• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • My Blogs
    • Photoblog
    • Knots
    • WP.com tips
kristarella.com

kristarella.com

Happiness Engineer at Automattic, lover of knitting, crochet, sci-fi and more

  • Presentations
  • Plugins
    • Exifography
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Design / Edit EPS files in Inkscape on Mac

Edit EPS files in Inkscape on Mac

4 March 2010 by kristarella

EPS files have their uses, for sure, but they seem to be a standard output of Adobe Illustrator, which is a bit sad, because Inkscape (the open source vector editor I use) can’t open them (without some hassle with ghostscripts or something).

Recently I needed to change the colour of an EPS image and I didn’t want to do a hack job by just filling a new colour over a bitmap versions. I did a quick search for converting EPS files and saw several references to PDF and opening the PDF in Inkscape. I realised I didn’t need extra software to convert an EPS to PDF. Everything I need is already on my computer: Preview.

I bet loads of people view their PDFs in Preview every day with no idea of its hidden power…

One thing Preview is quite good at is saving files in different formats. All I had to do was open the EPS in Preview and Save As… PDF. I was then able to open it directly with Inkscape and the objects were all in tact for me to change their fill and stroke to my heart’s content.

Update 26 October 2012: Since X11 support has been dropped from OS X you have to take some extra steps to install Inkscape on Mountain Lion.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: Design, Graphics, Mac OS X Tagged With: free, Free Software, tools

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Madtho says

    3 April 2010 at 02:53

    oh, beautiful!
    I’m trying to use Inkscape more and more.
    Thanks so much.

  2. Agent de bord says

    24 April 2010 at 07:09

    Great Post
    Specially ” Recently I needed to change the colour of an EPS image and I didn’t want to do a hack job by just filling a new colour over a bitmap versions. I did a quick search for converting EPS files and saw several references to PDF and opening the PDF in Inkscape. I realised I didn’t need extra software to convert an EPS to PDF. Everything I need is already on my computer: Preview.”

    Thanks A lot

  3. Mark Freer says

    6 May 2010 at 20:28

    ‘with no idea of it’s hidden power’

    hi, don’t want to be a nerd or know-all, but that ‘it’s’ HAS to become ‘its’ ..

    hello from a newbie to Thesis. Found your site of the showcase of ‘Kiiller’ Thesis sites, am checking through them one by one as I prepare my Pianophonics site to sell a ‘killer’ piano method…

  4. kristarella says

    12 May 2010 at 11:46

    Mark — Thanks, I’ve fixed that misapostrophication. It’s okay, your disregard of spelling and capital letters in the rest of your comment saves you from nerd status. 😉

    Best of luck with your new site! Be sure to check out http://thesisgallery.com/ as well. Some of the sites might not be quite as good as the official Thesis gallery, but some are very good and you will probably find a broader selection.

  5. yurigoul says

    12 June 2011 at 07:51

    A bit late to the party, but the problem that I have seen is that preview interprets colors in his own way if I am not mistaken (open a jpg in preview and then in photoshop for example).

    I am therefor afraid that converting an eps to a jpg will mess up your colors.

  6. yurigoul says

    12 June 2011 at 07:51

    To a pdf I mean

  7. alex says

    5 November 2011 at 22:48

    thanks so much for this tip! you have saved me from spending the rest of the afternoon pointlessly downloading naff freeware!

  8. Michael 'MC' Carter says

    25 January 2012 at 21:22

    Great tip Kristen. Thanks! helped me achieve what I wanted (after downloading an .EPS file from iStockphoto) and now I have the transparent PNG files I need (which I created using SnagIt, by screen capturing a very good resolution PDF, that your tip helped me create). Thanks!

  9. Jazz says

    26 January 2012 at 09:04

    So simple, yo’re a lifesaver! I’ve been digging around for several minutes, and this is the first thing that’s made sense!

  10. K00kyKelly says

    16 May 2012 at 16:30

    Here is an easy to install Ghostscript package for mac:
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/m.....hostscript
    Just download, install, and you’re good to go. No other setup required.

  11. Karrie says

    18 May 2012 at 19:34

    i’m new to inkscape (and vectors in general) so i’m not sure what you mean by “open the eps in preview.” i see the preview when i try to open the file, but when i try to open the eps it’s just too big, i guess. i’ve looked through the “the book of inkscape” and around the web for help, but i’m forced to ask this silly question.

    • kristarella says

      18 May 2012 at 20:15

      Karrie — you have to be using a Mac, and Preview is a built in application for viewing and limited editing of files including PDFs, images and maybe other file formats. So you should be able to right click on the file and “open in Preview”.

A triptych of baubles. These are very satisfying t A triptych of baubles. These are very satisfying to paint ❤️💚💙

#watercolor #watercolour #christmas
I have really enjoyed this Christmassy painting! S I have really enjoyed this Christmassy painting! So glad my friend asked me to make some cards for our church helpers, because it set me on a roll!
#watercolor #watercolour #christmas #christmascards #watercolorcards
Had a great Saturday at the GKR Karate State Title Had a great Saturday at the GKR Karate State Titles! I was a sub for @jamesxuereb.me in the Blue Flame Dragons thanks to his sprained ankle; we won first round and came fourth overall!
I did a bunch of judging and officiating, which was really good.
I didn’t place in my individual events, but had a very fun final round of kumite (sparring).

#gkrkarate #karate
More stamping tonight. Even better than last night More stamping tonight. Even better than last night’s!
Did some stamping this evening. Love it! I wish I’d done some pages in other ink colours before I dismantled the stamps 😂
Had an appointment in the city, so I got to visit Had an appointment in the city, so I got to visit the @legocertifiedstores_anz Wicked display!
#wicked #lego #afol #sydney
A little book I made from Bunnings paint sample ca A little book I made from Bunnings paint sample cards. It’s going to be for mini paintings and collages. Sometimes it’s nice to start with a colour rather than a blank white page!
A little while ago I did some swatching of Daniel A little while ago I did some swatching of Daniel Smith and Schminke Horodam watercolours. So soothing! I love some of the granulating colours!
#watercolours
Follow on Instagram

Footer

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Top Posts & Pages

  • Home
    Home
  • Sistaco Nail Powder Review
    Sistaco Nail Powder Review
  • Gooooooooogle
    Gooooooooogle
  • Exifography
    Exifography
  • Infographic: WordPress Posts vs Pages
    Infographic: WordPress Posts vs Pages
  • Edit EPS files in Inkscape on Mac
    Edit EPS files in Inkscape on Mac

Follow Me On…

  • Instagram
  • X
  • GitHub
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Categories

Copyright © 2025 · Kristen Symonds · kristarella.com

%d