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I am trying to place an .ai file containing Opacity Masks into InDesign. However, in InDesign the Opacity Masks are not displayed as intended. Any ideas or checkboxes I might have missed?

Here's the object in Illustrator: (its a simple red square with the "stamp border" outline that is clipped via opacity mask)

the Illustrator view

And this is what the placed .ai file looks like in InDesign:

the InDesign view

I know that there are ways of constructing the stamp shape in Illustrator without using Opacity Masks – I would prefer to keep the edges live though, to be able to edit the "cutout"-radius.

Any pointers in the right direction are greatly appreciated.

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  • Instead of copy pasting, try saving the AI file, and then place it in InDesign.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 14:01
  • thank you for the reply @BillyKerr, I am actually placing the file. (as copy-pasting is not an option in this scenario since the stamps will be filled with detailed graphic elements)
    – dom
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 14:05
  • in your question it says "And this is what the pasted .ai file looks like".
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 14:08
  • thanks for pointing that out. corrected.
    – dom
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 16:30
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    If you export the .indd as a .pdf or .jpg, does the effect show up again? It might just be that InDesign's preview function can't handle the mask but it exports it properly.
    – Vincent
    Commented May 12, 2020 at 16:33

2 Answers 2

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This probably due to InDesign's preview function for vector files being shoddy rather than an error in your file. Try and export a .pdf or .jpg from your InDesign file and see whether the effect shows up in there.

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I had the same problem and I found that using a linked file for the mask does not work. However if you embed the mask image in the the AI file, itt works OK, InDesign recocnizes the mask.

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