Tool profile

Adobe Illustrator

Q: How should I read the Adobe Illustrator statistics?

The figures describe the 422 files in the HTPBE corpus that list Adobe Illustrator as Creator or Producer. The modification rate is the share of those files that carry modification markers. It is a base rate for this particular set of files, not a property of Adobe Illustrator and not a prediction for any single document.

Q: How do I check a PDF that lists Adobe Illustrator?

Upload it to HTPBE for a modification check, or open it in the free PDF Metadata Viewer to see the Creator, Producer and dates stored in the file. The same check is available through the HTPBE API.

Adobe Illustrator appears on both unmodified and modified documents in our corpus. The name alone is never the verdict; each file is judged on its own structure.

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Forensic verdict

Mixed signal

Based on this tool’s share of the HTPBE? corpus.

Modification rate

84%+35pp above baseline

Corpus baseline: 49%

Corpus share

1.6%

Share of all analyzed appearances

Modification rate

84%

+35pp above baseline

Role split

100%C/0%P

Creator vs Producer share of appearances

Corpus profile

How Adobe Illustrator shows up in HTPBE? corpus

Adobe Illustrator is a vector design tool used for branded materials, certificates, and one-off print artwork.

Illustrator appears mostly on design output – certificates, branded materials and print artwork. HTPBE? treats the name as context and looks at the full structure before reaching a verdict.

Reading guide

How to read this page

Every PDF stores two software labels: the Creator, which names the application that first produced the document, and the Producer, which names the software that last wrote the file out. This page counts the files HTPBE? has analysed where Adobe Illustrator fills one of those labels, and shows how often those files carry modification markers, which PDF versions they use and which other tools sit next to them.

A tool name tells you where a file passed through, not whether anyone changed its content. A Creator and Producer that agree usually point to a single pass; a Producer that differs from the Creator means the file was written out again by another program, which has many ordinary explanations such as compression, merging or a print-to-PDF step.

Caveats

The figures cover 422 files. Larger than a handful, but still a sample of what was submitted, not of all PDFs in the world.
The statistics describe files HTPBE? analysed. They are not a judgement of the quality or trustworthiness of Adobe Illustrator.
Submitted files lean towards documents that someone wanted checked, so rates here can sit higher than in everyday document flows.
Metadata can be rewritten by anyone, so a producer name on its own is never treated as proof either way.

Read a PDF’s metadata for free All tool statistics Creator vs Producer explained PDF metadata fields reference Check PDFs through the API

Role in the workflow

How Adobe Illustrator shows up in metadata

Every PDF carries a Creator (the application that produced the original document) and a Producer (the engine that wrote the PDF). The same tool can appear in either slot, with very different modification profiles.

CAs Creator · 100%

As Producer · 0%P

CAs Creator

Share of appearances
100%
Modification rate
84%
Avg file size
386 KB

PAs Producer

Share of appearances
0%
Modification rate
0%

Name fingerprints

Also goes by

Different version strings and spellings observed for Adobe Illustrator in the wild. All are merged into the same canonical profile.

Adobe Illustrator 30.0 (Macintosh)59.0%

Adobe Illustrator CS6 (Macintosh)27.3%

Adobe Illustrator 30.4 (Windows)2.6%

Adobe Illustrator 24.3 (Windows)1.2%

Adobe Illustrator 30.2 (Windows)0.9%

Adobe Illustrator 28.1 (Macintosh)0.9%

Adobe Illustrator CS30.9%

Adobe Illustrator 29.6 (Windows)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator 27.3 (Macintosh)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 (Macintosh)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator 29.5 (Macintosh)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator CC 23.0 (Windows)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 27.7 (Windows)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 30.0 (Windows)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 30.3 (Macintosh)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 29.1 (Macintosh)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 24.0 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 26.0 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 29.2 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 25.2 (Windows)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 29.7 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator CS6 (Windows)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 25.0 (Windows)0.2%

Why variants matter

The same tool publishes itself under 24 different metadata strings – version bumps, locale tags, build IDs. We canonicalize them so the corpus reflects one identity, not noise.

Most common

Adobe Illustrator 30.0 (Macintosh)

59.0% of appearances

Variant spread

24 distinct strings

Long-tail share: 41.0%

Observed range

15.01.2016 → 08.09.2026

Distributions

What ships alongside Adobe Illustrator

The PDF versions Adobe Illustrator writes when acting as Producer, and the other tools that appear in the same documents.

Common Producers when Adobe Illustrator is the Creator

Adobe PDF Library writes 68% of these files – read this row as ‘what these documents most often pass through on the way out’.

Adobe PDF Library68.5%

mPDF27.0%

iText1.4%

iLovePDF0.5%

Oracle0.2%

Microsoft Print to PDF0.2%

Amadeus0.2%

Related profiles

Tools you’ll see next to Adobe Illustrator

Other tools that frequently share metadata with Adobe Illustrator in the same documents. Each card links to its own forensic profile.

Long tail

Notable observations

Smaller cuts of the Adobe Illustrator corpus – useful context, but treat each row as a single data point rather than a strong signal.

Avg pages per document

3.2

Oldest observed

15.01.2016 — almost 11 years ago

FAQ

Adobe Illustrator in PDF metadata: common questions

What is Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is a vector design tool used for branded materials, certificates, and one-off print artwork.

Why does Adobe Illustrator appear in the metadata of a PDF?

A PDF can record the software that created it (Creator) and the software that last wrote the file out (Producer). When Adobe Illustrator generated the file, or re-saved it, it can leave its name in one of those fields. The field is filled in by software, not checked by anyone, so it is a hint about the file’s history rather than a guarantee.

Does Adobe Illustrator in the metadata mean the PDF was edited?

No. A producer name alone proves nothing about whether a document was changed. Many Adobe Illustrator files are original output, and a file that was edited can name any tool at all. What matters is the whole picture: how the file is built, how its dates and structure line up, and whether the Creator and Producer fit together.

How should I read the Adobe Illustrator statistics?

The figures describe the 422 files in the HTPBE? corpus that list Adobe Illustrator as Creator or Producer. The modification rate is the share of those files that carry modification markers. It is a base rate for this particular set of files, not a property of Adobe Illustrator and not a prediction for any single document.

Can I compare Adobe Illustrator with other tools using these numbers?

Only loosely. The corpus consists of PDFs people chose to submit for checking, which skews towards documents someone had a reason to doubt. A tool popular for legitimate bulk output can still show a high rate here, and a rarely seen tool can show an extreme rate from a handful of files. These pages are not a quality ranking of the tools themselves.

How do I check a PDF that lists Adobe Illustrator?

Upload it to HTPBE? for a modification check, or open it in the free PDF Metadata Viewer to see the Creator, Producer and dates stored in the file. The same check is available through the HTPBE? API.

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How Adobe Illustrator shows up in HTPBE? corpus

Adobe Illustrator is a vector design tool used for branded materials, certificates, and one-off print artwork.

Illustrator appears mostly on design output – certificates, branded materials and print artwork. HTPBE? treats the name as context and looks at the full structure before reaching a verdict.

How to read this page

Caveats

The figures cover 422 files. Larger than a handful, but still a sample of what was submitted, not of all PDFs in the world.
The statistics describe files HTPBE? analysed. They are not a judgement of the quality or trustworthiness of Adobe Illustrator.
Submitted files lean towards documents that someone wanted checked, so rates here can sit higher than in everyday document flows.
Metadata can be rewritten by anyone, so a producer name on its own is never treated as proof either way.

How Adobe Illustrator shows up in metadata

CAs Creator · 100%

As Producer · 0%P

CAs Creator

Share of appearances
100%
Modification rate
84%
Avg file size
386 KB

PAs Producer

Share of appearances
0%
Modification rate
0%

Also goes by

Different version strings and spellings observed for Adobe Illustrator in the wild. All are merged into the same canonical profile.

Adobe Illustrator 30.0 (Macintosh)59.0%

Adobe Illustrator CS6 (Macintosh)27.3%

Adobe Illustrator 30.4 (Windows)2.6%

Adobe Illustrator 24.3 (Windows)1.2%

Adobe Illustrator 30.2 (Windows)0.9%

Adobe Illustrator 28.1 (Macintosh)0.9%

Adobe Illustrator CS30.9%

Adobe Illustrator 29.6 (Windows)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator 27.3 (Macintosh)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 (Macintosh)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator 29.5 (Macintosh)0.7%

Adobe Illustrator CC 23.0 (Windows)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 27.7 (Windows)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 30.0 (Windows)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 30.3 (Macintosh)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 29.1 (Macintosh)0.5%

Adobe Illustrator 24.0 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 26.0 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 29.2 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 25.2 (Windows)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 29.7 (Macintosh)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator CS6 (Windows)0.2%

Adobe Illustrator 25.0 (Windows)0.2%

Why variants matter

The same tool publishes itself under 24 different metadata strings – version bumps, locale tags, build IDs. We canonicalize them so the corpus reflects one identity, not noise.

Most common

Adobe Illustrator 30.0 (Macintosh)

59.0% of appearances

Variant spread

24 distinct strings

Long-tail share: 41.0%

Observed range

15.01.2016 → 08.09.2026

What ships alongside Adobe Illustrator

The PDF versions Adobe Illustrator writes when acting as Producer, and the other tools that appear in the same documents.

Common Producers when Adobe Illustrator is the Creator

Adobe PDF Library writes 68% of these files – read this row as ‘what these documents most often pass through on the way out’.

Adobe PDF Library68.5%

mPDF27.0%

iText1.4%

iLovePDF0.5%

Oracle0.2%

Microsoft Print to PDF0.2%

Amadeus0.2%