Illustrator Clipboard Handling Settings: Which to Choose

Illustrator's clipboard settings are in Edit > Preferences > Clipboard Handling on Windows (Illustrator > Preferences > Clipboard Handling on macOS). They decide which formats Illustrator puts on the clipboard when you copy: PDF, AICB, or both, plus Include SVG Code. Turn on PDF for other Adobe apps, and turn on Include SVG Code if you paste into Figma or web-based editors; on Windows, Illustrator no longer selects Include SVG Code by default.

What each Clipboard Handling option does

You can select PDF and AICB together. The destination app then picks the format it understands best.

Older Illustrator versions labelled this preference panel File Handling & Clipboard, and some described the AICB option as "AICB (No Transparency Support)". If your menus don't match, look for those names.

How to change the settings

1. In Illustrator on Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Clipboard Handling.
2. Under the clipboard options, select PDF, AICB or both.
3. If you selected AICB, choose Preserve Paths or Preserve Appearance And Overprints.
4. Select Include SVG Code if you paste into Figma or web apps.
5. Select OK, then copy your artwork again. The new settings apply to the next copy, not to what's already on the clipboard.

Recommended settings by destination

Photoshop

Turn on PDF. Adobe's Photoshop help recommends PDF and AICB for best results. When you press Ctrl+V in Photoshop with Illustrator art on the clipboard, Photoshop shows a Paste dialog; choose Smart Object to keep the artwork editable (double-click the Smart Object later to edit it). You can also drag objects from Illustrator straight into a Photoshop document, or save the artwork and use File > Place Embedded.

InDesign

Turn on PDF, which preserves transparency. If you need the pasted artwork as plain, editable paths, add AICB with Preserve Paths, keeping in mind that it discards transparency. For a finished illustration, placing the saved .ai file with File > Place avoids clipboard conversions altogether.

Figma and browser-based editors

Turn on Include SVG Code and copy again. Adobe's note is specific: on Windows the option is no longer selected by default, and apps that require SVG, such as web-based editors, need it. To confirm it worked, paste into Notepad; you should see text starting with <svg. If Figma still pastes an image, export an SVG file and import it. How to copy and paste SVG as vectors walks through that check.

Word and PowerPoint

Office apps take whatever format they prefer from the clipboard, and the result can be a soft, fixed-size picture. For sharp results:

• Export the artwork as SVG and use Insert > Pictures > This Device. Microsoft 365 apps insert SVG files and can split them into editable shapes with Convert to Shape.
• Or export a PNG at the size you need and insert it.

Inserting a file gives you the same result every time, which matters for decks and documents others will edit. Getting slide exports into PowerPoint covers more Office workflows.

Why does Illustrator art paste as pixels?

Work through these in order:

1. The right format isn't selected. Figma and web tools need Include SVG Code; Adobe apps need PDF. Change the setting and copy again.
2. The destination can't read vector formats. Chat apps, many web pages and simple image editors only take bitmaps. Export a file instead. For print jobs this is non-negotiable: a packaging dieline has to reach the printer as vector paths, never as a pasted bitmap.
3. The artwork uses transparency or effects. With AICB, Preserve Paths discards transparency and Preserve Appearance And Overprints flattens it, so the pasted result can differ from the original. Try PDF instead, or expand the appearance in a duplicate of the file before copying.
4. Something else changed the clipboard. If pasting worked before and stopped, quit any clipboard utilities and test again to rule them out.

To see what's actually on the clipboard, paste into Notepad (SVG shows as text) and into Paint (a bitmap shows as a picture). Images copied as DIB, PNG, or HTML explains how apps choose between the formats.

A practical starting point

• PDF: on.
• AICB: on, with Preserve Paths if you mostly paste into apps where you edit anchors, or Preserve Appearance And Overprints if the look matters more.
• Include SVG Code: on if Figma or web tools are regular destinations.
• Copy only what you need. Copying a single logo group instead of a whole multi-artboard file keeps the clipboard small and switching apps fast.

Selecting more formats makes each copy larger, so turn off the ones you never use.

FAQ

Does Windows clipboard history show Illustrator copies?

Clipboard history (Win+V) stores text, HTML and bitmaps, so it may show a bitmap preview or the SVG text, but it doesn't keep the PDF or AICB data that Adobe apps paste. Copy again from Illustrator rather than pasting an Illustrator copy from history into another Adobe app.

Why is Include SVG Code off on Windows?

Adobe hasn't published the reason on its help page; it simply notes that the option is no longer selected by default on Windows and tells you to turn it on for apps that need SVG.

What's the difference between Preserve Paths and Preserve Appearance?

Preserve Paths copies the artwork as paths and discards transparency. Preserve Appearance And Overprints flattens transparency and keeps the artwork's appearance and overprinted objects, so the copy looks like the original even if it's less editable.

Related reading

• Figma, XD, and Sketch on Windows: What Actually Pastes?
• Photoshop Copy, Paste, and Place on Windows: Best Setup
• Why the Same Copied Image Pastes Differently in Each App
• Figma to PowerPoint: Insert Slides Without Blurry Images

Sources

• Copy artwork using the clipboard (Adobe Illustrator Help) — Clipboard Handling path, PDF and AICB options, Preserve Paths, Preserve Appearance And Overprints, and the Include SVG Code default.
• Create embedded Smart Objects (Adobe Photoshop Help) — pasting Illustrator art as a Smart Object, dragging it in, and the PDF and AICB tip.
• Edit SVG images in Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Support) — inserting SVG files and Convert to Shape.
• Using the clipboard (Microsoft Support) — clipboard history supports text, HTML and bitmap.

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