VectorFirstAid VectorFirstAid

Clean up vector documents

  • Convert outline text back to editable text
  • Change text-point alignment
  • Rejoin paths malformed import paths
  • Reduce file size by eliminating redundant information
  • Recover resources from old files

Keep your licenses.

Get it all now. Only $119 »
+ VAT where applicable

Unoutline text

Convert outlined text to editable text and automatically re-joins text lines. Requires original exact font to be present on your system — this is not an OCR process, so has the benefit of placement precision

Convert outlined text back to editable text

"Fix All" file clean-up

Fix all with one-click button. Magic-away the clipping mask nightmare when importing PDFs from Word, PowerPoint and all other programs. Straighten imperfect artwork.

Fix all the errors in one click

Advanced clean-up tools

Super Smart Remove Points – to ease editing and help reduce file size, including SVG exports. Re-join broken paths typically found in CAD files. Merge broken text lines into paragraphs, typically found with PDF imports.

Advanced clean-up tools

How you can get started

#10MinSkills - Clean up hand lettering

Follow Will Patersom as he shows how to use VectorFirstAid to clean up... Read more »

Astute Graphics training series

As part of our Annual Service Plan we want to give you product training... Read more »

Tips, tricks and helpful hints – Get more Astute in 2019

As you may already know, as well as our Blogs we offer a... Read more »

Clean and repair all vector files!

The go-to Adobe Illustrator plugin you need to clean up your vector files with just the click of a button. Make your files as good as can be, removing hours of annoying technical niggles that importing artwork brings!

Latest updates include: Combine Text Lines engine has been entirely revamped so that it is more useful than ever. Unoutline Text is pure magic! You'll also find convenient Alignment of Point Text (whilst keeping its position!), options to break text apart and remove text transforms (rotation and shear). So, if you use text you are really going to like this.

Keep your licenses. Only $119 »
+ VAT where applicable
VectorFirstAid - clean vector documents

VectorFirstAid technical specifications

Overview

  • Accurately convert and recombine outlined text to editable text (requires original font to be installed)
  • New in v3.0.4: specify subsets of fonts to use when Unoutlining Text, making the operation faster
  • Text Utility Operations; Change point-text alignment, Break Text Apart, Remove Text Transforms
  • Reveal and instantly fix many technical problems (stray points, unnecessary clip groups, unclosed paths, etc.) in either the selected art or the entire document, with adjustable parameters
  • Run checkups either manually or automatically as you work, at user-definable times
  • Automatically re-run check-ups for extra clean vectors
  • Immediately locate problem areas in a document using the panel "Show" button
  • Super Smart Removing points from selected paths
  • Combine multiple point text objects — now supports rotated and/or transformed type and retains kerning, tracking, super- and subscripts, indents, etc.
  • Rejoin Paths will now rejoin malformed imported paths which appear to be straight, two-anchor segments but actually consist of multiple points, and are possibly closed.
  • Replacing all missing fonts
  • All operations are actionable
  • Add list of default profiles

Checkable/Fixable Operations

  • Remove Stray Points
  • Remove Unneeded Points
  • Remove Redundant Points
  • Remove Empty Text Paths
  • Remove Unnecessary Clip Groups
  • Remove Unnecessary Groups
  • Remove Unnecessary Compound Paths
  • Remove Unpainted Paths
  • Remove Duplicate Art (Improved: now ignores styles and stacking order when determining whether two paths are duplicate)
  • Remove Off-Artboard Art
  • Remove Unused Symbols
  • Remove Unused Swatches
  • Remove Unused Graphic Styles
  • Remove Unused Artboards
  • Retract Short Handles
  • Close Barely-Open Paths
  • Close Filled Unstroked Paths
  • Align Close Points
  • Axis-Align Paths

Default Optimized Check/Fix Profiles

  • Adobe Acrobat PDF Files
  • Adobe Capture
  • Adobe Illustrator Draw
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Affinity Designer
  • Basic Clean Up
  • CAD Files
  • Corel Draw
  • Excel + Word + PowerPoint
  • Freehand
  • Generic EPS
  • Live Trace (Adobe Illustrator)
  • Optimized Clean Up
  • Pages + Keynote + Numbers
  • QuarkXpress
  • Reduce File Size
  • Wacom Bamboo Spark

Note: each default profile may be modified and new user-defined profiles created

One-click "Convenience" Operations

  • Unoutline text
  • Super Smart Remove points from paths
  • Rejoin paths which have been broken into segments
  • Combine point text objects
  • Replace all missing fonts in the document
  • Convert to Dynamic Shapes (if VectorScribe 3 is installed)

Text Utility Operations

  • Change point-text alignment (without the text moving!)
  • Break Text Apart (Lines, Words or Glyphs)
  • Remove Text Transforms (rotation and shear)

Auto Checkup Scheduling

  • When a document is opened
  • After a specific period of time has passed
  • Whenever you make a certain number of changes to the document

Profile Configuration

  • Add as many or as few operations as you need, in any order, and with custom parameters
  • Manage existing profiles by editing, deleting, and renaming them

Preferences

  • Re-run checks after Fix All (optionally auto fix again for user-defined number of cycles)
  • Adjustable parameters on all operations which involve them
  • Center the document view when showing issues
  • Check and fix locked items