from the menu.

Browse your hard drive, CC Library, or external cloud folders to locate the original file. Make sure the Link box is checked before clicking the Place button.

Just to be sure we’re all set, let’s have another look at the Links panel:

Timeout #2

If you are new to Illustrator and planning to start a career in vector and graphic design, you should focus on learning and practicing, but also on making sure that you have the adequate hardware for each stage of your journey. Check these Adobe systems requirements for Illustrator and make the smart decisions from the first step! Good luck!

To wrap things up, let me show you a few more quick tips:

You can also use the Relink command to Link embedded files to their original file at any time, to lighten up file size and speed up your workflow – and computer, of course!

It is also possible to change linked images into embedded. This is useful when the design is finished and you need to send the artwork in a single file to a client, developer, printer, etc. You can select all the layers at once, holding Command (Mac), Control (PC), or Shift while you do it, then open the Additional Settings menu and click the Embed Image(s) option. 

And There We Have It!

So great! We have reached the finish line and now master linking and embedding files in Illustrator. Here’s a quick summary picture to help you remember what we’ve learned:

What 's Next?

To go deeper with Illustrator, join BYOL and you will gain access to my Illustrator Essentials and Advanced courses  as well as my 30+ additional courses on Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Figma, and more. As a BYOL member you will also enjoy personalized support, earn certificates, and tackle exciting community challenges. Get started here. 

See you in class! – Dan