Octo × Illustrator · survey of Oct 31, 2026
Two hundred labels generated from a spreadsheet, the same package in six flavors, the system icons in three formats and two sizes, the PDF checked before it reaches the printer, the old JSX scripts before UXP arrives. Adobe Illustrator automated through actions and Batch, variables and data sets, scripts, and checks of the exported SVG and PDF. Octo reads, writes the script, generates into an output folder and shows the result by content. Final artwork, brand use, the printer's proof and use of generative AI stay with people.
One task from request to approval, at a fictitious company. The arms measure, plan and execute; whoever is in charge checks and approves. Each tab is one track of the field and links to its page.
Page for this trackData and charts →Packaging →
The current desktop version of Illustrator is 30.8, from August 2026, for Windows and macOS. It is sold only by subscription, monthly or yearly, on its own or within Creative Cloud Pro. Scripts are still ExtendScript: UXP hasn't reached Illustrator yet, and Adobe announced the public beta of UXP plugins for spring (Northern Hemisphere) 2027.
30.8
August 2026 version, according to the official what's-new page, updated on Oct 14, 2026. 30.7 (July) came before it, with semantic file search, shortcuts and actions for align and distribute, a generative credits lookup and editing of generated artwork by text prompt.
.jsx), AppleScript and VBScript, under File > Scripts. Batch runs an action on a folder or on each data set; variables import a data source in CSV or XML.helpx.adobe.com · scriptshelpx.adobe.com · data sourcesWith what each stage offers, how it is automated by action, script or data set, where Octo can help and what is confirmed in a published source.
Actions, the Batch command and variables with data sets in CSV or XML. Octo can build the data source, the action and the check of the generated labels, badges and packaging.
Open the page →ExtendScript (JSX), AppleScript and VBScript, and the status of UXP in Illustrator. Octo can inventory the team's scripts, say what each one does and prepare the migration when UXP arrives.
Open the page →Artboards, Export Assets, Export for Screens and batch SVG, PDF and PNG. Octo can standardize artboard names and check every exported file.
Open the page →Dieline, spot colors, overprint, bleed and PDF/X. Octo can read the PDF and list what the printer will complain about before it complains.
Open the page →Charts and infographics from CSV and spreadsheets, and simple vector maps. Octo can generate the chart in the brand's style and check every number against the source.
Open the page →Generative Recolor, Text to Vector, Content Credentials and terms of use. Octo can keep a log of where AI was used and who approved it.
Open the page →AI, PDF, EPS and SVG, SVG cleanup and optimization, accessibility and web use. Octo can clean the exported SVG and check that the drawing didn't change.
Open the page →Inkscape from the command line and with extensions, Scribus for print and SVG tools, only with a source. Octo can compare what each one does in your workflow.
Open the page →The same Octo cycle, applied to artwork documents, artboards, data spreadsheets and print PDFs. Each arm has a narrow role; the people approve the artwork, the brand, the proof and the use of AI.
Artwork folders, documents and artboards, swatches and spot colors, actions and scripts in use, data spreadsheets and PDF presets.
Each product's code, the table of flavors and colors, the printer's spec and which file is the approved version.
Client artwork that doesn't leave the machine without agreement, the external script warning kept on, typefaces with usage rights checked.
Action and Batch, variables with data sets, a JSX script on the workstation or a check outside Illustrator, depending on the task.
Action, data source, script or external check, with a log, a separate output folder and the source of each operation noted.
Reads the exported SVG and PDF, counts artboards, lists spot colors and fonts. The file merely existing is not enough.
Only with your OK, it puts the files in the approval folder. Printer, website and social media stay with whoever approves.
Action, script, data source, printer spec, AI use, fonts and what was decided are written down for the next series.
The criteria Octo uses to choose. From what needs Illustrator open on a workstation to what runs without it.
| Path | Good for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Actions and Batch | The same operation on a folder of files, without code | In the official Help; source in a folder or in data sets, with an error log |
| Variables and data sets | Labels, badges and packaging from a spreadsheet | Data source in CSV or XML, one per document |
| ExtendScript (JSX) | Team routines that read and change documents, layers and artboards | Current scripting path; outside the CEP transition; end date with no official page read |
| UXP | Modern plugins and scripts, when they arrive | Public beta announced for spring 2027; not yet available |
| Export for Screens and Export Assets | Icons and pieces in several formats and sizes | Official Help topics; names come from the artboards and assets |
| Check outside Illustrator | Read exported SVG and PDF: artboards, colors, fonts, bleed | Script over the exported files, without the program open |
| Inkscape, svgo and SVG libraries | Convert and clean SVG from the command line | Only with a source; fidelity covered on the pages |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.
A proposal, not a promise
Octo shows what exists: documents by artboards and colors, actions and scripts in use, typefaces, data spreadsheets and PDF presets.
Labels, variations and exports come out of actions, data sets or scripts, into an output folder, with a check report.
The month's packaging series, the trade-show labels and the system icons run the same way, with who approved and what changed.
Only what has a published source goes into the field's pages: every point carries its reference, and every page ends with its list of sources.
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points with a published source across the field's eight pages, each with its reference on the page itself.
Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: files, artboards, proofs and reports.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe client or the art director checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the approverOcto does not approve the artwork. Artwork carries no legal signature: approval of the artwork and the proof stays with the client or the art director.
Approval: client or art directorPrimary sources, consulted on Oct 31, 2026. Each page of the field ends with its full list.
The assessment starts by reading the artwork files, actions, scripts and spreadsheets your team already has, without changing anything. You get the inventory and a map of what can be generated or checked in series, with a dry run on a known case, and you decide with it in hand.