Adobe ILLUSTRATOR 10 User Manual

Adobe Illustrator Help Using Help

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Using Help

About online Help

Adobe Systems, Inc. provides complete documentation in the Adobe PDF Help system. The Help system includes information on all the tools, commands, and features for both Windows and Mac OS. The PDF format is designed for easy navigation online, and support for third-party screen readers compatible with Windows. The Help can also be printed as a desktop reference.

Navigating in Help

The Help will open in an Acrobat window with the bookmark pane open. If the bookmark pane is not open choose Window > Bookmarks. You can also navigate using the navigation bar, the index, or search the document.

At the top and bottom of each page is a navigation bar. Click Using Help to return to this introduction. Clicking Contents, or Index will take you to that section.

The Next Page and the Previous Page arrows let you move through the pages sequentially. Click Back to return to the last page you viewed. You can also use the navigation arrows in the Acrobat toolbar.

Using bookmarks, the table of contents, the index, and Find

The contents of Help are shown as bookmarks in the bookmark pane. To view subtopics, click the plus sign next to a bookmark. Each bookmark is a hyperlink to the associated section of the Help document.

To go to the information, click its bookmark. As the information is displayed in the document pane, its bookmark is highlighted.

You can turn highlighting on or off by selecting the Highlight Current Bookmark option from the bookmark pane menu.

To ﬁnd a topic using the table of contents:

1 Click Contents in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of any page.

Click a topic on the Contents page to move to the ﬁrst page of that topic.

In the bookmark pane, expand the topic to see its subtopics.

To ﬁnd a topic using the index:

1 Click Index in the navigation bar at the top or bottom of any page.

Click the appropriate letter at the top of the page.

You can also expand the Index bookmark, and click the letter in the bookmark pane.

Locate your entry, and click the page number link to view the information.

To view multiple entries, click Back to return to the same place in the index.

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Adobe Illustrator Help Using Help

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To ﬁnd a topic using the Find command:

1 Choose Edit > Find.

Enter a word or a phrase in the text box, and click OK.

Acrobat will search the document, starting from the current page, and display the ﬁrst occurrence of the word or phrase you are searching for.

To ﬁnd the next occurrence, choose Edit > Find Again.

Printing the Help ﬁle

Although the Help has been optimized for on-screen viewing, you can print pages you select, or the entire ﬁle.

To print, choose Print from the File menu, or click the printer icon in the Acrobat toolbar.

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Adobe Illustrator Help Contents

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ooking at the Work Area 4

Setting Up Artwork in Illustrator 25

Drawing 47

Working with Objects 91

Transforming and Distorting Shapes 113

Applying Color 152

Producing Consistent Color 174

Using Transparency, Gradients, and Patterns 191

Using Layers 215

Using Appearance Attributes, Styles, and Effects 228

Working with Bitmap Images 237

Using Type 250

Creating Templates for Data-Driven Graphics 285

Preparing Graphics for the Web 292

Saving and Exporting 320

Printing 332

Producing Color Separations 345

Automating Tasks 364

Using Graphs 375

Macintosh Shortcuts 395

Windows Shortcuts 399

Legal Notices 403

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Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area

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Looking at the Work Area

Using the tools

The ﬁrst time you start Illustrator, the toolbox appears on the left side of the screen. The tools in the toolbox let you create, select, and manipulate objects in Illustrator.

When you select most tools, the mouse pointer matches the tool’s icon. For example, choosing the paintbrush tool changes the pointer to a paintbrush. You can also change a tool pointer to a precision pointer, such as a cross hair , for greater precision when aligning or working with detailed artwork.

To move the toolbox:

Drag the toolbox by the top bar.

To show or hide the toolbox:

To show or hide the toolbox, choose Window > Tools. When the toolbox is showing, a check mark appears before the name.

To display hidden tools on-screen:

1 Press a tool in the toolbox that has hidden tools underneath it. (Tools that have hidden

tools are identiﬁed by a triangle in the lower right corner.)

When the toolbar of hidden tools appears, hold down the mouse button and drag to

the arrow at the end of the toolbar. The toolbar detaches from the toolbox.

To close a detached toolbar:

Click the close box.

To change the pointer to a precision pointer:

Do one of the following:

•

While the tool is selected, press Caps Lock on the keyboard.

Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

•

Preferences > General (Mac OS X), select Use Precise Cursors, and click OK.

Using palettes

Adobe Illustrator includes a number of palettes to help you monitor and modify your work. By default, these palettes appear stacked together in several groups. You can also dock palettes so that you can move them together.

Showing and hiding palettes

You can display and hide palettes as you work.

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To show or hide a palette:

Do one of the following:

Choose Window > (window name). A check mark appears before a window that is

•

currently open.

•

Press Tab to hide or show all palettes and the toolbox.

Press Shift+Tab to hide or show all palettes except for the toolbox.

•

Changing the palette display

You can rearrange your palettes to make better use of your work area by using the following techniques:

•

To make a palette appear at the front of its group, click the palette’s tab.

To move an entire palette group, drag its title bar.

•

To rearrange or separate a palette group, drag a palette’s tab. Dragging a palette outside of an existing group creates a new palette window.

To move a palette to another group, drag the palette’s tab to that group.

•

To dock palettes so that you can move them together, drag a palette’s tab to the bottom

•

of another palette.

•

To move an entire docked palette group, drag its title bar.

To display a palette menu, position the pointer on the triangle in the upper right

•

corner of the palette and hold down the mouse button.

•

To change the size of a resizable palette, drag the lower right corner of the palette (Windows) or drag the size box at the lower right corner of the palette (Mac OS).

Note: A few palettes, such as the Color palette, cannot be resized by dragging.

•

To collapse a group to the palette titles only, click the minimize/maximize box (Windows) or click the zoom box (Mac OS). You can still open the palette menu from a collapsed palette.

•

To cycle through the available sizes for a palette—the default size, size with hidden options showing, size as resized by dragging, and palette titles only—double-click the palette’s tab.

For maximum performance, hide all palettes except those that are necessary for your work.

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To olbox overview (1 of 5)

The selection tool (V) selects entire

objects.

The direct-select lasso tool (Q) selects

points or path segments within objects.

The direct-selection tool (A) selects

points or path segments within objects.

The lasso tool

selects entire objects.

The groupselection tool

selects objects and groups within groups.

The pen tool (P)

draws straight and curved lines to create objects.

The magic wand tool (Y) selects

objects of similar attributes.

The add-anchorpoint tool (+) adds

anchor points to paths .

The delete-anchorpoint tool (-) deletes

anchor points from paths.

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The convertanchor-point tool (Shift+C) changes

smooth points to corner points and vice versa.

The type tool (T)

creates individual type and type containers and lets you enter and edit type.

The area type tool

changes closed paths to type containers and lets you enter and edit type within them.

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The path-type tool

changes paths to type paths, and lets you enter and edit type on them.

The vertical type tool creates vertical

type and vertical type containers and lets you enter and edit vertical type.

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The line tool (\)

draws individual straight line segments.

The arc tool draws

individual concave or convex curve segments.

The vertical areatype tool changes

closed paths to vertical type containers and lets you enter and edit type within them.

The spiral tool

draws clockwise and counterclockwise spirals.

The vertical pathtype tool changes

paths to vertical type paths and lets you enter and edit type on them.

The grid tool draws

rectangular grids.

The polar grid tool

draws circular chart grids.

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The rectangle tool (M) draws

squares and rectangles.

The roundedrectangle tool

draws squares and rectangles with rounded corners.

The ellipse tool (L)

draws circles and ovals .

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The polygon tool

draws regular, multisided shapes.

The pencil tool (N)

draws and edits freehand lines.

The star tool draws

stars

The smooth tool

smooths bezier paths.

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The ﬂare tool

creates lens-ﬂare or solar-ﬂare-like effects.

The erase tool

erases paths and anchor points from the artwork.

The paintbrush tool (B) draws

freehand and calligraphic lines, as well as art and patterns on paths.

The rotate tool (R)

rotates objects around a ﬁxed point.

The reﬂect tool (O)

ﬂips objects over a ﬁxed axis.

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The twist tool twirls

objects around a ﬁxed point.

The scale tool (S)

resizes objects around a ﬁxed point.

The shear tool

skews objects around a ﬁxed point.

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The reshape tool

smooths or changes a path while retaining the path’s overall shape.

The bloat tool

inﬂates an object.

The warp tool (Shift+R) molds

objects with the movement of the cursor (like molding clay, for example).

The scallop tool

adds many curved details to the outline of an object.

The twirl tool

creates swirling distortions within an object.

The crystallize tool

adds many spiked details to the outline of an object.

The pucker tool

deﬂates an object.

The wrinkle tool

adds wrinkle-like details to the outline of an object.

The free transform tool (E) scales,

rotates, or skews a selection.

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The symbol sprayer tool (Shift+S) places

multiple symbol instances as a set on the artboard.

The symbol shifter tool

moves symbol instances.

The symbol scruncher tool

moves symbol instances away from each other.

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The symbol sizer tool resizes symbol

instances.

The symbol styler tool applies the

selected style to symbol instances.

The symbol spinner tool rotates symbol

instances.

The column graph tool (J) positions

columns vertically.

The symbol stainer tool colorizes

symbol instances.

The stacked column graph tool stacks

columns on top of one another.

The symbol screener tool

applies opacity to symbol instances.

The bar graph tool

positions columns horizontally.

The stacked bar graph tool stacks

columns and positions them horizontally.

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The line graph tool

shows the trend of one or more subjects over time.

The area graph tool

emphasizes totals as well as changes in values.

The scatter graph tool plots data as

paired sets of x and y coordinates.

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

The pie graph tool

creates a circle graph with wedges showing relative percentages of the compared values.

The radar graph tool uses a circle to

compare sets of values at given points in time or in particular categories.

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The eyedropper tool (I) samples color

or type attributes from objects.

The paint bucket tool (K) ﬁlls objects

with the current paint or type attributes.

The mesh tool (U)

creates and edits meshes and mesh envelopes.

The measure tool

measures the distance between two points.

The gradient tool (G) adjusts the

beginning and ending points and angle of gradients within objects.

The blend tool (W)

creates a blend between the color and shape of multiple objects.

The auto trace tool

traces the outlines of objects in raster images.

The slice tool (Shift+K) creates

Web slices.

The slice select tool

selects Web slices.

The scissors tool (C)

cuts paths at speciﬁed points.

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The knife tool cuts

objects and paths.

The hand tool (H)

moves the Illustrator artboard within the illustration window.

The page tool

adjusts the page grid to control where artwork appears on the printed page.

The zoom tool (Z)

increases and decreases the view magniﬁcation in the illustration window.

Using the Info palette

The Info palette provides information on the area beneath the pointer and on selected objects. Depending on the tool you’re using, you can use the Info palette to measure size, distance, and angle of rotation. In most cases when a tool is in use, the Info palette displays the x and y coordinates of the pointer’s position in the artwork by using the units of measurement you specify. The unit of measure is determined by the unit of measure set in the Document Setup or Units & Undo Preferences dialog box.

The Info palette also displays color information for the ﬁll and stroke of selected objects, and the names of patterns, gradients, or tints applied to the objects.

To display the Info palette:

Choose Window > Info. The Info palette displays the following information, depending on the tool or command you select:

• When using a selection tool, the x and y coordinates of the pointer are displayed. If an

object is selected, the width (W), height (H), and x, y coordinates of the object are also displayed.

• When using a zoom tool, the magniﬁcation factor and the x and y coordinates are

displayed after you release the mouse button.

• When using a pen tool or gradient tool, or when you move a selection, the change in

x (W), the change in y (H), the distance (D), and the angle as you drag are displayed.

• When using the scale tool, the percentage change in width (W) and height (H) and the

new width (W ) and height (H) are displayed after the scale is ﬁnished.

• When using the rotate or reﬂect tools, the coordinates of the object’s center and the

angle of rotation or reﬂection are displayed.

• When using the shear tool, the coordinates of the object’s center, the angle of shear

axis , and the amount of shear are displayed.

• When using the paintbrush tool, the x and y coordinates and the name of the current

brush are displayed.

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To show or hide options in the Info palette:

Choose Show Options or Hide Options from the Info palette menu. When you show options, the following information appears:

• Values for the ﬁll and stroke colors of the selected object.

• Hexadecimal values for the ﬁll and stroke colors of the selected object, if the color mode

is RGB or Web safe.

• The name of any pattern, gradient, or tint applied to the selected object.

Note: If you select multiple objects, the Info palette displays only the information that is the same for all selected objects.

Using context menus

In addition to the menus that appear at the top of your screen, Adobe Illustrator contains a number of context-sensitive menus that relate to the document or the selection. You can use context menus as a quick way to choose commonly used commands.

To display context menus:

1 Position the pointer over the document or an object in the document.

2 Do one of the following:

• In Windows, click with the right mouse button.

• In Mac OS, press Control and hold down the mouse button.

Viewing artwork

Adobe Illustrator gives you great ﬂexibility in viewing your artwork. You can view different areas of the artwork at different magniﬁcations, use simpliﬁed views for tasks such as editing paths, and preview how your artwork will appear in a Web browser or in print.

If you are using Illustrator’s color management features, you can also display an online preview of how your document’s colors will appear on a particular type of monitor or output device. (See “

Setting up windows and views

You can open additional windows to display several views at once, so that you can quickly switch between view modes or magniﬁcations. For example, you can set one view highly magniﬁed for doing close-up work on some objects and create another view less magniﬁed for laying out those objects on the page.

To change the screen mode for illustration windows:

Click a screen mode button in the toolbox:

• The left button displays artwork in a standard window, with a menu bar at the top and

scroll bars on the sides.

Soft-prooﬁng colors” on page 185.)

• The center button displays artwork in a full-screen window with a menu bar but with

no title bar or scroll bars.

• The right button displays artwork in a full-screen window, but with no title bar, menu

bar, or scroll bars.

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To open a new window:

Choose Window > New Window.

A new window of the same size appears on top of the previously active window. The two windows are identical except for their window numbers. The new window is now the active window.

To close windows:

Do one of the following:

• Choose File > Close to close the active window.

• Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and choose File > Close to close all document

windows.

To arrange multiple windows (Windows only):

Do one of the following:

• Choose Window > Cascade to display windows stacked and cascading from the top left

to the bottom right of the screen.

• Choose Window > Tile to display windows edge to edge.

• Choose Window > Arrange Icons to arrange minimized windows within the program

window.

To create a view:

1 Set up the view that you want.

2 Choose View > New View.

3 Enter a name for the new view, and click OK.

The view names, along with keyboard shortcuts for choosing them, appear at the bottom of the View menu. To retrieve a view, select the name of the view you want to use. It is possible to create and store up to 25 views for each document.

To rename or delete a view:

1 Choose View > Edit Views.

2 Select the view you want to edit, and rename it or click Delete.

To scroll the view with the hand tool:

1 Select the hand tool .

2 Move the pointer onto the artwork, and drag in the direction in which you want the

artwork to move.

To switch to the hand tool when using another tool, hold down the spacebar.

Viewing artwork as paths

Adobe Illustrator sets the view so that all artwork is previewed in color. You can also set the view so that your artwork is displayed only as paths with all paint attributes hidden. Viewing artwork without paint attributes speeds up the time it takes to redraw the screen when working with complex artwork.

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To view the artwork in color or as path outlines:

Choose a viewing option:

• Choose View > Preview to display the artwork as close as possible to how it will be

printed, drawn with as much color, shading, and detail as your monitor is capable of displaying.

• Choose View > Outline to display the artwork as paths, hiding each object’s paint

attributes. Working in this view speeds up the redraw time when working with complex artwork.

Use the New Window command to preview in one window while editing in Outline view in another.

Viewing artwork as pixels

In Pixel Preview mode, you can preview how your artwork will appear when it is rasterized and viewed in a Web browser. (For more information, see “

Working in pixel preview mode”

on page 292.)

Viewing how colors will overprint

Overprint Preview mode provides an “ink preview” that approximates how blending, transparency, and overprinting will appear in color-separated output. (For more information on overprinting, see “

page 346.)

Step 2: Select overprint options for overlapping colors” on

To preview how colors will overprint and blend:

Choose View > Overprint Preview.

Magnifying and reducing the view

The zoom-in and zoom-out tools and commands let you magnify or reduce the display of any area in the ﬁle up to 64 times actual size. Zooming in and out does not change the actual size of the ﬁle, only the magniﬁcation at which you see it. See “

page 115.

You see the current magniﬁcation level at the top and the bottom left of the window.

To zoom in:

Do one of the following:

• Select the zoom tool . The pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a plus sign in its

center. Click at the center of the area you want to magnify. Each click magniﬁes the view to the next preset percentage. When the ﬁle has reached its maximum magniﬁcation level of 6400%, the magnifying glass appears blank.

• Choose View > Zoom In. Each click magniﬁes the view to the next preset percentage.

When the ﬁle has reached its maximum magniﬁcation level of 6400%, the command is dimmed.

• When no objects are selected, click the right mouse button (Windows) or Ctrl-click

(Mac OS) and select the Zoom In command from the context menu.

Scaling” on

• Enter a magniﬁcation level in the Zoom text box at the lower left of the window.

• Select a magniﬁcation level from the Zoom pop-up menu at the lower left of the

window.

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To zoom out:

Do one of the following:

• Select the zoom tool while holding down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS). The

pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a minus sign in its center. Click the center of the area you want to reduce. Each click reduces the view to the previous preset percentage. When the ﬁle has reached its maximum reduction level of 3.13%, the magnifying glass appears blank.

• Choose View > Zoom Out. Each click reduces the view to the previous preset

percentage. When the ﬁle reaches its maximum reduction level of 3.13%, the command is dimmed.

• When no objects are selected, click the right mouse button (Windows) or Ctrl-click

(Mac OS) and select the Zoom Out command from the context menu.

• Enter a reduction level in the Zoom text box at the lower left of the window.

• Select a magniﬁcation level from the Zoom pop-up menu at the lower left of the

window.

To choose the zoom-in tool while using another tool, press Ctrl+spacebar (Windows) or Command+spacebar (Mac OS). To choose the zoom-out tool while using another

tool, press Ctrl+Alt+spacebar (Windows) or Command+Option+spacebar (Mac OS).

To magnify by dragging:

1 Select the zoom-in tool .

2 Drag a dotted rectangle, called a marquee, around the area you want to magnify.

To move the marquee around the artwork, begin dragging a marquee and then hold down the spacebar while dragging the marquee to a new location.

To display a ﬁle at 100%:

Choose View > Actual Size, or double-click the zoom tool.

To change the view to ﬁt the screen:

Choose View > Fit In Window, or double-click the hand tool.

Using the Navigator palette

The Navigator palette lets you quickly change the view of your artwork using a thumbnail display.

To display the Navigator palette:

Choose Window > Navigator.

Note: The Navigator palette may take a long time to display when the document contains a large quantity of artwork.

To display only artwork inside the boundaries of the Artboard:

1 Choose Window > Navigator.

2 Choose View Artboard Only from the pop-up menu in the Navigator palette. Any

objects outside the border of the Artboard are removed from the Navigator palette thumbnail display. (See “

Viewing artwork” on page 13.)

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To magnify or reduce the view using the Navigator palette:

Do one of the following:

• Click the zoom in or zoom out button at the bottom of the Navigator palette.

• Drag the zoom slider at the bottom of the palette.

• Enter the percentage of magniﬁcation or reduction you want in the zoom text box of

the Navigator palette, and press Enter or Return.

• Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS), and drag over the area of the

Navigator palette’s thumbnail that you want to magnify.

To move the view of an image using the Navigator palette:

Do one of the following:

• Drag the view box, which represents the boundaries of the illustration window.

• Click in the thumbnail of the image. The new view includes the area you click.

To change the color of the Navigator palette view box:

1 Choose Palette Options from the Navigator palette menu.

2 Choose a color:

• To use a preset color, choose an option for Color.

• To specify a different color, double-click the color box or choose Custom, and choose a

color.

3 Click OK.

Using the status bar

At the bottom left edge of the Illustrator window is the status bar. The status bar contains the Zoom pop-up menu and the Status pop-up menu. The Status menu can display information about any of the following topics:

• The current tool in use.

• The date and time.

• The amount of virtual memory (Windows) or free RAM memory (Mac OS) available for

your open ﬁle.

• The number of undos and redos available.

• The document color proﬁle. For information on color proﬁles, see “About color

management” on page 174.

To specify the type of information to display in the Status pop-up menu:

Select the type of information from the pop-up menu.

Previewing placed EPS images

Placing images from other applications can slow previewing and printing operations in Illustrator. You can improve performance by turning off the Show Transparency Interactions option in the Links Palette Options dialog box.

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You can turn off previewing of placed images when you need to work quickly. You can then turn previewing back on when you want to view the ﬁnished art.

To determine how placed EPS images appear:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Files & Clipboard.

2 Select the Use Low Resolution Proxy for Linked EPS option to view a bitmap proxy of

the placed image. Deselect the option to view a high-resolution vector image.

To set Outline view for placed EPS images:

1 Choose File > Document Setup. Choose Artboard from the pop-up menu at the top left

of the Document Setup dialog box.

2 Select Show Images in Outline to specify that placed images should display a preview image when seen in Outline view and click OK. (See “

page 33.)

To display transparency interactions with linked images:

1 If necessary, choose Window > Links.

Opening and placing artwork” on

2 From the Links palette menu, choose Palette Options.

3 Select Show Transparency Interactions and click OK.

Using plug-in modules

Plug-in modules are software programs developed by Adobe Systems, and by other software developers in conjunction with Adobe Systems, to add features to Adobe Illustrator. A number of special effects plug-ins come with your program and are automatically installed in the Plug-ins folder.

If you change the location of the Plug-ins folder, or if you want to use a different folder as your plug-ins folder, you must use the Plug-ins Preferences command to tell Illustrator about the new location of the plug-ins.

You can also use plug-ins from Adobe Photoshop versions 3.0 to 5.5. In addition, you can use any commercial plug-in designed for use with Photoshop or Illustrator.

To avoid duplicating your plug-in ﬁlters between the two programs, make a shortcut (Windows) or an alias (Mac OS) to your Photoshop plug-in ﬁlters in your Illustrator

Plug-ins folder. Note that Illustrator 10.0 does not support plug-ins from Photoshop 6.0.

To specify the location of plug-in modules:

1 Do one of the following:

• In Windows or Mac OS, choose Edit > Preferences > Plug-ins & Scratch Disks.

• In Mac OS X, choose Illustrator > Preferences > Plug-ins & Scratch Disks.

2 Click Choose and select the folder containing the plug-in modules, then click OK.

3 Quit Illustrator, and then start it again for the plug-in modules to take effect.

To install an Adobe Systems plug-in module:

If an installer is provided, use it to install the plug-in module. Otherwise, drag a copy of the module to the Plug-ins folder inside the Adobe Illustrator folder.

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To install a third-party plug-in module:

Follow the installation instructions that came with the plug-in module.

Developing plug-in modules for Adobe Illustrator

The open architecture of the Adobe Illustrator program allows developers outside of Adobe to create features that are accessible from within Adobe Illustrator. If you are interested in creating plug-in modules compatible with Adobe Illustrator, see the Adobe Systems U.S. Web site at http://www.adobe.com.

Customizing shortcuts

Illustrator provides a set of standard keyboard shortcuts for commands and tools. Illustrator also ships with alternative sets of keyboard shortcuts, including shortcuts for previous versions and for other programs.

You can switch between sets of shortcuts, change individual shortcuts within a set, and deﬁne your own sets of shortcuts.

To view, manage, or print sets of keyboard shortcuts:

1 Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

2 Choose a set of shortcuts from the Set menu at the top of the Keyboard Shortcuts

dialog box.

3 Choose a shortcut type (Menu Commands or Tools) from the menu above the shortcut display.

4 Do any of the following:

• To apply the displayed set of shortcuts, click OK.

• To delete the displayed set of shortcuts, click Delete. You can’t delete the set named

Illustrator Factory Defaults.

• To export the displayed set of shortcuts into a text ﬁle, click Export Text. In the Save

Keyset File dialog box, enter a ﬁle name for the current keyset that you are saving, and click Save. You can use this text ﬁle to print out a copy of your keyboard shortcuts.

To deﬁne new shortcuts or sets of shortcuts:

1 Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

2 Choose a set of shortcuts from the Set menu at the top of the Keyboard Shortcuts

dialog box.

3 Choose a shortcut type (Menu Commands or Tools) from the menu above the shortcut display.

4 In the Shortcut column of the scroll list, select the shortcut you want to modify (palette shortcuts are at the end of the scroll list).

5 Enter a new shortcut. When you begin entering changes, the name in the Set menu changes to [Custom].

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If the shortcut is already assigned to another command or tool in the set, an alert informs you that another command or tool has the shortcut. Click away from the selection to assign the shortcut to the new command or tool, and to erase the previously assigned shortcut. Once you have reassigned a shortcut, you can click Undo to undo the change, or click Go To to go to the other command or tool and assign it a new shortcut.

6 In the Symbol column, enter the symbol that will appear on the menu or tool tip for the command or tool. You can use any of the characters that are allowed in the Shortcut column.

7 When you have ﬁnished changing shortcuts and symbols, do one of the following:

• To create a new set that includes the modiﬁcations, click OK or Save, and then save the

shortcuts as a ﬁle. Enter a name for the new set in the Name text box, and click OK. The new ﬁle set will appear in the pop-up menu under the new name.

• To discard all changes and exit the dialog box, click Cancel.

• To discard the last saved change without closing the dialog box, click Undo.

To clear shortcuts and symbols from a command or tool:

1 In the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box, select the command or tool name whose

shortcut and symbol you want to delete.

2 Click Clear.

To delete an entire set of shortcuts:

1 Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

2 In the Set pop-up menu, choose the shortcut set that you want to delete.

3 Click Delete and then OK to exit the dialog box.

Setting preferences

Numerous program settings are stored in the Adobe Illustrator preference ﬁle:

• In Windows, this ﬁle is called AI Prefs. In Windows 98 and ME, it is located in the

Windows\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 10 folder. In Windows NT, this ﬁle is located in WinNT\Proﬁles\user name\Application Data\Adobe Illustrator 10 folder. In Windows 2000 and XP it is in the Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 10 folder.

• In Mac OS, the preferences ﬁle is called Adobe Illustrator 10.0 Prefs. In Mac OS 9.x, it is

located in the System Folder\Preferences\Adobe Illustrator 10.0 folder. In Mac OS X, it is located in the Mac OS X\Users\Home\Library\Preferences\Adobe Illustrator 10 folder.

The settings stored in the preference ﬁle include display options, separation setup information, tool options, ruler units, and options for exporting information. Most of these options are set in panels of the Preferences dialog box.

To ﬁnd an explanation of a particular preference option or set of options, refer to the index.

To open the Preferences dialog box:

Choose the desired preference panel from the Edit > Preferences submenu or the Illustrator 10 menu (Mac OS X only).

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To switch to a different preference panel:

Choose an option from the menu at the top left of the Preferences dialog box. You can also click Next to display the next panel, or click Prev to display the previous panel.

Using tool tips

The tool tips feature lets you display the name of tools, or buttons and controls in palettes.

To identify a tool or control:

Position the pointer over a tool or control and pause. A tool tip appears showing the name and keyboard shortcut (if any) for the item.

If tool tips don’t appear, the preference for displaying them may be turned off.

To display tool tips:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > General (Mac OS X).

2 Select Show Tool Tips, and click OK.

Note: Tool tips are not available in most dialog boxes.

Using Web resources

If you have an Internet connection, you can access additional resources for learning Illustrator located on the Adobe Systems home page on the World Wide Web. These resources are continually updated.

To access Adobe’s home page for your region:

1 Open Adobe’s U.S. home page at www.adobe.com.

2 From the Adobe worldwide menu, choose your geographical region. Adobe’s home

page is customized for 20 different geographical regions.

Using the Illustrator product section of the Adobe Web site

The Illustrator product section of the Adobe Web site provides a central source for registered Illustrator users to access the latest Web content for Illustrator. Here you’ll ﬁnd the following:

• Step-by-step tutorials

• Quick tips that provide fast answers to common problems

• Updates, patches, and plug-ins

• Illustrator Top Issues, containing the latest Illustrator technical support solutions

• Technical guides

• A searchable database of answers to technical questions

• Links to user forums

To use the Illustrator product section of the Adobe Web site:

1 Go to the Adobe home page and search for Illustrator.

2 Register your copy of Illustrator.

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3 Once you have completed the registration process, follow the link back to Illustrator.

Using Adobe Online

Adobe Online provides access to the latest tutorials, quicktips and other Web content for Illustrator and other Adobe products. Using Adobe Online, you can also download and view the current version of the Illustrator Top Issues document containing the latest Illustrator technical support solutions.

When you set up an Internet connection to Adobe Online, Adobe can either notify you whenever new information is available through the Downloadables feature or automatically download that information to your hard disk. If you choose not to use Adobe’s automatic download feature, you can still view and download new ﬁles whenever they are available using the Downloadables command in the Help menu.

To use Adobe Online:

1 In Illustrator, choose Help > Adobe Online, or click the icon at the top of the toolbox.

Adobe Online icon

Note: You must have an Internet connection to access Adobe Online. Adobe Online will launch your browser using your default Internet conﬁguration.

2 If prompted, set preferences, and then click Go Online. General preferences affect how Adobe Online interacts with all Adobe products installed on your system, and Application preferences affect how Adobe Online interacts with Illustrator. To see an explanation of each preference option, click Setup and follow the prompts. You also can set up an automatic refresh using the Update Options.

Note: You can also set Adobe Online preferences by choosing Edit > Preferences > Online Settings (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > Online Settings (Mac OS X).

To view Illustrator customer support and technical issues:

Choose Help > Top Issues. The customer support page within the Adobe Web site opens.

To view and download information:

1 In Illustrator, choose Help > Downloadables.

2 Select a View Option:

• Select Show Only New Files to view only the ﬁles that are new since the last time you

viewed downloadable ﬁles or were notiﬁed of them.

• Select Show All Files to view all the ﬁles on Adobe’s Web site that are currently available

for download.

3 Select Download Options:

• Select Auto Install Downloaded Components if you want Adobe to start the

component’s installer (if available) as soon as the download is complete. You can then follow the prompts to install the ﬁles.

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• Select Download in Background if you want to continue working in Illustrator and other

applications while the ﬁle downloads.

• Select Notify When Download Complete if you want Adobe to display a message when

the ﬁles have been transferred to your computer.

4 To view a list of ﬁles, open the Downloadables folder and any other folder listed.

5 To see a description of a ﬁle, position the mouse cursor over a ﬁlename and view its

description in the Item Description section.

6 To see the location where a ﬁle will be installed if downloaded, select a ﬁle and view its location in the Download Directory section. To change the location, click the Folder button .

7 To download a ﬁle, select it and click Download.

8 To close the Downloadables dialog box, click Done.

To view Adobe press releases and announcements:

Choose Help > Corporate News. The press and announcements page within the Adobe Web site opens.

To register your copy of Adobe Illustrator:

1 Choose Help > Registration.

2 Select a registration option and click Continue; then follow the prompts to register.

To open other sites within the Adobe Web site:

Choose Help > Adobe Links, and choose a link topic from the menu. The associated Web page opens.

Other learning resources

Other learning resources are available but are not included with your application.

Classroom in a Book Is the ofﬁcial training series for Adobe graphics and publishing software. This book is developed by experts at Adobe and published by Adobe Press. The Adobe Illustrator Classroom in a Book includes lessons about using Illustrator. For information on purchasing Adobe Illustrator Classroom in a Book, visit the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com, or contact your local book distributor.

Adobe Press books Adobe Press provides a variety of books for beginners and professionals alike. Topics covered include color management, commercial printing, and creating quality online publications in HTML and PDF. For a list of available publications, visit the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com, or contact your local book distributor.

The Adobe Certiﬁed Training Provider Program Offers users, instructors, and training centers the opportunity to demonstrate their product proﬁciency and promote their software skills as Adobe Certiﬁed Training Providers. Certiﬁcation is available for several different geographical regions. Visit the Adobe Solutions Network: Certiﬁed Training Provider Program Web site at www.adobe.com to learn how you can become certiﬁed.

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Customer Support

When you register your product, you may be entitled to technical support for up to 90 days from the date of your ﬁrst call. Terms may vary depending on the country of residence. For more information, refer to the technical support card provided with the Illustrator documentation.

Customer Support on Adobe Online

Adobe Online provides access to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and troubleshooting information that provides solutions to common problems.

Additional customer support resources

Adobe Systems provides several forms of automated technical support:

• See the ReadMe and ReadMe First! ﬁles installed with the program for information that

became available after this guide went to press.

• Explore the extensive customer support information on Adobe’s World Wide Web site

(www.adobe.com). To access Adobe’s Web site from Illustrator, choose Help > Adobe Online or click the icon at the top of the toolbox. See “

page 21.

• Read the Top Issues PDF that is available from the Help menu.

Using Web resources” on

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Setting Up Artwork in Illustrator

About vector graphics and bitmap images

Computer graphics fall into two main categories—vector graphics and bitmap images. Understanding the difference between the two helps as you create, edit, and import artwork.

In Illustrator the type of graphic image can have important effects on your workﬂow. For example, some ﬁle formats only support bitmap images and others only vector graphics. Graphic image types are particularly important when importing or exporting graphic images to and from Illustrator. Linked bitmap images cannot be edited in Illustrator. Graphic formats also affect how commands and ﬁlters can be applied to images; some ﬁlters in Illustrator will only work with bitmap images.

Vector graphics

Drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator create vector graphics, made of lines and curves deﬁned by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors describe graphics according to their geometric characteristics. For example, a bicycle tire in a vector graphic is made up of a mathematical deﬁnition of a circle drawn with a certain radius, set at a speciﬁc location, and ﬁlled with a speciﬁc color. You can move, resize, or change the color of the tire without losing the quality of the graphic.

A vector graphic is resolution-independent—that is, it can be scaled to any size and printed on any output device at any resolution without losing its detail or clarity. As a result, vector graphics are the best choice for type (especially small type) and bold graphics that must retain crisp lines when scaled to various sizes—for example, logos.

Because computer monitors represent images by displaying them on a grid, both vector and bitmap images are displayed as pixels on-screen.

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Vector graphics are good for reproducing crisp outlines, as in logos or illustrations. They can be printed or displayed at any resolution without losing detail.

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Bitmap images

Paint and image-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, generate bitmap images, also called raster images. T he images use a grid (also known as a bitmap or raster) of small squares, known as pixels, to represent graphics. Each pixel in a bitmap image has a speciﬁc location and color value assigned to it. For example, a bicycle tire in a bitmap image is made up of a collection of pixels in that location, with each pixel part of a mosaic that gives the appearance of a tire. When working with bitmap images, you edit pixels rather than objects or shapes.

Bitmap images are the most common electronic medium for continuous-tone images, such as photographs or images created in painting programs, because they can represent subtle gradations of shades and color. Bitmap images are resolution dependent—that is, they represent a ﬁxed number of pixels. As a result, they can appear jagged and lose detail if they are scaled on-screen or if they are printed at a higher resolution than they were created for.

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Bitmap images are good for reproducing subtle gradations of color, as in photographs. They can have jagged edges when printed at too large a size or displayed at too high a magniﬁcation.

About resolution in bitmap images

Resolution is the number of dots or pixels per linear unit used to reproduce artwork and images. Output devices display images as groups of pixels. The resolution of vector graphics, such as Illustrator artwork, depends on the device used to display the artwork. The resolution of bitmap images, such as digital photographs, depends on both the display device and the inherent resolution of the bitmap image.

Pixel dimensions The number of pixels along the height and width of a bitmap image. The display size of an image on-screen is determined by the pixel dimensions of the image plus the size and setting of the monitor. The ﬁle size of an image is proportional to its pixel dimensions.

A typical 21-inch monitor displays 1152 pixels horizontally and 870 vertically. An image with pixel dimensions of 1152 by 870 would ﬁll this small screen.

Image resolution The number of pixels displayed per unit of printed length in an image, usually measured in pixels per inch (ppi). An image with a high resolution contains more, and therefore smaller, pixels than an image of the same printed dimensions with a low resolution. For example, a 1-inch-by-1-inch image with a resolution of 72 ppi contains a total of 5184 pixels (72 pixels wide x 72 pixels high = 5184). The same 1-inch-by-1-inch image with a resolution of 300 ppi would contain a total of 90,000 pixels.

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Because they use more pixels to represent each unit of area, higher-resolution images usually reproduce more detail and subtler color transitions than lower-resolution images when printed. However, increasing the resolution of an image scanned or created at a lower resolution only spreads the original pixel information across a greater number of pixels and rarely improves image quality.

To determine the image resolution to use, consider the medium of ﬁnal distribution for the image. If you’re producing an image for online display, the image resolution only needs to match the typical monitor resolution (72 or 96 ppi). However, using too low a resolution for a printed image results in pixelation—output with large, coarse-looking pixels. Using too high a resolution (pixels smaller than what the output device can produce) increases the ﬁle size and slows the printing of the image.

Note: The Printing & Export panel of the Document Setup dialog box lets you deﬁne the output resolution for vector drawings. In Illustrator, output resolution refers to the number of line segments the PostScript as image resolution). (See “

interpreter uses to approximate a curve (it is not the same

Changing the path output resolution” on page 337.)

Monitor resolution The number of pixels or dots displayed per unit of length on the monitor, usually measured in dots per inch (dpi). Monitor resolution depends on the size of the monitor plus its pixel setting. A PC or Mac OS monitor can range from 60 to 133 dpi. Understanding monitor resolution helps explain why the display size of an image onscreen often differs from its printed size.

Printer resolution The number of ink dots per inch (dpi) produced by an imagesetter or laser printer. For best results, use an image resolution that is proportional to, but not the same as, printer resolution. Most laser printers have output resolutions of 600 dpi to 1200 dpi and produce good results with images from 72 ppi to 185 ppi.

High-end imagesetters can print at 1200 dpi or higher and produce good results with images from 200 ppi to 350 ppi.

Screen frequency The number of printer dots or halftone cells per inch used to print grayscale images or color separations. Also known as screen ruling or line screen, screen frequency is measured in lines per inch (lpi)—or lines of cells per inch in a halftone screen.

The relationship between image resolution and screen frequency determines the quality of detail in the printed image. To produce a halftone image of the highest quality, you generally use an image resolution that is from 1.5 to at most 2 times the screen frequency. But with some images and output devices, a lower resolution can produce good results.

Note: Some imagesetters and 600-dpi laser printers use screening technologies other than halftoning. If you are printing an image on a nonhalftone printer, consult your service provider or your printer documentation for the recommended image resolutions.

About the work area

In Adobe Illustrator, the work area occupies the entire space within the Illustrator window and includes more than just the printable page containing your artwork. The printable and non-printable areas are represented by a series of solid and dotted lines between the outermost edge of the window and the printable area of the page.

Imageable area The imageable area is bounded by the innermost dotted lines and represents the portion of the page on which the selected printer can print. Many printers cannot print to the edge of the paper.

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Nonimageable area The nonimageable area is between the two sets of dotted lines

representing any nonprintable margin of the page.

Edge of the page The page edge is indicated by the outermost set of dotted lines.

Artboard The artboard is bounded by solid lines and represents the entire region that

can contain printable artwork. By default, the artboard is the same size as the page, but it can be enlarged or reduced. The U.S. default artboard is 8.5" x 11", but it can be set as large as 227" x 227". You can choose to show or hide the artboard.

Scratch area The scratch area is the area outside the artboard that extends to the edge of the 227-inch square window. The scratch area represents a space on which you can create, edit, and store elements of artwork before moving them onto the artboard. Objects placed onto the scratch area are visible on-screen, but they do not print.

Illustrator’s work area A. Imageable area B. Nonimageable area C. Edge of the page D. Artboard E. Scratch area

Setting up the work area

Once you have created a document, you can then set up your work area to organize your work and streamline the workﬂow. For example, you can change the size of the artboard, tile your workspace, or move your page boundaries.

To open a new ﬁle:

1 Choose File > New, and then enter a name in the Name text box.

2 Select the CMYK or RGB color mode. (See “

3 If necessary, specify a height and width for the artboard.

To create a new document without opening the New Document dialog box, press Ctrl+Alt+N (Windows) or Command+Option+N (Mac OS). The new, untitled

document has the settings last used.

To open an existing ﬁle:

1 Choose File > Open.

2 Select the name of the ﬁle you want to open, and click Open.

To close a ﬁle and quit Illustrator:

Color modes and models” on page 152.)

1 Choose File > Exit (Windows) or File > Quit (Mac OS).

2 If the ﬁle has not yet been saved or named, the Save dialog box appears. To save the ﬁle,

enter a name in the Name text box (if necessary) and then click OK.

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To show or hide the artboard:

To show the artboard, choose View > Show Artboard; to hide the artboard, choose View > Hide Artboard.

To change the size of the artboard:

1 Choose File > Document Setup. Then choose Artboard from the pop-up menu at the

top left of the Document Setup dialog box.

2 Do one of the following:

• Choose a preset size from the Size pop-up menu.

• Choose Custom from the Size pop-up menu, and enter the dimensions you want in the

text boxes, up to 227 inches by 227 inches. You can change the units in the document (and therefore of the artboard size) by choosing a different unit from the Edit > Preferences > Units & Undo dialog box (Windows and Mac OS 9) or the Illustrator > Preferences > Units & Undo dialog box (Mac OS X).

• Select Use Print Setup (Windows) or Use Page Setup (Mac OS) to set the size of the

artboard to match the page size set in the Print Setup (Windows) or Page Setup (Mac OS) dialog box. The size of the artboard then changes anytime you choose a new page size in the Print/Page Setup dialog box.

3 Click OK.

Note: The artboard displays the maximum printable area but does not deﬁne the size of the printed page. The printable area of the page is derived from the printer driver and ppd of the printing device. You can only change page size settings if your printer will accept custom page sizes.

To change the size of the page:

Choose File > Print Setup (Windows) or File > Page Setup (Mac OS) and select a page type in the dialog box.

Note: The imageable area and page size are not limitations when printing to imagesetters that handle large media. Imagesetters can typically print to the edge of the page. The page size used by an imagesetter may be larger than the page size speciﬁed in Illustrator, enabling you to print bleeds, for example, that run past the edge of the page.

To change the color of the page:

1 Choose File > Document Setup.

2 Select Transparency from the pop-up menu.

3 Select Simulate Paper, and then click the top color swatch and select a new color from

the color picker.

4 Click OK.

Tiling artwork and adjusting page boundaries

The artboard’s dimensions do not necessarily match the paper sizes used by printers. As a result, when you print a ﬁle, the program divides the artboard into one or more rectangles that correspond to the page size available on your printer. Dividing the artboard to ﬁt a printer’s available page size is called tiling. Tiling is also used when you set up your ﬁle to view and print multiple pages.

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You can also adjust the placement of the printable area of the page to control how artwork is printed.

Working with tiled artwork

As you work with tiled artwork, be sure to consider how the artwork relates to the boundaries of the page grid and to the total dimensions of the artboard. For example, if the artwork is tiled onto six pages, part of the artwork will print on a separate sheet of paper that corresponds to page 6. If you specify printing only from pages 1 to 5, the part of the artwork that is on page 6 won’t print.

If you have set up the ﬁle to view and print multiple pages, the ﬁle is tiled onto pages numbered from left to right and from top to bottom, starting with page 1. (The ﬁrst page is always page 1; there is no way to change the page 1 designation in Adobe Illustrator.) These page numbers appear on-screen for your reference only; they do not print. The numbers enable you to print all of the pages in the ﬁle or specify particular pages to print.

The page or set of pages is aligned with the upper left corner of the artboard by default. However, you can reposition pages on the artboard by using the page tool. (See “

the page boundaries” on page 31.)

Moving

To see whether the tiling format is visible on-screen:

Choose View > Show Page Tiling or View > Hide Page Tiling.

To change the page tiling options:

1 Choose File > Document Setup. Then choose Artboard from the pop-up menu at the

top left of the Document Setup dialog box.

2 Choose from the following options:

• Single Full Page (the default) to view and print one page.

• Tile Full Pages to view and print multiple pages containing separate pieces of artwork.

For example, you can use this option to print a two-page brochure.

To view and print multiple pages, the artboard size set in the Document Setup dialog box must be large enough to ﬁt more than one full page at a time.

Note: With the Tile Full Pages option, any artwork that extends past the imageable area of a given page is not printed.

• Tile Imageable Areas to view and print a single piece of artwork that is too large to ﬁt on

one page. For example, you could use this option to print artwork for a large poster onto several sheets of standard-size paper for prooﬁng.

When you print a ﬁle by using this option, the artwork is divided among the imageable areas of the pages.

3 Click OK.

Adjusting the bounding box when tiling pages

The program may print blank pages if the artwork is tiled so that the editing bounding box intersects pages that do not contain any artwork. The bounding box is a border that deﬁnes the boundaries of your artwork, and can be used to move and transform the artwork. For information about editing artwork with the bounding box, see “

bounding box” on page 99.

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Using the

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In the following illustration, the bounding box surrounds the artwork, not its direction lines. (See “

About direction lines and direction points” on page 51.)

Tile Imageable Areas; bounding box surrounds artwork

Moving the page boundaries

You can adjust the placement of the printable area of the page to control how artwork is printed. This is a good way to avoid having the artwork extend past the boundaries of the current page.

You can adjust the page from any view. You may ﬁnd it easiest to choose View > Fit in Window so you can see all of your artwork while you adjust the pages.

To adjust a page by using the page tool:

1 Select the page tool . The pointer becomes a dotted cross when you move it to the

active window.

2 Drag the page to the new location. As you drag, the page tool responds as if you were moving the page from its lower left corner. Two gray rectangles are displayed. The outer rectangle represents the page size, and the inner rectangle represents the printable area of a page.

Note: You can move the page anywhere on the artboard; however, any part of a page that extends past the printable area boundary is not printed.

To adjust the placement of artwork by moving it in the printable area:

1 Unlock any locked objects, and display any hidden objects. (See “

Locking and hiding objects” on page 112, “Locking artwork” on page 225, and “Hiding or displaying artwork” on page 224.)

2 Click the selection tool .

3 Choose Select > All.

Drag the artwork to the new position within the printable page boundaries.

About imported artwork

Placing artwork from other applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, into Adobe Illustrator is easily performed using various Adobe Illustrator commands.

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Illustrator can import many common graphic ﬁle formats, including EPS, CorelDRAW™, FreeHand

™

, GIF, JPEG, PICT, TIFF, SVG, DXF, Adobe PDF, and PostScript Level 1. In addition to these common graphic ﬁle formats, Illustrator can use artwork in any ﬁle format supported by an Adobe Photoshop-compatible ﬁle format plug-in ﬁlter, including Kodak Photo CD

™

, PNG, and TGA.

File Format

Import Methods Considerations

AI Open Opens all Illustrator format ﬁles.

EPS Open, Place Placed ﬁles may be linked or

embedded.

Adobe PDF Open, Place Specify which page of ﬁle you want

to use. Placed ﬁles may be linked or embedded.

Photoshop Open, Place Supports Photoshop 2.5 and later.

Placed ﬁles may be linked or embedded. Drag and drop artwork directly from Photoshop.

SVG/SVGZ Open, Place Illustrator does not support all types

of SVG data; therefore, some data may be modiﬁed during import. For example, primitives are ﬂattened to paths, transformations become transformed paths, and paths with multiple attributes are converted to multiple objects.

PICT Open, Place Placed ﬁles may be linked or

embedded.

WMF/EMF Open, Place Placed ﬁles will be embedded. Drag

and drop artwork directly from Microsoft Ofﬁce.

DXF/DWG Open, Place Supports DXF releases 13, 14, and

2000. Placed ﬁles will be embedded.

FreeHand Open, Place Supports FreeHand versions 4.0, 5.0,

5.5, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 (Japanese version supported to version 5.5). Placed ﬁles will be embedded.

CorelDRAW Open, Place Supports CorelDRAW versions 5.0,

6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0 of Windows; and versions 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0 of Mac OS. Placed ﬁles will be embedded.

CGMOpen, Place Supports CGM versions 1, 2, and 3.

Placed ﬁles will be embedded.

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File Format

All raster formats supported by Photoshopcompatible ﬁlters

Text formats Open, Place Supports the following formats:

Import Methods Considerations

Open, Place Supports the following formats:

Amiga IFF, BMP, Filmstrip, GIF 89a, Kodak Photo CD, JPEG, PCX, Pixar, PNG, TIFF, and TGA.

plain text, MS RTF, MS Word 97, 98, and 2000. Vertical Japanese text in RTF and Word ﬁles will be imported as horizontal text. Placed ﬁles will be embedded.

Opening and placing artwork

You can use the Clipboard and drag-and-drop importing to bring images into Illustrator. (See “

Moving, copying, and deleting objects” on page 102.) However, two commands are

most commonly used when importing artwork created by other applications:

• The Open command opens a ﬁle created by another application as a new Adobe

Illustrator ﬁle.

• The Place command places an image in an existing Illustrator ﬁle in one of two ways.

Depending on the ﬁle format, the Place command creates a link to an external ﬁle by default and does not include a copy of the ﬁle in the Illustrator ﬁle. You can also deselect the Link option in the Place dialog box, which embeds (includes) a copy of the ﬁle in the Illustrator ﬁle.

Your document’s color mode (CMYK or RGB) does not change when you place a ﬁle that uses a different color mode. Colors in the imported ﬁle convert to the document’s color mode when you export or print the ﬁle.

Note: Adobe Illustrator does not color-manage imported grayscale images. If you import a grayscale image that had a color proﬁle in Adobe Photoshop, for example, the proﬁle is discarded when the image is imported into Illustrator.

Opening ﬁles

When you open a ﬁle created by another application, it becomes a new Adobe Illustrator ﬁle. Vector artwork in the ﬁle you open is converted to Illustrator paths, which can be modiﬁed using any Illustrator tool; bitmap images can be modiﬁed using transformation tools, such as scale and rotate, and using image ﬁlters from the Illustrator Filter menu.

About vector graphics and bitmap images” on page 25.) For information about

(See “ opening shared ﬁles from a server, see “

Files that have been saved in Portable Document Format (PDF) can be opened as Adobe Illustrator documents, without losing the ability to edit artwork with Illustrator tools and commands. Artwork stored in PDF format can also be placed into Illustrator ﬁles, as described in “

Importing EPS and PDF ﬁles into Illustrator” on page 36.

Managing ﬁles with WebDAV” on page 41.

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To open a ﬁle created by another application:

1 Choose File > Open.

2 Locate and select the ﬁle you want to open. If you don’t see the name of the ﬁle you

want, the ﬁle is stored in a format that Illustrator can’t read. See “

About imported artwork”

on page 31 for a complete list of all the ﬁle formats you can open.

3 Click Open.

Note: If you open an EPS ﬁle that contains fonts not installed on your system, font substitution will occur when you open and print.

To open a ﬁle that has recently been used:

Choose File > Open Recent Files, and select the ﬁlename from the list.

Opening Photoshop ﬁles in Illustrator

When opening a Photoshop ﬁle in Illustrator, you can preserve masks, blending modes, and transparency, and convert layers to separate Illustrator objects. When exporting an Illustrator ﬁle to Photoshop format, you can preserve layers, opacity masks, transparency (including blending modes), slices, image maps, compound shapes, and editable type. (See “

Exporting artwork in Photoshop format” on page 326.)

Illustrator does not support some Photoshop features such as adjustment layers and layer effects. To maintain the effects in Illustrator, select Convert Photoshop Layers to Objects in the Photoshop Import dialog box, or ﬂatten individual layers in Photoshop to embed the effects before importing the ﬁle into Illustrator.

Layer mask in Photoshop (top) converts to opacity mask in Illustrator (bottom), with preserved blending mode and transparency.

To open a ﬁle created by Photoshop:

1 Choose File > Open.

2 Locate and select a Photoshop ﬁle, and click Open.

3 In the Photoshop Import dialog box, choose a method to import Photoshop layers to

Illustrator:

• Select the Convert Photoshop Layers to Objects option to create a single layer in

Illustrator containing objects that correspond to each Photoshop layer or clipping path (Illustrator only imports one clipping path per Photoshop ﬁle). If the Photoshop document contains layer sets, you can create corresponding sublayers. Any opacity masks that were applied to the Photoshop layers appear in the Transparency palette when you select the corresponding objects or sublayers.

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When you use the Convert Photoshop Layers to Objects option, Illustrator uses an automatic selective merging (of layers) feature to maintain appearance. If you don’t require access to layers and objects, you can choose the Flatten Photoshop Layers to a Single Image option instead.

• Select the Flatten Photoshop Layers to a Single Image option to ﬂatten all Photoshop

layers into a single image, and place the image on Layer 1 in the Illustrator ﬁle. The converted ﬁle retains clipping paths but no individual objects. Transparency is retained as part of the main image, but is not editable.

4 If you want to import image maps or slices that are included in the Photoshop ﬁle, select Import Image Maps or Import Slices.

5 Click OK.

Placing ﬁles

The Place command places ﬁles from other applications into Illustrator. Files can be

embedded, or included in, the Illustrator ﬁle, or they can be linked to the Illustrator ﬁle. Linked ﬁles remain independent of the Illustrator ﬁle, resulting in a smaller Illustrator ﬁle.

Depending on a preference you set for updating links, the linked image in the Illustrator ﬁle may change when the artwork in the linked ﬁle changes.

By default, the Link option is selected in the Place dialog box. If you deselect the Link option, the artwork is embedded in the Adobe Illustrator ﬁle, resulting in a larger Illustrator ﬁle. The Links palette lets you identify, select, monitor, and update objects in the Illustrator artwork that are linked to external ﬁles. (See “

Managing linked and embedded

images” on page 37.)

Placed bitmap images can be modiﬁed using transformation tools and image ﬁlters; placed vector artwork is converted to Illustrator paths (embedded images only).

If you place a Photoshop ﬁle and deselect the Link option, the Photoshop Import dialog box appears. For information on options in the Photoshop Import dialog box,

Opening Photoshop ﬁles in Illustrator” on page 34.

see “

Note: Do not place EPS ﬁles containing mesh objects or transparency objects if it was created in an application other than Illustrator. Instead, open the EPS ﬁle, copy all objects and then paste in Illustrator.

To place and link ﬁles created by other applications:

1 Open the Illustrator ﬁle into which you want to place the artwork.

2 Choose File > Place.

3 Locate and select the ﬁle you want to place. If you don’t see the name of the ﬁle you

want, the ﬁle has been saved in a format that Illustrator cannot read.

4 Do one of the following:

• To create a link between the artwork ﬁle and the Illustrator ﬁle, make sure the Link

option is selected in the Place dialog box.

• To embed the artwork in the ﬁle deselect the Link option in the Place dialog box.

• To create a template layer using the ﬁle, select Template.

• To replace an existing placed ﬁle, select Replace. (This option is only available if you

select the ﬁle to be replaced before choosing File > Place.)

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5 Click Place. The artwork is placed into the Illustrator ﬁle as either a linked or an

embedded image, depending on the option you selected in the Place dialog box.

Importing EPS and PDF ﬁles into Illustrator

You can use Adobe Illustrator to edit artwork that was imported as Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) ﬁle types.

You can import PDF and EPS ﬁles using these commands:

• The Open command to open a PDF or EPS ﬁle as a new Illustrator ﬁle.

• The Place command to place a PDF or EPS ﬁle in the current layer in an existing

Illustrator ﬁle.

Important: To place an EPS image containing a mesh object as an embedded ﬁle (that is, the Link option is deselected in the Place dialog box), the ﬁle should be saved as an EPS Level 1 PostScript ﬁle.

To open a PDF or EPS ﬁle as a new Adobe Illustrator ﬁle:

1 Choose File > Open.

2 Select the ﬁle you want to open, and click Open. If the ﬁle does not appear, for Files of

Type, choose All Formats (Windows) or Show All Documents (Mac OS).

To place PDF or EPS artwork into an Adobe Illustrator ﬁle:

1 Open the Adobe Illustrator ﬁle into which you want to place the artwork.

2 Choose File > Place, select the ﬁle you want to place, and click Place.

Placing EPS or PDF ﬁles in Illustrator with the Link option selected in the Place dialog box does not allow you to modify the linked object within the Illustrator ﬁle. To convert the elements in an EPS or PDF ﬁle to Illustrator objects that can be modiﬁed, deselect the Link option in the Place dialog box. Deselecting the Link option when you place the EPS or PDF ﬁle embeds the ﬁle and lets you edit each part of the artwork as a discrete object.

Editing artwork contained in linked ﬁles” on page 41.)

(See “

3 If you are placing a page from a PDF ﬁle that contains multiple pages, select the page you want to place, and click OK.

4 Adjust the placed artwork as needed.

Important: If you import an EPS color that has the same name as a color in your document but with a different deﬁnition, Illustrator displays an alert. Choose Use Linked ﬁle’s color to replace the color in your document with the EPS color in the linked ﬁle. All objects using this color in your document will get updated appropriately. Choose Use document’s color to leave the swatch as is and resolve all color conﬂicts using the document’s color. The EPS preview cannot be changed, so the preview may be incorrect, but it will print to the correct plates. Checking “Apply to All” will resolve all color conﬂicts, using the deﬁnition either of the document or the linked ﬁle, depending on which option you choose.

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Turning preview images on or off

If a placed ﬁle with the Link option selected was not saved with a preview image in the application that created it, it will not be visible in Adobe Illustrator when it is placed. Instead, an outlined box containing two diagonal lines appears and deﬁnes the artwork’s dimensions. The box is placed into the center of the active window, in front of all other artwork in the ﬁle, and is selected.

If a placed ﬁle was saved with a preview image in the application that created it, you can see it in Preview view, and you can choose to display a preview image in Outline view.

To turn on and off the display of preview images in Outline view:

1 Choose File > Document Setup. Then choose Artboard from the pop-up menu at the

top left of the Document Setup dialog box.

2 Click Show Images in Outline, and then click OK.

Note: Placed images with the appropriate resource always display in Preview view, regardless of the Show Images in Outline setting.

Managing linked and embedded images

The Links palette lets you identify, select, monitor, and update, and replace images that are linked to external ﬁles, or images that are embedded in the Illustrator ﬁle. In addition, you can determine if an image’s link to an external ﬁle is broken or missing, get information about linked or embedded image characteristics, and open a linked image’s original ﬁle and application to edit the image.

If you are color-managing artwork in a document, embedded EPS images are part of the document and therefore color-managed when sent to a printing device. In contrast, linked images are not color-managed, even if color management is turned on for the rest of the document. (See “

Important: Occasionally you may encounter a warning when printing an Illustrator document containing embedded EPS images. If the application cannot ﬁnd the original EPS image, you will be prompted to extract the EPS image. Select the Extract option in the dialog box; the image will be extracted into the same directory as the current document. Although the embedded ﬁle does not preview in the document, the ﬁle will now print correctly.

Specifying how to update links

You can set a preference to specify how to update linked images when the original ﬁles change.

To specify how to update links:

About color management” on page 174.)

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Mac OS X).

2 Choose an update method from the Update Links pop-up menu:

• Automatically to have Illustrator update linked images automatically when the original

ﬁles are modiﬁed.

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• Manually to leave linked images unchanged when the original ﬁles are modiﬁed.

You can use the Links palette to identify linked images whose originals have been modiﬁed and to update these images. (See “

• Ask When Modiﬁed to display a dialog box when the original ﬁles are modiﬁed. In the

Using the Links palette” on page 38.)

dialog box, click Yes to update the linked image or click No to leave it unchanged.

Specifying how proxies display

By default, Illustrator displays proxies in full resolution, with vectors in full color. However, if you want to increase performance when you’re working with many linked ﬁles, you can turn off this option in the Preferences dialog box.

To turn off high resolution proxy display:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > Files & Clipboard (Mac OS X).

2 Select Use Low Resolution Proxy for Linked EPS.

Using the Links palette

All linked or embedded images in the ﬁle are listed in the Links palette. Linked images whose originals have been modiﬁed since the image was placed (and which have not been updated) are identiﬁed with an exclamation point icon ; linked images whose original ﬁles are missing are identiﬁed with a stop sign icon .

You can use the Links palette to quickly convert linked images into embedded images, using the Embed Image command.

To display the Links palette:

Choose Window > Links. Each linked or embedded image is identiﬁed by name and by a thumbnail display.

To select one or more links:

Choose from the following options:

• Click a link to select it.

• Shift-click to select a continuous range of links.

• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) to select a noncontinuous range

of links.

• Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Command+Option (Mac OS) and then click in the palette

window to select a link by typing its name.

To display link information:

Do one of the following:

• Double-click a link to bring up the Link Information dialog box.

• Select a link, and choose Information from the Links palette menu.

To go to a linked object and select it:

1 Select a link in the Links palette.

2 Choose one of the following:

• Click the Go to Link button at the bottom of the palette.

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• Choose Go to Link from the Links palette menu.

The link is displayed, and the linked image is selected.

To update a link with the most recent data from the linked ﬁle:

1 Select one or more links in the Links palette.

2 Choose one of the following to refresh the link with the most current version of the

original ﬁle:

• Click the Update Link button at the bottom of the palette.

• Choose Update Link from the Links palette menu.

You can set a preference to automatically update links. See “

Specifying how to update

links” on page 37.

To change a linked image into an embedded image:

1 Select a linked image in the Links palette.

2 Choose Embed Image from the Links palette menu.

Replacing linked images

You use the Links palette to replace a linked image with another linked image. By default, the new image adopts the size, placement, and transformation status of the original linked image. Using the Placement Options dialog box, you can change the placement options for any link you place or replace. For example, you can specify that the new image resets the original image’s bounding box so that the new image’s shape and alignment are not altered.

To replace a link with a new linked image:

1 Select a link in the Links palette.

2 Choose one of the following:

• Click the Replace Link button at the bottom of the palette.

• Choose Replace from the Links palette menu.

3 Select the ﬁle to replace the linked image in the Place dialog box, and click OK. The new image retains the size, placement, and transformation characteristics of the image that it replaced.

To change the placement of the linked image:

1 Choose Placement Options from the Links palette menu.

2 Choose one of the following from the Preserve pop-up menu:

• Transforms resizes the bounding box for the new image upon placement, while

preserving transformations.

• Proportions (Fit) uniformly scales the image to ﬁt in the bounding box. This option

preserves the aspect ratio of the image, ﬁlling the bounding box in one direction, but possibly not the other.

• Proportions (Fill) uniformly scales the image to ﬁll the bounding box. This option

preserves the aspect ratio and may cause the image to overlap the bounding box in one direction.

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• File Dimensions places the image without scaling. The image may ﬁt within the

bounding box or overlap it.

• Bounds resizes the image to ﬁt in the bounding box; in most cases the image will be

stretched.

3 Select a point on the Alignment icon from where you want to align the image, relative to the bounding box.

4 If you want to keep the image from overlapping the bounding box, select Clip to Bounding Box. This option is not available for all Methods.

Modifying the Links palette display

You can change the way that links are displayed in the Links palette using commands in the Links palette menu.

The palette can display icons of the links, or show different sized thumbnail images of the links. In addition, you can sort the display to show only those links that have missing or broken links with the original ﬁle, or those links that have been modiﬁed since the last update.

To change the links display icons or thumbnails:

1 Choose Palette Options from the Links palette menu.

2 In the Palette Options dialog box, select the type of icon or thumbnail you want

displayed.

3 Select Show Transparency Interactions if you want to view the interaction of transparent objects with solid objects.

Note: Selecting the Show Transparency Interactions option may slow performance.

To sort the links display by name, kind, or status:

1 Select all or some of the links to sort in the Links palette.

2 Choose one of the following from the Links palette menu to customize the links display

by sorting:

• Sort by Name to alphabetize the links display.

• Sort by Kind to sort the display according to the type of ﬁle (for example, all JPEG ﬁles,

all GIF ﬁles, all EPS ﬁles, and so on).

• Sort by Status to sort the display according to the linked or embedded status.

Embedded images are listed ﬁrst, followed by linked images.

To display links according to link type:

Choose one of the following from the Links palette menu:

• Show All to display all links in the ﬁle.

• Show Missing to display only links with missing or broken connections with the original

ﬁle.

• Show Modiﬁed to display only links that have been changed after the last time the link

was updated.

• Show Embedded to display only embedded images.

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Editing artwork contained in linked ﬁles

When you make changes to a linked image using the application that created it, the changes are applied to the Illustrator ﬁle when the link is updated. (See “

update links” on page 37.)

Note that if you replace a linked image with another image, any transformation attributes applied to it, such as scaling, rotating, or shearing, are retained and applied to the new image.

To edit a linked object from within the original ﬁle:

Do one of the following:

• Select the linked object, and choose Edit > Edit Original.

• Select a link in the Links palette display, and click the Edit Original button at the

bottom of the palette.

• Select a link in the Links palette display, and choose Edit Original from the Links

palette menu.

Specifying how to

Managing ﬁles with WebDAV

Illustrator supports the Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) server technology. Using this technology, you can connect to a WebDAV server, download and upload ﬁles, lock ﬁles so others cannot work on them at the same time as you, and add (upload) additional ﬁles (called assets) to the server. Use a WebDAV server to work in a collaborative environment without fear that ﬁles will be accidentally overwritten or updates lost.

About workgroup management

When working in a collaborative environment, users must share ﬁles. The process of passing ﬁles from one collaborator to another involves working with a workgroup. Controlling the hand-off—so that only one person can edit a ﬁle at any given time— is called workgroup management.

A WebDAV server provides workgroup management via the Web. When a ﬁle is managed by a WebDAV server, multiple users can download copies of the ﬁle, but only one user at a time can check out the ﬁle. The user who checks out the ﬁle can share his or her work with other users by updating the ﬁle on the server; however, other users can’t make changes to the managed ﬁle until it is checked in. This check out/check in system allows multiple users to access the same ﬁle but prevents users from overwriting each other’s work.

Getting started with workgroup management

To use the workgroup management features in Illustrator, you must be able to connect to a WebDAV server. You can ﬁnd detailed information and the latest news about WebDAV at www.webdav.org.

Important: Firewall software can interfere with the process of connecting to a WebDAV server. Check with your system administrator or refer to your ﬁrewall software documentation for information about setting options to access outside servers.

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Different WebDAV servers have different authentication requirements. Some servers require you to enter a user name and password for every transaction; other servers require authentication only the ﬁrst time you check out a managed ﬁle. When the Authentication dialog box appears, enter your user name and password, and click OK.

When adding a new server to the workgroup, you will need to provide a unique server nickname (this will appear in the Workgroup Servers list) and a URL for the server.

To set up a server for use with Illustrator:

1 Choose File > Manage Workgroup > Workgroup Servers.

2 Specify a folder in which you want to store local copies of managed ﬁles. To change the

default location, click Choose, and specify a different folder.

Note: The path you choose here is used for all servers you want to add. Changing this path does not change the location of ﬁles on existing servers.

3 Specify the WebDAV servers you want to use, or do one of the following:

• To add a new server to the list, click New Server, specify a server nickname and URL, and

click OK.

• To remove a server from the list, click Remove, and then click OK to the warning

message.

4 Click OK, or click Advanced Options to specify additional information about the server.

5 In the Advanced Options dialog box, select Use a Custom Workgroup Files Location for

This Server to set up a custom workgroup ﬁle repository for this collection of ﬁles; then click Choose or Select and specify a folder.

Note: This option is only available for adding a new server, not for existing servers.

6 To specify additional URLs by which you can access this server, type the alternate URL under Alternate Server URLs for This Server, and click Add. Currently, Illustrator stores the URL information, but does not use it to locate ﬁles.

7 To remove previously entered alternate URLs, select the URL and click Remove.

8 Click OK.

Opening managed ﬁles

To view a managed ﬁle, open a copy of the ﬁle from a WebDAV server. The File > Manage Workgroup > Open command creates a local copy of the ﬁle on your hard drive.

After you have a local copy of a ﬁle, you can update it with changes from the managed ﬁle on the server by using the Revert command (for checked out ﬁles), the Update command (for non-checked out ﬁles), or by setting an automatic update option in the Workgroup preferences (see “

Setting preferences for managed ﬁles” on page 45).

To open a managed ﬁle:

1 Choose File > Manage Workgroup > Open.

2 Select a server, a directory, and the ﬁle you want to open.

3 Do one of the following:

• Click Check Out if you want to open and check out at the same time. (See “Checking

ﬁles out and in” on page 43.)

• Click Open if you want to open a local copy without checking it out.

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To update or revert a local ﬁle to the version on the server:

1 Open your local copy of the ﬁle.

2 Do one of the following:

• If the ﬁle is checked out, choose File > Manage Workgroup > Revert.

• If the ﬁle is not checked out, choose File > Manage Workgroup > Update.

Checking ﬁles out and in

Checking out a ﬁle prevents other users from making changes to it on the WebDAV server. When you’re ﬁnished making edits, check in the ﬁle to update your changes to the server and release your lock on the managed ﬁle.

You can save changes to managed ﬁles that you have checked out. To save changes to managed ﬁles that you have not checked out, use the Save As command and add that new ﬁle to the workgroup server.

To check out a ﬁle:

Do one of the following:

• To check out the ﬁle that you already have open, choose File > Manage Workgroup >

Check Out.

• To open and check out a ﬁle at the same time, choose File > Manage Workgroup >

Open. Then, locate and select the ﬁle and click Check Out. (See “

Opening managed

ﬁles” on page 42.)

To check in a ﬁle:

Do one of the following:

• To check in the ﬁle and update changes to the server, choose File > Manage

Workgroup > Check In.

• To check in the ﬁle without updating changes to the server, choose File > Manage

Workgroup > Cancel Check Out.

Placing managed ﬁles

Use the File > Manage Workgroup > Place command to place a single, managed document as a link in a checked out managed ﬁle. You can place documents from the current workgroup server only. To manage links for managed ﬁles, see “

a WebDAV server” on page 43.

To place a managed ﬁle:

1 Make sure you are connected to the network and have access to the managed server.

2 Open the checked out version of a managed ﬁle.

3 Choose File > Manage Workgroup > Place; then select a ﬁle, and click Open.

Managing links on

Managing links on a WebDAV server

The Links palette contains information on both local (located on your hard disk) and managed links (located on a server).

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When you upload a local ﬁle to a managed server, you must also upload any linked ﬁles that it references. If you do not save the links to the same server, others who open the ﬁle will not have access to the links.

Important: To work with managed links, you must ﬁrst connect to the network and set up your workgroup server. (See “

Getting started with workgroup management” on page 41.)

To save links to a WebDAV server:

1 Select the link in the Links palette.

2 Choose Save Workgroup Link As from the Links palette menu. The links are saved to the

same server as the ﬁle in which they are placed.

To update or revert managed links to the latest version on the server:

1 Select the link in the Links palette.

2 Choose Update Link from the Links palette menu.

To determine if the local copy of a link matches the server version:

1 Select the link in the Links palette.

2 Choose Verify Workgroup Link from the Links palette menu. One of the following icons

appears next to the link in the Links palette:

• The local copy of the managed, linked ﬁle matches the version on the server.

• The local copy of the managed, linked ﬁle does not match the version on the server.

• Cannot ﬁnd a local copy of the managed ﬁle.

Uploading changes to the server

While you have a ﬁle checked out, you can upload changes to the managed ﬁle on the server. This allows you to share your work with other users without giving up your lock on the ﬁle.

To upload changes to the server:

1 Open your local copy of the ﬁle.

2 Choose File > Manage Workgroup > Upload to Server.

Adding ﬁles to the server

Adding a ﬁle to a WebDAV server initiates workgroup management for the ﬁle; in other words, you create a managed ﬁle by adding it to a server. You can add ﬁles to a server using the File > Manage Workgroup > Save or Save As commands. The Save command adds to the server a managed ﬁle that has been altered; the Save As command adds a previously unmanaged ﬁle to the server.

To add a ﬁle to a WebDAV server:

1 Open the ﬁle you want to add to the server.

2 Do one of the following:

• To add a managed, but currently checked out ﬁle to the server, choose File > Manage

Workgroup > Save.

• To add a ﬁle to a managed workgroup, choose File > Manage Workgroup > Save As.

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3 Choose a server from the pop-up menu; then locate the directory to which you want to

save the ﬁle.

4 Type in a ﬁle name in the Name text box, and choose a format from the Format pop-up menu.

Note: Be sure to specify a ﬁle extension if the ﬁle will be downloaded to a computer running a Windows operating system.

5 To check out the ﬁle, select Keep This File Checked Out for Editing.

6 Click Save.

Setting preferences for managed ﬁles

You can set preferences for opening managed ﬁles, including how they are checked out, how they are updated, and how links are updated. You can also set preferences for placing managed links.

To set preferences for opening managed ﬁles:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Workgroup (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > Workgroup (Mac OS X).

2 Select one of the following options for Check Out from Server:

• Ask to display a dialog box when you open a ﬁle that is not checked out.

• Never to open the local copy of the ﬁle without displaying a dialog box and without

checking it out.

• Always to automatically check out the ﬁle when you open it.

3 Select one of the following options for Update from Server, and click OK:

• Ask to display a dialog box asking if you want to download the latest version.

• Never to open the local copy of the ﬁle without displaying a dialog box and without

downloading the latest version of the ﬁle from the server.

• Always to automatically download the latest version of the ﬁle from the server.

4 Select one of the following options for Update Links from Server:

• Ask to display a dialog box asking if you want to download the latest versions of the

linked ﬁles.

• Never to open the local copy of the ﬁle without displaying a dialog box and without

updating links.

• Always to automatically update links when you open a ﬁle.

• Verify Only to check if links are broken or not the current version, and if so, display icons

next to the broken links in the Links palette.

To set preferences for placing managed links:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Workgroup (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > Workgroup (Mac OS X).

2 Select one of the following options for Update Links from Server:

• Always to automatically update links when you place a ﬁle.

• Ask to display a dialog box when you place a ﬁle that contains links.

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• Never to place the local copy of the ﬁle without displaying a dialog box and without

updating links.

To turn off workgroup functionality for this copy of Adobe Illustrator:

Choose Edit > Preferences > Workgroup (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > Workgroup (Mac OS X), and deselect Enable Workgroup Functionality.

Adding metadata to documents

Metadata, or ﬁle information, is descriptive information that can be searched and processed by a computer. Use it to provide information about the contents of a document and to preserve information about a document that will be opened in other Adobe applications.

You can add metadata to AI, PDF, or SVG ﬁle formats.

To add metadata to a document:

1 Choose File > File Info.

2 Select a category from the list on the left side of the dialog box, enter the desired

information, and click OK.

• General speciﬁes information about the document, such as title, author, and

description. To specify copyright information, select Yes from the Copyrighted pop-up menu. Then enter the copyright notice string and the URL of the person or company who owns the copyright.

• Keywords speciﬁes words that can be used to search for the document. To add a word

to the list, enter text in the Keyword text box and click Add. To edit or replace a word in the list, select the word, change the text in the Keyword text box, and click Replace.To delete a word from the list, select the word and click Delete.

• Summary speciﬁes status information for the document, including its creation data,

modiﬁcation data, and location. If the document is a managed ﬁle, the server location and checkout status also appears. You cannot edit Summary metadata.

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Adobe Illustrator Help Drawing

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Drawing

About paths

A path is made up of one or more straight or curved segments. T he beginning and end of each segment is marked by anchor points, which work like pins holding wire in place. You change the shape of a path by editing its anchor points. You can control curves by dragging the direction points at the end of direction lines that appear at anchor points.

A path is either open, like an arc, or closed, like a circle. For an open path, the starting and ending anchor points for the path are called endpoints.

Components of a path A. Selected (solid) endpoint B. Selected anchor point C. Curved path segment D. Direction line E. Direction point

Paths can have two kinds of anchor points—corner points and smooth points. At a corner point, a path abruptly changes direction. At a smooth point, path segments are connected as a continuous curve. You can draw a path using any combination of corner and smooth points. If you draw the wrong kind of point, you can always change it.

A B C

Points on a path

A. Four corner points B. Four smooth points C. Combination of corner and smooth points

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A corner point can connect any two straight or curved segments, while a smooth point always connects two curved segments.

A corner point can connect both straight segments and curved segments.

Changing a tool pointer

You can change the appearance of the pointer from the tool pointer to a cross hair for more precise control. When the pointer is a cross hair, more of your artwork is visible. This is convenient when you’re doing detailed drawing and editing.

To make a drawing tool pointer appear as a cross hair:

Do one of the following:

• Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > General (Mac OS X). Select Use Precise Cursors, and click OK.

• Press Caps Lock before you begin drawing with the tool.

Drawing and editing freeform paths

When you want to draw and edit freeform paths, use the pencil tool. You can also smooth out and erase segments of a freeform path with the smooth tool and erase tool.

Anchor points are set down as you draw with the pencil tool; you do not determine where they are positioned. However, you can adjust them once the path is complete. The number of anchor points set down is determined by the length and complexity of the path and by the tolerance values set in the Pencil Tool Preferences or Smooth Tool Preferences dialog box for either tool.

Drawing and editing with the pencil tool

The pencil tool lets you draw open and closed paths as if you were drawing with a pencil on paper. It is most useful for fast sketching or creating a hand-drawn look. Once you draw a path, you can immediately change it if needed.

Note: You can use these same methods to draw and edit brushed paths with the paintbrush tool.

To draw a freeform path with the pencil tool:

1 Select the pencil tool .

2 Position the pointer where you want the path to begin, and drag to draw a path.

The pencil tool displays a small x to indicate drawing a freeform path.

As you drag, a dotted line follows the pointer. Anchor points appear at both ends of the path and at various points along it. The path takes on the current paint attributes, and the path remains selected by default.

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3 To continue the existing freeform path, make sure the path is selected, and then

position the pencil tip on an endpoint of the path and drag.

To draw a closed path with the pencil tool:

1 Select the pencil tool.

2 Position the pointer where you want the path to begin, and start dragging to draw

a path.

3 As you drag, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS). The pencil tool displays with stripes to indicate drawing a closed path.

4 When the path is the size and shape you want, release the mouse button (but not the Alt or Option key). After the path closes, release the Alt or Option key.

To connect a new path to an existing path:

Select both paths; then Ctrl-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS) from the current path onto the endpoint of the other path.

To change a path with the pencil tool:

1 If the path you want to change is not selected, select it with the selection tool . Or

Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the path to select it.

2 Position the pencil tool on or near the path to redraw, and drag the tool until the path is the desired shape.

Using the pencil tool to edit a closed shape

Note: Depending on where you begin to redraw the path and in which direction you drag, you may get unexpected results. For example, you may unintentionally change a closed path to an open path, change an open path to a closed path, or lose a portion of a shape.

Smoothing the path with the smooth tool

The smooth tool lets you smooth out an existing stroke or section of a path. The smooth tool retains the original shape of the path as much as possible.

To use the smooth tool:

1 If the path to smooth is not selected, select it with the selection tool . Or Ctrl-click

(Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the path to select it.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select the smooth tool .

• When the pencil or paintbrush tool is selected, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option

(Mac OS) to change the pencil to the smooth tool.

3 Drag the tool along the length of the path segment you want to smooth out. The modiﬁed stroke or path may have fewer anchor points than the original.

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4 Continue smoothing until the stroke or path is the desired smoothness.

Erasing the path with the erase tool

The erase tool lets you remove a portion of an existing path or stroke. You can use the erase tool on paths (including brushed paths), but not on text or meshes.

To use the erase tool:

1 Select the erase tool .

2 Drag the tool along the length of the path segment you want to erase (not across the

path). For best results, use a single, smooth, dragging motion.

Anchor points are added to the ends of the new paths.

Setting preferences for the pencil and smooth tools

You can set preferences for the pencil tool and smooth tool. The preferences include tolerances that control how sensitive the pencil and smooth tools are to the movement of your mouse or graphics-tablet stylus, and whether you want the path to remain selected after you draw it.

The tolerance is calculated in number of pixels. The larger the number of pixels you specify, the smoother and less complex are the paths.

Note: You can also set preferences for the paintbrush tool (see “

brushed paths” on page 79), the pen tool (see “Drawing with the pen tool” on page 50),

the segment tools (see “ (see “

Drawing ﬂares” on page 65), and the grid tools (see “Drawing grids” on page 69),

To set preferences for the pencil tool and smooth tool:

1 Double-click the pencil tool or smooth tool .

2 Use the Fidelity and Smoothness sliders or enter values in the text boxes:

• Fidelity controls the distance (in pixels) in which curves can stray from the smoothed

mouse or tablet data when using the tool. The lower the ﬁdelity value, the more angular the curves; the higher the value, the smoother the curves.

• Smoothness controls the amount of smoothing (by percentage) applied when you use

the tool. The lower the smoothness value, the coarser the path appears; the higher the value, the smoother the path.

3 To keep the path selected after you draw it, select Keep Selected. This option is selected by default.

4 To edit a path only when you are within a certain distance of it, select Edit Selected Paths, and enter a distance.

5 Click OK.

Drawing line and arc segments” on page 67), and ﬂare tool

Drawing and editing

Drawing with the pen tool

Use the pen tool to draw a path that you can’t draw using the simpler drawing tools. The pen tool lets you create straight lines and smooth, ﬂowing curves with great precision.

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Drawing straight segments with the pen tool

The simplest path you can draw with the pen tool is a straight line, made by clicking the pen tool to create two anchor points. By continuing to click, you create a path made of straight line segments connected by corner points. To create independent line segments, see “

Drawing line and arc segments” on page 67.

To draw straight segments with the pen tool:

1 Select the pen tool .

2 Position the tip of the pen point where you want the straight segment to begin, and

click to deﬁne the ﬁrst anchor point (do not drag). The anchor point remains selected (solid) until you add the next point.

Note: The ﬁrst segment you draw will not be visible until you click a second anchor point. Also, if direction lines appear, you’ve accidentally dragged the pen tool; choose Edit > Undo and click again.

3 Click again where you want the segment to end. (Shift-click to constrain the segment’s angle to multiples of 45 degrees.) This creates another anchor point.

4 Continue clicking the pen tool to create additional straight segments.

The last anchor point you add appears as a solid square, indicating that it is selected. Existing anchor points become deselected as you add more anchor points.

5 Complete the path by doing one of the following:

• To close a path, position the pen pointer over the ﬁrst (hollow) anchor point. A small

loop appears next to the pen tool when it is positioned correctly. Click to close the path.

• To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere

away from all objects, or choose Select > Deselect, or select a different tool in the toolbox.

About direction lines and direction points

Before you draw and modify curved segments with the pen tool, it’s important to understand two elements that are associated with anchor points on curves. When you use the direct-selection tool to select an anchor point connecting curved segments, the segments display direction lines which end in direction points. The angle and length of the direction lines determine the shape and size of the curved segments. Moving the direction points reshapes the curves. Direction lines don’t print.

After selecting an anchor point (left), direction lines appear on any curved segments connected by the anchor point (right).

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A smooth point always has two direction lines which move together as a single, straight unit. When you drag the direction point of either direction line on a smooth point, both direction lines move simultaneously, maintaining a continuous curve at that anchor point.

In comparison, a corner point can have two, one, or no direction lines, depending on whether it joins two, one, or no curved segments, respectively. Corner point direction lines maintain the corner by using different angles. When you drag a direction point on a corner point’s direction line, the other direction line, if present, does not move.

Adjusting direction lines on a smooth point (left) and a corner point (right)

Direction lines are always tangent to (perpendicular to the radius of) the curve at the anchor points. The angle of each direction line determines the slope of the curve, and the length of each direction line determines the height, or depth, of the curve.

Moving and resizing direction lines changes the slopes of curves.

Drawing curved segments

You create curves by using the pen tool to add anchor points where a curve changes direction, and to drag the direction points that shape the curves. To draw individual curve segments, see “

Curves are easier to edit and your system can display and print them faster if you draw them using as few anchor points as possible. Using too many points can also introduce unwanted bumps in a curve. Instead, draw widely spaced anchor points, and practice shaping curves by adjusting the length and angles of the direction lines.

To draw a curved segment:

1 Select the pen tool .

2 Position the pen tip where you want the curve to begin. Hold down the mouse button.

The ﬁrst anchor point appears, and the pen tip changes to an arrowhead .

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Drawing line and arc segments” on page 67.

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3 Drag to set the slope of the curve segment you’re creating. In general, extend the

direction line about one third of the distance to the next anchor point you plan to draw. Shift-drag to constrain the direction line to multiples of 45 degrees.

A B C

Drawing the ﬁrst point in a curve A. Positioning pen tool B. Starting to drag (mouse button pressed) C. Dragging to extend direction lines

4 Release the mouse button.

Note: The ﬁrst segment will not be visible until you draw the second anchor point.

5 Position the pen tool where you want the curve segment to end, and then do one of the following:

• To create a “C”-shaped curve, drag in a direction opposite to the previous direction line.

B CA

Drawing the second point in a curve A. Starting to drag second smooth point B. Dragging away from previous direction line, creating a “C” curve C. Result after releasing mouse button

• To create an “S”-shaped curve, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line.

A B C

Drawing an S curve A. Starting to drag new smooth point B. Dragging in same direction as previous direction line, creating an “S” curve C. Result after releasing mouse button

6 Continue dragging the pen tool from different locations to create additional smooth points.

7 Complete the path by doing one of the following:

• To close the path, position the pen tool over the ﬁrst (hollow) anchor point. A small

loop appears next to the pen tip when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.

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• To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere

away from all objects, or choose Select > Deselect, or select a different tool in the toolbox.

Mixing curves, corners, and straight segments as you draw

You can freely alter point types and direction lines as you draw a path. This is useful for interactively drawing straight and curved segments on a single path, or when you want to draw two curved segments that are connected by a corner point.

To draw a straight segment followed by a curved segment:

1 Using the pen tool , click corner points in two locations to create a straight segment.

2 Position the pen tool over the selected endpoint. A convert-anchor-point icon

appears next to the pen tool when it is positioned correctly. Drag a direction point at an end of the direction line that appears, to set the slope of the curved segment you’ll create next.

A CB D

Drawing a mixed segment (part 1)

A. Straight segment completed B. Positioning pen tool over endpoint C. Beginning to drag D. Dragging direction point

3 Click or drag the third anchor point to complete the curve.

A B C

Drawing a mixed segment (part 2)

A. Holding pen tool down B. Dragging direction point C. New curve segment completed

To draw a curved segment followed by a straight segment:

1 Using the pen tool, drag to create the ﬁrst smooth point of the curved segment.

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2 Reposition the pen tool where you want the curved segment to end, drag to complete

the curve, and release the mouse button.

Drawing a curved segment

3 Position the pen tool over the selected endpoint. A convert-anchor-point icon appears next to the pen tool when it is positioned correctly. Click the anchor point to convert the smooth point to a corner point.

A B C

Drawing a mixed segment (part 1)

A. Positioning pen tool over existing endpoint B. Clicking endpoint C. Result after clicking

4 Click the next corner point to complete the straight segment.

Drawing a mixed segment (part 2)

To draw two curved segments connected by a corner:

1 Using the pen tool, drag to create the ﬁrst smooth point of a curved segment.

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2 Reposition the pen tool, drag to create a curve with a second smooth point, and then

press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag the direction point to set the slope of the next curve. Then release the key and the mouse button. This converts the smooth point to a corner point by splitting the direction lines.

A B C

Drawing two curves A. Dragging a new smooth point B. Pressing Alt/Option to split direction lines while dragging, and swinging direction point up C. Result after releasing mouse button

3 Reposition the pen tool where you want the second curved segment to end, and drag a new smooth point to complete the second curved segment.

Dragging a new smooth point (left) to complete the second segment (right)

Adjusting path segments

You can change the shape of a path by adding, deleting, or moving the path’s anchor points. To adjust a curved segment, you move one or more of its anchor points or direction points. You can also adjust a path by converting smooth points to corner points and vice versa.

Adding, deleting, and converting anchor points

You can add or delete anchor points on any path. Additional anchor points can give you more control over the path, or extend an open path. You can also connect two open paths. Similarly, you can delete anchor points to change the shape of a path or to simplify the path. It’s a good idea to delete any unnecessary points to reduce the complexity of the path.

You can use the Path Simplify command to remove extra anchor points on a path without changing the path’s shape. (See “

The pen tool automatically changes to the add-anchor-point tool or the delete-anchorpoint tool as you position it over a selected path. The add-anchor-point tool adds the necessary type of point (corner or smooth) to preserve the existing shape of the path.

Note: You must delete anchor points by using the delete-anchor-point tool or the Path Simplify command. The Delete, Backspace, and Clear keys and the Edit > Cut or Edit > Clear commands always delete the entire path even if you select an anchor point on the path.

Simplifying paths” on page 61.)

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To add or delete an anchor point:

1 Using the direct-selection tool , select the paths to which you want to add or delete

anchor points.

2 Select the pen tool , add-anchor-point tool , or delete-anchor-point tool . All of these tools share the same location in the toolbox; if necessary, position the pointer over the pen tool and drag to choose the tool you want.

3 Do one of the following:

• To add an anchor point using either the pen tool or the add-anchor-point tool ,

position the pointer over a path segment and click.

• To delete an anchor point using either the pen tool or the delete-anchor-point tool,

position the pointer over an anchor point and click.

To extend an open path or connect two open paths:

1 Using the pen tool, position the pointer over the endpoint of the open path you want

to extend. A small slash appears next to the pointer when it’s precisely positioned over the endpoint.

2 Click the endpoint.

3 Do one of the following:

• To create a corner point, position the pen tool where you want to end the new segment,

and click. If you are extending a path that ends at a smooth point, the new segment will be curved by the existing direction line.

• To create a smooth point, position the pen tool where you want to end the new curved

segment, and drag.

• To connect the path to another open path, click an endpoint on the other path. When

you position the pen tool over the other path’s endpoint, a small hollow point appears next to the pointer when it’s precisely positioned.

To override automatic switching to the add- or delete-anchor-point tools:

Hold down Shift as you position the pen tool over the selected path or an anchor point. This is useful when you want to start a new path on top of an existing path. To prevent Shift from constraining the pen tool, release Shift before you release the mouse button.

To turn off automatic adding or deleting of anchor points:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > General (Mac OS X).

2 Under General Options, click Disable Auto Add/Delete to turn off the option. Then click OK.

To add anchor points using the Add Anchor Points command:

With the selection tool , select the object and choose Object > Path > Add Anchor Points.

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To convert between smooth points and corner points using the convert-anchorpoint tool:

1 Using the direct-selection tool, select the path you want to modify.

To switch to the convert-anchor-point tool while the pen tool is selected, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS).

2 Select the convert-anchor-point tool.

3 Position the convert-anchor-point tool over the anchor point you want to convert, and

do one of the following:

• To convert a corner point to a smooth point, drag a direction point out of the corner

point.

Dragging direction point out of a corner point to create a smooth point

• To convert a smooth point to a corner point without direction lines, click a smooth

point.

Clicking a smooth point to create a corner point

• To convert a corner point without direction lines to a corner point with independent

direction lines, ﬁrst drag a direction point out of a corner point (making it a smooth point with direction lines). Release the mouse button only (don’t release any keys you may have pressed to activate the convert-anchor-point tool), and then drag either direction point.

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• To convert a smooth point to a corner point with independent direction lines, drag

either direction point.

Converting a smooth point to a corner point

To temporarily switch from the convert-anchor-point tool to the last used selection tool, press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS).

Adjusting straight and curved segments

You can modify the shape of a path by moving any of its anchor points or by moving the direction points of direction lines attached to a curve segment. Editing existing segments is slightly different from drawing them. Keep the following guidelines in mind as you adjust existing segments:

• If an anchor point connects two segments, moving that anchor point always changes

both segments.

• When drawing with the pen tool, you can temporarily activate the last used selection

tool by holding down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) so that you can adjust segments you’ve already drawn.

• When you draw a smooth point with the pen tool, dragging the direction point

changes the length of the direction line on both sides of the point. However, when you edit an existing smooth point with the direct-selection tool, you change the length of the direction line only on the side you’re dragging.

To adjust a straight segment:

With the direct-selection tool , drag the anchor point on either end of a segment. Shift-drag to constrain the adjustment to multiples of 45 degrees.

If you’re simply trying to make a rectangle wider or narrower, it’s easier to select it with the selection tool and resize it using one of the handles on the sides of its

bounding box.

To adjust a curved segment:

1 Using the direct-selection tool , select the anchor point on either end of a curved

segment. Direction lines appear on the anchor point and on the adjacent anchor points, if present (some curved segments use just one direction line).

2 Do one of the following:

• Drag the anchor point. Shift-drag to constrain movement to multiples of 45 degrees.

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• Drag a direction point. If you’re adjusting a smooth point’s direction lines, both

direction lines revolve around the anchor point. Shift-drag to constrain the direction line angle to multiples of 45 degrees.

To split the direction lines of a smooth point, use the convert-anchor-point tool to drag them.

Using the reshape tool

The reshape tool lets you select one or more anchor points and sections of paths and then lets you adjust the selected points and paths globally. You can use the reshape tool to adjust paths containing many points while keeping the overall detail of the path intact. For example, if you have a drawing of a leaf with scallops along both edges, the reshape tool allows you to bend the leaf, keeping its overall smoothness, while retaining the scallops.

Points selected by the reshape tool are highlighted with small squares. When you drag anchor points, any paths containing regularly selected anchor points are smoothly distorted as if they were being pulled by the highlighted anchor points. Unselected anchor points remain in place.

To adjust a path using the reshape tool:

1 Use any selection tool or drag a marquee to select the anchor points of the paths that

you want to reshape. Deselect any points that you want to remain in place. (See “

Selecting

objects” on page 97.)

2 Select the reshape tool .

3 Position the cursor over the anchor point or path segment that you want to act as a

focal point (that is, a point that pulls selected path segments), and click the anchor point. If you click a path segment, a highlighted anchor point is added to the path.

4 Shift-click more anchor points or path segments to act as focal points. You can highlight an unlimited number of anchor points or path segments.

5 Drag the highlighted anchor points to adjust the path. The amount of movement of a given path segment is in proportion to its distance from a highlighted point:

• Selected points that act as the focal point move with the selection tool during

dragging.

• Selected points that aren’t the focal point move in proportion to the dragged focal

point.

• Unselected anchor points are not affected by reshaping.

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Simplifying paths

The Path Simplify command removes extra anchor points from a path without changing the shape of the path.

Original (left) and simpliﬁed (right) path

To simplify a path:

1 Select the path.

2 Choose Object > Path > Simplify.

3 For Curve Precision, enter a value between 0% and 100% to set how closely the

simpliﬁed path should follow the original path. A higher percentage creates more points and a closer ﬁt. Any existing anchor points are ignored except for endpoints of a curve and corner points (unless you enter a value for Angle Threshold).

4 For Angle Threshold, enter a value between 0 and 180 degrees to control the smoothness of corners. If the angle of a corner point is less than the angle threshold, the corner point is not changed. This option helps keep corners sharp, even if the value for Curve Precision is low.

5 Select any of the following options:

• Select Straight Lines to create straight lines between the object’s original anchor points.

Corner points are removed if they have an angle greater than the value set in Angle Threshold.

• Select Show Original to show the original path behind the simpliﬁed path.

• Select Preview to show a preview of the simpliﬁed path and list the number of points in

the original and simpliﬁed paths.

Splitting paths with the scissors tool

You may want to split paths that you have already created or that were created using the auto trace tool. Using the scissors tool, you can split an open path into two paths and split a closed path so that it becomes one or more open paths. You cannot split a type path.

To split a path and adjust it:

1 Select the path to see its current anchor points. (See “

2 Select the scissors tool .

3 Click the path where you want to split it.

Selecting objects” on page 97.)

When you split the path in the middle of a segment, two new endpoints are coincident (one on top of the other), and one endpoint is selected.

When you split the path at an anchor point, a new anchor point appears on top of the original anchor point, and one anchor point is selected.

4 Use the direct-selection tool to adjust the new anchor point or path segment.

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Averaging anchor points

The Average command lets you move two or more anchor points (on the same path or on different paths) to a position that is the average of their current locations.

To average anchor points:

1 Use the direct-selection tool to select two or more anchor points. (See “

objects” on page 97.)

2 Choose Object > Path > Average.

3 Choose to average along both axes, or the horizontal (x) axis only, or the vertical (y) axis

only, and click OK.

Selecting

Joining endpoints

The Join command connects the endpoints of an open path to create a closed path or joins the endpoints of two open paths.

If you join two coincident endpoints (endpoints on top of each other), they are replaced with a single anchor point. If you join two noncoincident endpoints, a path is drawn between the two points.

To join two endpoints:

1 Use the direct-selection tool to select the endpoints. (See “

page 97.) If the endpoints are coincident (on top of each other), drag a marquee through

both endpoints to select them.

2 Choose Object > Path > Join. A line is drawn, joining the two endpoints.

3 If the endpoints are coincident, select the Corner option (the default) or the Smooth

option to specify the type of join you want.

4 Click OK.

Selecting objects” on

Drag a marquee through the coincident anchor points to select them (left), and choose the Join command (right).

Drawing shapes

You can create many objects in Adobe Illustrator by starting with basic shapes. The tools in Illustrator let you easily create rectangles, ellipses, polygons, spirals, and stars.

Drawing rectangles and ellipses

Adobe Illustrator provides two rectangle tools and one ellipse tool that let you quickly create these common graphic objects:

• The rectangle, rounded-rectangle, and ellipse tools let you draw rectangles (including

squares) and ellipses (including circles) by dragging from one corner of the rectangle or edge of the ellipse to the opposite corner or edge.

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• When a rectangle tool or the ellipse tool is selected, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option

(Mac OS) to draw rectangles and ellipses by dragging from the center of the rectangle or ellipse outward.

When you create an object with a rectangle or the ellipse tool, a center point appears in the object. You can use this point to drag the object or to align the object with other elements in your artwork. The center point can be made visible or invisible, but it cannot be deleted.

To create a rectangle or ellipse by dragging from an edge:

1 Select the rectangle tool , the rounded-rectangle tool , or the ellipse tool .

2 Position the pointer at one corner or edge of the shape you want to create, and drag

diagonally until the shape is the desired size.

3 As you drag, you can do either of the following:

• To constrain the tool to multiples of 45 degrees, creating squares with the rectangle

tool and circles with the ellipse tool, Shift-drag.

• To move a rectangle or ellipse as you draw it, hold down the spacebar.

• To create multiple rectangles or ellipses, hold down ~ (tilde).

To adjust corners of a rounded rectangle as you draw:

1 Select the rounded-rectangle tool.

2 Position the pointer where you want the rectangle to begin, and start dragging

diagonally.

3 As you drag, you can do any of the following:

• Press or hold down Up Arrow or Down Arrow to change the corner radius. When the

corners are the desired roundness, release Up Arrow or Down Arrow.

• Press Left Arrow to change to the minimum radius (most angular corners).

• Press Right Arrow to change to the maximum radius (most rounded corners).

4 Continue dragging with the rectangle tool until the rectangle is the desired size.

To create a rectangle or ellipse by dragging from the center:

1 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) with the rectangle tool, rounded-rectangle

tool, or ellipse tool selected.

2 Position the pointer where you want the center of the shape to be, and drag diagonally to any corner or edge until the shape is the desired size. Shift-drag to constrain the tool to multiples of 45 degrees.

To draw a rectangle or ellipse by specifying dimensions:

1 Select a rectangle tool or the ellipse tool.

2 Click in the artwork to set the origin from which you want to create the shape. To draw

rectangles and ellipses from the center of the point of origin, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS).

By default, the Rectangle and Ellipse dialog boxes display the dimensions of the last rectangle or ellipse drawn. The unit of measure is determined by the unit of measure set in the Document Setup or Units & Undo Preferences dialog box.

3 In the Width text box, enter the width you want the shape to be.

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4 In the Height text box, enter the height you want the shape to be, and click OK.

To create a square or circle, enter a value in the Width text box and then click the word Height; this copies the width value to the Height text box.

If you are drawing a rounded rectangle, enter the corner radius value you want the rectangle to have. The corner radius value represents the radius of a hypothetical circle drawn in the corner of the rectangle or square. The default corner radius is 12 points. A corner radius of 0 creates square corners.

Note: The corner style of the rectangle or square you draw is determined by the corner radius value you specify in either the Rectangle or General Preferences dialog box. Specifying a corner radius value in either dialog box updates the value in the other dialog box.

To display or hide the center points:

1 Choose Window > Attributes.

2 In the Attributes palette, click either the Show Center button or the Don’t Show

Center button .

Drawing polygons

The polygon tool draws an object with a speciﬁed number of sides of equal length, each side being the same distance from the center of the object.

To draw a polygon by dragging:

1 Select the polygon tool .

2 Position the pointer at the center of the polygon you want to create, and drag until the

polygon is the desired size.

3 As you drag, do any of the following:

• Drag the pointer in an arc to rotate the polygon.

• Shift-drag to constrain the tool to multiples of 45 degrees or to the angle speciﬁed in

the Constrain Angle text box in the General Preferences dialog box.

• Hold down the spacebar to move the polygon.

• Press or hold down Up Arrow or Down Arrow to add or delete sides to the polygon.

• Hold down ~ (tilde) to create multiple polygons.

To draw a polygon by specifying dimensions:

1 Select the polygon tool.

2 Click where you want to place the center of the polygon.

By default, the Polygon dialog box displays the dimensions of the last polygon you drew. The unit of measure is determined by the unit of measure set in the Document Setup or Units & Undo Preferences dialog box.

3 In the Radius text box, enter the distance from the center point to each line’s endpoint.

4 Click the arrows or enter the number of sides in the Sides text box, and click OK.

Drawing stars

The star tool creates a star-shaped object with a given number of points and size.

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To draw a star by dragging:

1 Select the star tool .

2 Position the pointer at the center of the star you want to create, and drag until the star

is the desired size.

3 As you drag, you can do any of the following:

• Drag the pointer in an arc to rotate the star.

• Shift-drag to constrain the tool to multiples of 45 degrees.

• Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) to hold the inner radius constant.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to keep the sides of the star straight.

• Hold down the spacebar to move the star.

• Press or hold down Up Arrow or Down Arrow to add or delete sides to the star.

• Hold down ~ (tilde) to create multiple stars.

To draw a star by specifying dimensions:

1 Select the star tool.

2 Click where you want to place the center of the star. By default, the Star dialog box

displays the dimensions of the last star you drew. The unit of measure is determined by the unit of measure set in the Document Setup or Units & Undo Preferences dialog box.

3 In the Radius 1 text box, enter the distance from the center to the innermost points.

4 In the Radius 2 text box, enter the distance from the center to the outermost points.

5 Click the arrows or enter the number of sides to the star in the Points text box, and

click OK.

Drawing ﬂares

The ﬂare tool creates ﬂare objects with a bright center, a halo, and rays and rings. Use this tool to create an effect similar to a lens ﬂare in a photograph.

Flares include a center handle and an end handle. Use the handles to position the ﬂare and its rings. The center handle is in the bright center of the ﬂare—the ﬂare path begins from this point.

Flares look best when drawn over existing objects.

BC D EA

Components of a ﬂare

A. Rays B. Halo C. Center handle D. Rings E. End handle

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To create a ﬂare using default settings:

1 Select the ﬂare tool .

2 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click where you want the ﬂare to appear.

To create a ﬂare using the Flare Options dialog box:

1 Select the ﬂare tool, and click where you want the ﬂare to appear.

2 Specify the options you want in the Flare Options dialog box, and click OK.

To reset a ﬂare to the default values:

1 Select the ﬂare, and double-click the ﬂare tool icon to open the Flare Options

dialog box.

2 Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click Reset.

To draw a ﬂare:

1 Select the ﬂare tool.

2 Click to place the center handle of the ﬂare. Then drag to set the size of the center,

the size of the halo, and to rotate the angle of the rays.

3 Before releasing the mouse, do any of the following:

• Press Shift to constrain the rays to a set angle.

• Press Up Arrow to add rings.

• Press Down Arrow to remove rings.

• Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drag to hold the center of the ﬂare

constant.

• Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drag to hold the center of the ﬂare

constant.

• Press ~ (tilde) as you drag to redraw the rings in a different random arrangement.

Each element (center, halo, rings, and rays) in the ﬂare is ﬁlled with color at different opacity settings.

To edit a ﬂare:

Do any of the following:

• Select the ﬂare, and double-click the ﬂare tool icon to open the Flare Options dialog

box. Change settings in the dialog box.

• Select the ﬂare and the ﬂare tool. Drag an end point—from either the center handle or

the end handle—to change the length or direction of the ﬂare.

• Select the ﬂare, and choose Object > Expand. This makes the elements of the ﬂare

editable, like elements of blends.

To specify ﬂare tool options:

1 Double-click the ﬂare tool.

2 Specify the overall diameter, opacity, and brightness of the ﬂare’s center:

3 Specify the Growth of the halo as a percentage of the overall size, and specify the

fuzziness (0 is crisp and 100 is fuzzy) of the halo.

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4 If you want the ﬂare to contain rays, select Rays and specify the number of rays, the

longest ray (as a percentage of the average ray), and the fuzziness (0 is crisp and 100 is fuzzy) of the rays.

5 If you want the ﬂare to contain rings, select Rings and specify the distance of the path between the halo’s center point (center handle) and the center point of the furthest ring (end handle), the number of rings, the largest ring (as a percentage of the average ring), and the direction or angle of the rings.

6 When setting options to edit an existing ﬂare, select Preview to view the ﬁnal effect on the selected ﬂare using the current settings.

7 Click OK.

Drawing line and arc segments

Use the line and arc segment tools to quickly and easily create individual lines and arcs by dragging. The Line and Arc Segment dialog boxes display the values of the last segment created. You can reset to the default values in the dialog box by pressing Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and clicking Reset.

To draw a line segment:

1 Select the line segment tool , click where you want the line to begin, and drag to

where you want the line to end.

2 As you drag, do any of the following:

• Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to extend the line from both sides of the origin

point.

• Press the spacebar to move the line as you draw.

• Press `(grave accent) to create multiple line segments as you move the mouse.

• Press ~ (tilde) to constrain multiple lines to 45˚ angles.

• Press Shift to constrain a single line to 45˚.

To draw a line segment by specifying properties:

1 Select the line segment tool, and click where you want to place the segment.

2 In the Line Segment dialog box, enter the length and angle you want.

3 Select Fill Line if you want the line to use the current ﬁll color (otherwise the ﬁll is set

to none).

4 Click OK.

To draw an arc segment:

1 Select the arc segment tool , click where you want the arc to begin, and drag to create

an arc.

2 As you drag, do any of the following:

• Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to extend the arc from both sides of the origin

point.

• Press the spacebar to move the arc as you draw.

• Press `(grave accent) to create multiple arc segments as you move the mouse.

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• Press C to switch between an open and closed arc.

• Press F to ﬂip the arc, keeping the origin point constant.

• Press Up Arrow or Down Arrow to increase or decrease the arc’s angle.

To draw an arc segment by specifying properties:

1 Select the arc segment tool, and click where you want to place the segment.

2 In the Arc Segment dialog box, enter the options you want.

3 Select Fill Line if you want the line to use the current ﬁll color (otherwise the ﬁll is set

to none).

4 Click OK.

Note: The square icon to the right of the Length X-Axis option sets the origin point for the arc. To change the origin point, click the square on any of the four corners.

Drawing spirals

The spiral tool creates a spiral-shaped object of a given radius and number of winds; that is, the number of turns that the spiral completes from start to ﬁnish.

To draw a spiral by dragging:

1 Select the spiral tool .

2 Position the pointer at the center of the spiral you want to create, and drag until the

spiral is the desired size.

3 As you drag, you can do any of the following:

• Drag the pointer in an arc to rotate the spiral.

• Shift-drag to constrain the tool to multiples of 45 degrees or to the angle speciﬁed in

the Constrain Angle text box in the General Preferences dialog box.

• Hold down the spacebar to move the spiral.

• Press or hold down Up Arrow or Down Arrow to add or delete winds.

• Press ~ (tilde) to create multiple spirals.

To draw a spiral by specifying dimensions:

1 Select the spiral tool, and click where you want to place the center of the spiral.

By default, the Spiral dialog box displays the dimensions of the last spiral you drew. The unit of measure is determined by the unit of measure set in the Document Setup or Units & Undo Preferences dialog box.

2 In the Radius text box, enter the distance from the center to the outermost point in the spiral.

3 In the Decay text box, enter the amount by which each wind of the spiral should decrease relative to the previous wind.

4 Click the arrows or enter the number of segments in the Segments text box. Each full wind of the spiral consists of four segments.

5 For Style, select the counterclockwise or clockwise option to specify the direction of the spiral, and click OK.

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Drawing grids

Use the grid tools to quickly draw rectangular or polar grids. Specify the grid size and the number of dividers, and then drag to create the grid anywhere on the artboard. The rectangular grid tool creates rectangular grids of a speciﬁed size with a speciﬁed number of dividers. The polar grid tool creates concentric circles of a speciﬁed size and a speciﬁed number of dividers.

Drawing rectangular grids

You can draw rectangular grids by dragging or by setting speciﬁc grid parameters in the Rectangular Grid Tool Options dialog box.

To draw a rectangular grid:

1 Select the rectangular grid tool , and drag diagonally.

2 As you drag, do any of the following:

• Press Shift to constrain the grid to a square.

• Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to extend the grid from all sides of the origin

point.

• Press Shift + Alt (Windows) or Shift + Option (Mac OS) to constrain the grid to a square

as it extends from the origin point.

• Press the spacebar to move the grid as you draw.

• Hold down ~ (tilde) to create multiple grids.

3 To adjust the grid’s dividers, do any of the following as you drag:

• Press Up Arrow or Down Arrow to add or remove horizontal lines.

• Press Right Arrow or Left Arrow to add or remove vertical lines.

• Press F to decrease the logarithmic skew value for the horizontal dividers by 10%.

• Press V to increase the logarithmic skew value for the horizontal dividers by 10%.

• Press X to decrease the logarithmic skew value for the vertical dividers by 10%.

• Press C to increase the logarithmic skew value for the vertical dividers by 10%.

To create a rectangular grid by specifying properties:

1 Select the rectangular grid tool , and click in the artboard to set the grid’s origin point

and display the Rectangular Grid Tool Options dialog box.

2 In the Rectangular Grid Tool Options dialog box, do any of the following and then click OK:

• For Default Size, enter Width and Height values for the entire grid. Then click a corner of

the Origin Point icon to determine the point from where the grid is drawn.

• For Horizontal Dividers, enter the number of horizontal dividers you want to appear

between the top and bottom of the grid. Then enter a Skew value to determine how the horizontal dividers are weighted to one side or the other.

• For Vertical Dividers, enter the number of dividers you want to appear between the left

and right sides of the grid. Then enter a Skew value to determine how the vertical dividers are weighted toward the top or bottom of the grid.

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• Select Use Outside Rectangle As A Frame to replace the top, bottom, left, and right

segments with a separate rectangular object.

• Select Fill Grid to ﬁll the grid with the current ﬁll color (otherwise, the ﬁll is set to none).

Drawing polar grids

You draw polar grids by dragging or by setting speciﬁc grid parameters in the Polar Grid Tool Options dialog box.

To draw a polar grid:

1 Select the polar grid tool , and drag diagonally.

2 As you drag, do any of the following:

• Press Shift to constrain the grid to a circle.

• Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to extend the grid from all sides of the origin

point.

• Press Shift + Alt (Windows) or Shift + Option (Mac OS) to constrain it to a circle as it

extends from the origin point.

• Press the spacebar to move the grid as you draw.

• Hold down ~ (tilde) to create multiple polar grids.

3 To adjust the grid’s dividers, do any of the following as you drag:

• Press Up Arrow or Down Arrow to add or remove concentric circles.

• Press Right Arrow or Left Arrow to add or remove radial lines.

• Press X to change the logarithmic skew value for the concentric dividers inward by 10%.

• Press C to change the logarithmic skew value for the concentric dividers outward

by 10%.

• Press F to change the logarithmic skew value for the radial dividers counterclockwise

by 10%.

• Press V to change the logarithmic skew value for the radial dividers clockwise by 10%.

To create a polar grid by specifying properties:

1 Select the polar grid tool , and click where you want to create the grid’s origin point

and open the Polar Grid Tool Options dialog box.

2 In the Polar Grid Tool Options dialog box, do any of the following and then click OK:

• For Default Size, enter Width and Height values for the entire grid. Then click a corner of

the Origin Point icon to determine the point from where the grid is drawn.

• For Concentric Dividers, enter the number of circular concentric dividers you want to

appear in the grid. Then enter a Skew value to determine how the concentric dividers are weighted toward the inside or outside of the grid.

• For Radial Dividers, enter the number of radial dividers you want to appear between the

center and the circumference of the grid. Then enter a Skew value to determine how the radial dividers are weighted counterclockwise or clockwise on the grid.

• Select Create Compound Path From Ellipses to convert the concentric circles into a

separate compound path and ﬁll every other circle.

• Select Fill Grid to ﬁll the grid with the current ﬁll color (otherwise, the ﬁll is set to none).

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Wo r king with symbols

A symbol is an art object that you store in the Symbols palette and reuse in a document. For example, if you create a symbol from a ﬂower, you can then add instances of that symbol multiple times to your artwork without actually adding the complex art multiple times. Each symbol instance is linked to the symbol in the palette. If you use the same artwork multiple times within a document, symbols can save time and greatly reduce ﬁle size. Symbols also provide excellent support for SWF and SVG export.

After you create a symbol, you can edit the symbol’s instances on the artboard and, if you want, redeﬁne the original symbol with the edits. Symbolism tools let you add and manipulate multiple symbol instances at once. (See “

Using the Symbols palette

Use the Symbols palette to store, manage, and place symbols.

To open the Symbols palette:

Choose Window > Symbols.

To display the Symbols palette menu:

Using symbolism tools” on page 73.)

Click the triangle at the upper right corner of the palette.

To change the view of symbols in the Symbols palette:

Choose one of the following from the Symbols palette menu: Thumbnail View, Small List View, or Large List View.

Note: You can arrange the listings alphabetically by choosing Sort by Name.

Creating symbols

You can create symbols from any Illustrator art object, including paths, compound paths, text, r aster images, mesh objects, and groups of objects. (However, you cannot use nonembedded placed art as a symbol, nor can you use some groups, such as groups of graphs.) Symbols may also include active objects, such as brush strokes, blends, effects, or other symbol instances in a symbol. You can use the Symbols palette as a database for your artwork—to recover the original deﬁnition with all of its active elements, simply expand a symbol instance.

You can modify the symbol instances and automatically update the original symbol art with your edits. To create new symbols from existing symbols, duplicate a symbol and edit it.

To create a symbol:

1 Select the artwork you want to use as a symbol.

2 Do one of the following:

• Drag the artwork to the Symbols palette. Press Shift as you drag if you want the selected

artwork to become an instance of the newly created symbol.

• Click the New Symbol button in the Symbols palette.

• Choose New Symbol from the Symbols palette menu.

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To duplicate a symbol in the Symbols palette:

In the Symbols palette, do one of the following:

• Drag a symbol to the New Symbol button.

• Select a symbol, and choose Duplicate Symbol from the Symbols palette menu.

Placing symbol instances

You place instances of symbols in your document in one of two ways: using the Symbols palette to place individual instances of a symbol, or using the symbol sprayer tool to create multiple symbol instances as a set. When you use the symbol sprayer, all of the symbols that appear from each spray become one instance set that you manipulate and edit as a whole. (See “

Symbol instances placed using the Symbols palette are exact replicas of the original. When selected in the artboard, symbol instances have a bounding box around them, similar to grouped artwork.

To place a symbol instance using the Symbols palette:

1 Select a symbol from the palette.

Using symbolism tools” on page 73.)

2 Do one of the following:

• Click the Place Symbol Instance button in the Symbols palette to place the instance in

the center of the artboard.

• Drag the symbol to the artboard where you want it to appear.

• Choose Place Symbol Instance from the Symbols palette menu.

To duplicate a symbol instance:

1 Select the instance on the artboard.

2 Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the symbol instance to another location

on the artboard.

Deleting symbols and symbol instances

You can easily delete the symbol from the palette. You can also choose to delete or expand any instances of the symbol.

To delete a symbol in the Symbols palette:

1 In the Symbols palette, do one of the following:

• Select a symbol and click the Delete Symbol button .

• Drag a symbol icon to the Delete Symbol button.

• Select a symbol and choose Delete Symbol from the Symbols palette menu.

2 To avoid deleting existing symbol instances (if any were created), select Expand Instances in the message that appears.

To select all instances of a symbol in the document:

Select a symbol in the Symbols palette, and then choose Select All Instances in the palette menu.

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To select all unused symbols in the Symbols palette:

Choose Select All Unused in the Symbols palette menu.

Modifying and redeﬁning symbols and symbol instances

You can move, scale, rotate, shear (or skew), or reﬂect a symbol instance using commands in the Object menu or in the Transform or Align palettes. You can also perform any operation from the Transparency, Appearance, and Styles palettes and apply any effect from the Effect menu.

After you modify an instance, you can redeﬁne the original symbol in the Symbols palette using the modiﬁed artwork. When you redeﬁne a symbol, all existing symbol instances take on the new deﬁnition. If you don’t want a symbol instance to take on the new deﬁnition, break the link between the symbol and that particular symbol instance.

To modify and redeﬁne a symbol:

1 Select an instance of the symbol on the artboard.

2 Click the Break Link button in the Symbols palette.

3 Edit the artwork.

4 Do one of the following:

• Make sure the symbol you want to redeﬁne is selected in the Symbols palette, and

choose Redeﬁne from the Symbols palette menu.

• Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the modiﬁed symbol on top of the old

symbol in the Symbols palette. The symbol is replaced in the Symbols palette and is updated in the current ﬁle.

To modify one symbol instance:

Select the symbol instance on the artboard, and edit it.

Associating a new symbol with an instance:

1 Select the symbol instance on the artboard.

2 Select a new symbol in the Symbols palette.

3 Do one of the following:

• Click the Replace Symbol button .

• Choose Replace Symbol from the Symbols palette menu.

Using symbolism tools

Symbols are art objects you create and store in the Symbols palette (see “Working with

symbols” on page 71). Use symbolism tools to create and edit symbol instances or sets of

symbol instances. Sets of instances are created using the symbol sprayer tool (see “

the symbol sprayer tool” on page 75). You can create mixed sets of symbol instances by

using the symbol sprayer tool with one symbol and then using it again with another symbol.

Using

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Symbolism tools affect only the symbol or symbols selected in the Symbols palette. For example, if you create a mixed symbol instance set that represents a meadow with grass and ﬂowers, you can change the orientation of just the grass by selecting the grass symbol in the Symbols palette and then using the symbol spinner tool. To change the size of both the grass and the ﬂowers, select both symbols in the Symbols palette and then use the symbol sizer tool.

Note: When you select a mixed symbol instance set on the artboard, the symbol instance most recently added to the set is automatically selected in the Symbols palette.

You can use symbolism tools to change the density, color, location, size, rotation, transparency, or style of symbol sets.

BA C

Symbol features A. Symbols palette B. Symbol instance C. Symbol instance set

After you select one symbolism tool, you can quickly switch between tools using the interactive tool menu. You can also switch between symbolism tools and set options for different symbolism tools within the Symbolism Tool Options dialog box.

Setting options for symbolism tools

Symbolism tools have many options in common with each other, such as diameter, intensity, and density. Tool options specify the setting for symbols that are currently selected or that will be created or edited.

To set options for symbolism tools:

1 Double-click a symbolism tool in the toolbox.

You can click the other tool icons in the Symbolism Tools Options dialog box and set options for those tools without leaving the dialog box.

2 For Diameter, enter a value for the tool’s brush size.

At any time while using a symbolism tool, press [ to decrease the diameter or ] to increase it.

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3 For Intensity, enter a value to specify the rate of change (higher values equal faster

changes), or select Use Pressure Pen to use the input from a tablet or pen instead of the Intensity value.

At any time while using a symbolism tool, press Shift+[ to decrease the intensity or Shift+] to increase it.

4 For Symbol Set Density, enter an attraction value for the symbol set (higher values result in more densely packed symbol instances).

Note: The Density setting applies to an entire symbol set. If a symbol set is selected, the density changes for all symbol instances in the set, not just newly created instances.

5 Select Show Brush Size and Intensity to see the size as you use the tool.

6 Select Preview Bounding Boxes of Symbol Instances to see the oriented bounding

boxes of the symbol instances as you add them. Selecting this option may increase performance speed. Deselect this option to see the actual outline of each symbol instance.

7 For Method, see each individual tool description.

Using the symbol sprayer tool

Use the symbol sprayer tool to create a set of symbol instances or add more instances to an existing set.

You can specify the following options from each of the tool pop-up menus in the Symbol Sprayer Options dialog box:

Average adds a new symbol with the average value of existing symbol instances within the brush radius. For example, an instance added to an area where the average existing symbol instance is 50% transparent will be 50% transparent; an instance added to an area with no instances will be opaque.

Note: The Average setting only takes into account other instances within the symbol sprayer tool’s brush radius, which you set using the Diameter option. To see the radius as you work, select Show Brush Size and Intensity.

User Deﬁned applies speciﬁc preset values for each parameter:

• Scrunch (density) is based on the original symbol size.

• Size uses the original symbol size.

• Spin uses the mouse direction (or no orientation if the mouse doesn’t move).

• Screen uses 100% opacity.

• Stain uses the current ﬁll color and full tint amount.

• Style uses the current style.

To create a symbol instance set:

1 Select a symbol in the Symbols palette, and then select the symbol sprayer tool .

2 Click or drag where you want the symbol instances to appear.

To add symbol instances to an existing set:

Select the symbol sprayer tool , a symbol in the Symbols palette, and an existing symbol set. Then click or drag where you want the new instances to appear.

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To delete symbol instances from a set:

1 Select the set from which you want to delete instances.

2 Select the symbol sprayer tool, and hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you

click or drag where you want to remove instances.

To expand a symbol set into individual symbol instances:

Select the set, and choose Object > Expand.

Using the symbol shifter tool

The symbol shifter tool moves symbol instances around. It can also change the relative paint order of symbol instances in a set.

You can use one of the following Method options when using the symbol shifter tool:

• User Deﬁned gradually pulls symbols toward or away from the cursor.

• Random modiﬁes the density randomly in the area under the cursor.

• Average gradually smooths out the density values.

To move or shift symbol instances:

Select the symbol shifter tool and drag in the direction you want the symbol instances to move.

To change the stacking order of symbol instances within the brush’s diameter:

Select the symbol shifter tool and do one of the following:

• To bring symbol instances forward, Shift-click the symbol instance.

• To send symbol instances backward, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and

Shift-click the symbol instance.

Using the symbol scruncher tool

The symbol scruncher tool pulls symbol instances together or apart. Use this tool to shape the density distribution of a symbol set.

To scrunch symbols:

Select the symbol scruncher tool and do one of the following:

• Click or drag in the area where you want to pull the symbol instances toward each

other.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click or drag in the area where you

want to push symbol instances away from each other.

Using the symbol sizer tool

Use the symbol sizer tool to increase or decrease the size of symbol instances in an existing symbol set.

When setting options for the symbol sizer, you can select Proportional Resizing if you want to keep each symbol instance shape uniform as you resize. You can also select Resizing Affects Density to move symbol instances away from each other when they are scaled up and move them toward each other when they are scaled down. You can use one of the following Method options when using the symbol sizer tool:

• User Deﬁned gradually increases or decreases the size.

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• Random modiﬁes the scale randomly in the area under the cursor.

• Average gradually smooths out the sizes of the symbol instances.

To change the size of symbol instances:

Select the symbol sizer tool and do one of the following:

• Click or drag in the set where you want to increase the size of the symbol instances.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click or drag where you want to

decrease the size of the symbol instances.

Using the symbol spinner tool

Use the symbol spinner tool to orient the symbol instances in a set. Symbol instances located near the cursor orient in the direction you move the cursor. As you drag the mouse, an arrow appears above the cursor to show the current orientation of symbol instances.

You can use one of the following Method options when using the symbol spinner tool:

• User Deﬁned orients the symbol instances in the direction of the cursor.

• Random gradually orients the symbol instances randomly.

• Average gradually smooths the orientation of all symbol instances.

To rotate symbol instances:

1 Select the symbol spinner tool and click or drag in the direction you want the symbol

instances to orient.

Using the symbol stainer tool

Use the symbol stainer tool to colorize symbol instances. Colorizing a symbol instance changes the hue toward the tint color, while preserving the original luminosity. (It works in the same way as the Tints and Shades colorization method of tinting brushes.) This method uses the luminosity of the original color and the hue of the colorization color to generate the resulting color. Consequently, colors with very high or very low luminosity change very little; black or white objects don’t change at all.

To achieve a method of colorization that will also affect black and white objects, use the symbol styler tool with a style that uses the desired ﬁll color.

You can choose one of the following Method options when using the symbol stainer tool:

• User Deﬁned gradually changes the colorization of the symbol instances toward the

currently selected tint color.

• Random changes the colorizaton and amounts randomly.

• Average smooths out the colorization and amounts over symbols in the same set.

Note: Using the symbol stainer tool results in increased ﬁle size and decreased performance. When memory or exported Flash/SVG ﬁle size is a concern, do not use this tool.

To stain symbol instances:

1 In the Color palette, select the ﬁll color that you want to use as the colorization color.

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2 Select the symbol stainer tool and do one of the following:

• Click or drag over the symbol instances you want to stain with the colorization color.

The amount of colorization gradually increases, and the symbol instance’s color gradually changes to the colorization color.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you click or drag to decrease the colori-

zation amount and reveal more of the original symbol color.

• Hold down Shift as you click or drag to keep the colorization amount constant, while

gradually changing the color of the symbol instances to the colorization color.

Using the symbol screener tool

Use the symbol screener tool to increase or decrease the transparency of the symbol instances in a set.

You can use one of the following Method options when using the symbol screener tool:

• User Deﬁned gradually increases or decreases the transparency.

• Random gradually adds random transparency.

• Average gradually smooths out the transparency values.

To adjust transparency:

Select the symbol screener tool and do one of the following:

• Click or drag where you want to increase the symbol’s transparency.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click or drag where you want to

decrease the symbol’s transparency.

Using the symbol styler tool

The symbol styler tool applies the selected style to the symbol instance.

You can switch to the symbol styler tool when using any other symbolism tool, by clicking a style in the Styles palette.

You can use one of the following Method options when using the symbol styler tool:

• User Deﬁned gradually increases the application of the selected style. Hold down

Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to decrease the style amount and reveal more of the original unstyled symbol. Hold down Shift to keep the amount of style applied constant.

• Random gradually changes the amount of style applied to symbol instances by a

random amount.

• Average gradually averages the styles and style amounts of the symbol instances in the

set. Hold down Shift to keep the style amounts constant.

To apply a style to a symbol:

1 Select the symbol styler tool .

2 Select a style in the Styles palette, and do one of the following:

• Click or drag where you want to apply the style to the symbol set. The amount of style

applied to the symbol instances increases, and the style gradually changes.

• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click or drag where you want to

reduce the amount the style applied.

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• Hold down Shift as you click or drag to keep the amount of style constant, while

gradually changing the symbol instance style to the selected style.

Note: It is very important to perform steps 1 and 2 in the speciﬁed order. If you select a style while a tool other than the symbolism tools is selected, the style will apply immediately to the entire selected symbol instance set.

Drawing and editing brushed paths

The Brushes palette in Illustrator contains four brush types—Calligraphic, Scatter, Art, and Pattern brushes—to use in adding art to paths. You can choose from the brush effects that have been preloaded into the Brushes palette. You can also modify these brushes, create brushes, or import a brush from the Brush Libraries to the Brushes palette.

Brushes that you create and store in the Brushes palette are associated only with the current ﬁle. Each Illustrator ﬁle can have a different set of brushes in its Brushes palette.

You can achieve the following effects using the four brush types:

• Calligraphic brushes create strokes that resemble strokes drawn with the angled point

of a calligraphic pen, drawn along the center of the path.

• Scatter brushes disperse copies of an object (such as a ladybug or a leaf) along the

path.

• Art brushes stretch an object or artwork (such as an arrow or dog bone) evenly along

the length of the path.

• Pattern brushes paint a pattern—made of individual tiles—that repeats along the path.

Pattern brushes can include up to ﬁve tiles, for the sides, inner corner, outer corner, beginning, and end of the pattern.

DCBA

Sample brushes

A. Calligraphic brush B. Scatter brush C. Art brush D. Pattern brush

Drawing a brushed path with the paintbrush tool

The paintbrush tool creates paths painted with a brush selected in the Brushes palette. You must select a brush in the Brushes palette to use the paintbrush tool.

To draw a path with the paintbrush tool:

1 Choose Window > Brushes to display the Brushes palette, and select a brush from the

Brushes palette.

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2 Double-click the paintbrush tool , set preferences, and click OK:

• In the Fidelity text box, enter the number of pixels (from 0.5 to 20) for the number of

pixels the stroke can stray from the path to produce smooth curves, or use the slider. The higher the value, the smoother the stroke or curve.

• In the Smoothness text box, enter a value (0% to 100%) for the percentage stroke and

curve smoothness, or use the slider. The higher the value, the smoother the stroke or curve.

• Select Fill New Brush Strokes to have paths drawn by the brush ﬁlled. When the option

is unselected, paths are unﬁlled.

• Select Keep Selected to keep the path just drawn with the brush selected.

• Select Edit Selected paths to make the selected paths editable.

3 Position the tip of the paintbrush where you want the path to begin, and drag the paintbrush to draw the path. By default, the path is selected when you release the mouse button.

To draw a closed path with the paintbrush tool:

1 Select the paintbrush tool.

2 Position the pointer where you want the path to begin, and start dragging to draw

a path.

3 As you drag, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS). The paintbrush tool displays a small loop to indicate drawing a closed path.

4 When the path is the size and shape you want, release the mouse button (but not the Alt or Option key). After the path closes, release the Alt or Option key.

To edit a brushed path with the paintbrush tool:

1 Select the path to edit with the selection tool , or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-

click (Mac OS) the path to select it.

2 Position the paintbrush tool on or near the path to redraw, and drag the tool until the path is the desired shape.

Creating a brushed path with a drawing tool

You can create a brushed path from any path created with an Illustrator drawing tool, including the pen or pencil tool or any of the basic shapes tools. You can then edit the brushed path as you would any path drawn with the tools.

To create a brushed path with a drawing tool:

1 Draw a path using a drawing tool, including the pen or pencil tool or a basic shape tool.

2 Choose a method for applying a brush to the path:

• Select the path that is to be brushed. In the Brushes palette, select a brush with which

to brush the path.

• Drag a brush from the Brushes palette onto a path.

Note: To preserve brush stroke options previously applied to the object when applying a new brush, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the new brush.

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Modifying brushed paths

After you have applied a brush to a path, you can modify the attributes of the path in several ways.

To convert brushes in artwork to outlined paths:

1 Select the object or objects to convert.

2 Choose Object > Expand Appearance.

To remove a brush from a path:

1 Select the path to change.

2 Do one of the following:

• In the Brushes palette, choose Remove Brush Strokes from the palette menu or click the

Remove Brush Strokes button .

• In the toolbox or the Color palette, click the Stroke box and apply a stroke of None.

The brush is removed and the path remains.

Managing brushes

You can use the Brushes palette to organize your brushes.

To display the Brushes palette:

Choose Window > Brushes.

To display brushes by name:

Choose List View from the Brushes palette menu. A picture of the brush displays to the left of the name. The picture to the right of the name indicates the brush type.

To display brushes by thumbnail only:

Choose Thumbnail View from the Brushes palette menu. A picture of the brush displays.

To modify the type of brushes displayed:

From the Brushes palette menu, choose the type of brush to display in the palette. You can choose more than one brush.

To select all brushes not currently used in the ﬁle:

Choose Select All Unused from the Brushes palette menu. Only brushes that are not currently used in the active ﬁle are selected.

To move a brush in the Brushes palette:

Drag a brush to the new location in the Brushes palette. You can move brushes only within their type. (For example, you cannot move a Calligraphic brush to the Scatter brush area.)

To duplicate a brush in the Brushes palette:

1 Select a brush to duplicate. To select multiple brushes, Ctrl-click (Windows) or

Command-click (Mac OS) each brush to duplicate. To select a range of brushes, Shift-click to deﬁne the range.

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2 Do one of the following:

• Choose Duplicate Brush from the Brushes palette menu.

• Drag the selection to the New Brush button in the Brushes palette.

To delete a brush from the Brushes palette:

1 In the Brushes palette, select the brush to delete. To select multiple brushes, Ctrl-click

(Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) each brush to delete. To select a range of brushes, Shift-click to deﬁne the range.

2 Do one of the following:

• Choose Delete Brush from the Brushes palette menu.

• Click the Delete Brush button in the Brushes palette.

• Drag the selection to the Delete Brush button in the Brushes palette.

Creating brushes

You can create each of the four types of brushes in the Brushes palette. All brushes must be made up of simple open and closed path vectors. Brushes cannot have gradients, blends, other brush strokes, mesh objects, bitmap images, graphs, placed ﬁles, or masks.

• Art brushes and pattern brushes cannot include type. However, to achieve a brush

stroke effect with type, create an outline of the type and then create a brush with the outline. (See “

Modifying letterforms as graphic objects” on page 267.)

Creating a calligraphic brush

You can change the angle, roundness, and diameter of strokes painted with calligraphic brushes.

To create a calligraphic brush:

1 Click the New Brush button in the Brushes palette, or choose New Brush from the

palette menu. Select New Calligraphic Brush and click OK.

2 In the Name text box, enter a name for the brush (up to 30 characters).

3 Specify values for the angle, roundness, and diameter of the brush (the preview in the

dialog box reﬂects your settings):

• To set the ellipse angle of rotation, drag the arrowhead in the preview, or enter a value

in the Angle text box.

• To set the roundness, drag a black dot in the preview away from or toward the center,

or enter a value in the Roundness text box. The higher the value, the greater the roundness.

• To set the diameter, use the Diameter slider, or enter a value in the Diameter text box.

4 From each pop-up menu, choose the way in which you want to control variations in the angle, roundness, and diameter:

• Choose Fixed to use the value in the associated text box. For example, when the

Diameter value is 20, Fixed always uses 20 for the brush diameter.

• Choose Random to use a random value within a speciﬁed range. When you choose

Random, you also need to enter a value in the Variation text box, or use the Variation

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slider, to specify the range by which the brush characteristic can vary. For each stroke, Random uses any value between that in the text box for the brush characteristic plus or minus the Variation value. For example, when the Diameter value is 15 and the Variation value is 5, the diameter can be 10, or 20, or any value in between.

• Choose Pressure (if you will use the brush with a graphics tablet) to use a value deter-

mined by the pressure of your stylus. When you choose Pressure, you also need to enter a value in the Variation text box, or use the Variation slider. Pressure uses the value in the text box for the brush characteristic minus the Variation value for the lightest tablet pressure. It uses the value in the text box for the brush characteristic plus the Variation value for the heaviest pressure. For example, when the Roundness value is 75% and the Variation value is 25%, the lightest stroke is 50% and the heaviest stroke is 100%. The lighter the pressure, the more angular the brush stroke.

5 Click OK.

Creating a scatter brush

You use artwork from an illustration to deﬁne the scatter brush.You can change the size, spacing, scatter pattern, and rotation of objects painted on a path with scatter brushes.

To create a scatter brush:

1 Select the artwork to be used as a scatter brush.

2 Click the New Brush button in the Brushes palette, or choose New Brush from the

palette menu. Select New Scatter Brush and click OK.

3 In the Name text box, enter a name for the brush (up to 30 characters).

4 Drag each Minimum slider or enter a value in each leftmost text box for the brush’s size,

spacing, scattering, and angle of rotation:

• Size controls the size of the objects.

• Spacing controls the amount of space between objects.

• Scatter controls how closely objects follow the path independently on each side of the

path. The higher the value, the farther the objects are from the path.

• Rotation controls the angle of rotation of the objects.

5 From each pop-up menu, choose the way in which you want to control variations in the size, spacing, scattering, and rotation:

• Choose Fixed to use the value in the associated text box. For example, when the Scatter

value is 50%, Fixed always uses 50% to scatter objects along the path.

• Choose Random to use a random value. When you choose Random, you also need to

enter a value in the rightmost text box, or use the Maximum slider, to specify the range by which the brush characteristic can vary. For each stroke, Random uses any value between the Minimum and the Maximum value. For example, when the Minimum value is 50% and the Maximum value is 100% for Size, the objects’ sizes can be 50%, or 100%, or any size in between.

• Choose Pressure (if you will use the brush with a graphics tablet) to use a value deter-

mined by the pressure of your stylus. When you choose Pressure, you also need to enter a value in the rightmost text box, or use the Maximum slider. Pressure uses the

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Minimum value for the lightest tablet pressure and the Maximum value for the heaviest pressure. The heavier the stroke, the larger the objects.

Note: To keep the same range of values between the two sliders, Shift-drag the sliders. To move the sliders an equal value apart or together, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) them.

6 Choose a relative orientation from the Rotation Relative To pop-up menu:

• For Page, the angle of rotation of scattered objects is relative to the page (0 degrees

points to the top).

• For Path, the angle of rotation of scattered objects is relative to the path (0 degrees is

tangent to the path).

7 Choose a method of colorization from the Method pop-up menu. (See “

Choosing a

colorization method” on page 86.)

8 Click OK.

Creating an art brush

You use artwork from an illustration to deﬁne the art brush.You can change the direction and size of objects painted along a path with art brushes and also ﬂip the objects along the path or across the path.

To create an art brush:

1 Select the artwork to be used as an art brush.

2 Click the New Brush button in the Brushes palette, or choose New Brush from the

palette menu. Select New Art Brush and click OK.

3 In the Name text box, enter a name for the brush (up to 30 characters).

4 For Direction, click a button for the direction in which you want the art to be drawn as

you drag the paintbrush. In each button, the arrowhead represents the end of the brush stroke.

When you drag the paintbrush in the artwork window, the art is drawn as follows:

• For , the left side of the art is the end of the stroke.

• For , the right side of the art is the end of the stroke.

• For , the top of the art is the end of the stroke.

• For , the bottom of the art is the end of the stroke.

5 For Size, enter a percentage by which to scale the art in the Width text box. To preserve the proportion, select Proportional.

6 To change the orientation of the art on the path, choose Flip Along or Flip Across.

7 Choose a method of colorization from the Method pop-up menu. (See “

Choosing a

colorization method” on page 86.)

8 Click OK.

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Creating a pattern brush

To create a pattern brush, you can use pattern swatches in the Swatches palette or artwork from an illustration to deﬁne the tiles in the brush. When using swatches to deﬁne a pattern brush, you can use preloaded pattern swatches, or create your own Pattern swatches.

You can change the size, spacing, and orientation of pattern brushes. In addition, you can apply new artwork to any of the tiles in a pattern brush to redeﬁne the brush.

To apply new art to tiles in existing pattern brushes, you select pattern swatches from the scroll list in the Pattern Brush Options dialog box. (The scroll list displays all the Pattern swatches available in the Swatches palette.)

To create a pattern brush using pattern swatches in the Swatches palette:

1 Click the New Brush button in the Brushes palette, or choose New Brush from the

palette menu. Select New Pattern Brush and click OK.

2 In the Name text box, enter a name for the brush (up to 30 characters).

3 Click a tile button for the tile you want to deﬁne. For example, to deﬁne the side tile,

click the Side tile button .

EDCBA

Components of a tile

A. Side tile B. Outer Corner tile C. Inner Corner tile D. Start tile E. End tile

4 In the scroll list, select a Pattern swatch to apply to the selected tile.

The selected swatch appears in the selected tile button.

Note: To restore a pattern setting to its original value when modifying an existing Pattern brush, select Original from the scroll list.

5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 to apply Pattern swatches to other tiles as needed.

6 For Size, enter values for the scale (which preserves the proportion) and the spacing

between tiles.

7 To change the orientation of the pattern on the path, choose Flip Along or Flip Across.

8 For Fit, choose how to ﬁt the tiles on the path:

• Stretch to Fit lengthens or shortens the pattern tile to ﬁt the object. This option can

result in uneven tiling.

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• Add Space to Fit adds blank space between each pattern tile to apply the pattern

proportionally to the path.

• Approximate Path (for rectangular paths only) ﬁts tiles to the closest approximate path

without changing the tiles. This option applies the pattern slightly inside or outside the path, rather than centered on the path, to maintain even tiling.

Results of different tile option settings

A. Default tile and Fit options B. Stretch to Fit C. Add Space to Fit D. Approximate Path

9 Choose a method of colorization from the Method pop-up menu. (See “Choosing a

colorization method” on page 86.)

10 Click OK.

Note: After you deﬁne a Pattern brush with Pattern swatches, you can delete the Pattern swatches from the Swatches palette if you don’t plan to use them for additional artwork.

To create a pattern brush using artwork from an illustration:

1 Create or display the artwork that you want to use as a Pattern brush. (See “

Creating and working with patterns” on page 206.) Make sure to create artwork for each of the tiles

in the Pattern brush, up to ﬁve tiles depending on the brush conﬁguration desired.

2 In the Brushes palette, make sure the brushes are displayed by icon. (If necessary, choose Thumbnail View from the palette menu.)

3 Drag the artwork to be used as the side tile onto the Brushes palette.

4 Select New Pattern Brush, and then click OK.

5 In the Name text box, enter a name for the brush (up to 30 characters), and then

click OK.

6 Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) artwork for additional tiles onto the appropriate section of the entry for the brush in the Brushes palette, and then click OK after adding each tile. The side tile already appears in the second section. Alt-drag or Option-drag artwork for the outer corner tile to the ﬁrst section. Alt-drag or Option-drag artwork for the inner corner tile, start tile, and end tile to the remaining sections.

Choosing a colorization method

For Scatter, Art, and Pattern brushes, you can choose a method by which to colorize a brush.

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To choose a colorization method:

1 With the options dialog box for the selected brush type open, choose an option from

the Method pop-up menu:

• None displays colors as they appear in the brush in the Brushes palette. Choose None to

keep a brush the same colors as in the Brushes palette.

• Tints displays the brush stroke in tints of the stroke color. Portions of the art that are

black become the stroke color, portions that aren’t black become tints of the stroke color, and white remains white. If you use a spot color as the stroke, Tints generates tints of the spot color. Choose Tints for brushes that are in black and white, or when you want to paint a brush stroke with a spot color.

• Tints and Shades displays the brush stroke in tints and shades of the stroke color. Tints

and Shades maintains black and white, and everything between becomes a blend from black to white through the stroke color. Because black is added you may not be able to print to a single plate when using Tints and Shades with a spot color. Choose Tints and Shades for brushes that are in grayscale.

• Hue Shift uses the key color in the brush artwork, as shown in the Key Color box.

(By default, the key color is the most prominent color in the art.) Everything in the brush artwork that is the key color becomes the stroke color. Other colors in the brush artwork become colors related to the stroke color. Hue Shift maintains black, white, and gray. Choose Hue Shift for brushes that use multiple colors. You can change the key color.

For information and samples about each choice, click Tips.

Note: You can experiment with different colorization methods to achieve the result you want.

To change the key color:

1 With the options dialog box for the selected brush type open, click the Key Color

eyedropper.

2 Move the eyedropper to the preview in the dialog box, and click the color you want to use as the key color. The color in the Key Color box changes.

3 Click the eyedropper again to deselect it.

Modifying existing brushes

You can modify existing brushes. When you change the options of a brush, you can apply the changes to brush strokes already drawn in the artwork with the brush, or apply the changes to new strokes only. You can also change the brush stroke options of a selected object without affecting other objects in the artwork and without changing the brush’s attributes.

To modify an existing brush:

1 Double-click the brush in the Brushes palette, or select the brush and choose Brush

Options from the palette menu.

2 Choose an option for applying changes to pre-existing strokes:

• Click Apply To Strokes to change pre-existing strokes. (The modiﬁed brush will be

applied to new strokes as well.)

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• Click Leave Strokes to leave pre-existing strokes unchanged, and apply the modiﬁed

brush to new strokes only.

3 Change options, and click OK.

To change options of a selected object without changing the brush attributes for all objects:

1 Select a brush in the artwork.

2 Choose Options of Selected Object from the Brushes palette menu, or click the Options

of Selected Object button in the palette.

3 Change the options, and click OK. Only the selected objects are changed with the new options. Any other objects in the artwork that were painted with the brush remain with the original brush attributes. Attributes of the brush are not affected; the next time you use the brush, it uses the current attributes.

Note: To reset changed objects to the original brush options, select the objects, apply a different brush to them, and then reapply the original brush.

To modify brushes by dragging into your artwork:

1 Select a brush from the Brushes palette.

2 Drag the brush into your artwork.

3 Make the changes you want.

Drag the modiﬁed brush into the Brushes palette.

Using the brush libraries

You can import brushes from other Adobe Illustrator ﬁles into a palette associated with the current ﬁle using the Brush Libraries command. These libraries are stored in the Brushes folder, located in the Presets folder inside the Adobe Illustrator application folder. You cannot add, delete, or edit brushes in a library; however, once you import a brush, you can change its attributes.

To import a brush from a Brush Library to the current Brushes palette:

1 Make sure the Brushes palette into which you want to import a brush is open.

2 Choose Window > Brush Libraries > Brush Library name. To locate a Brush Library not

stored in the Brushes folder, choose Window > Brush Libraries > Other Library.

3 Select the brush you want, and then if the brush does not automatically appear in the Brushes palette, do one of the following:

• Use the selected brush in the current artwork (recommended for one or two brushes at

a time). Once you use it in the artwork, the brush is copied from the Brush Library to the Brushes palette.

• Drag the selected brush to the current Brushes palette (recommended for multiple

brushes at a time).

To have a Brush Library appear in the Brush Libraries menu:

1 Drag the Brush Library ﬁle into the Brushes folder.

2 Restart Adobe Illustrator.

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To create a Brush Library:

1 Create an Adobe Illustrator ﬁle containing the brushes you want in the Brush Library.

2 Save the ﬁle in the Brushes folder.

3 Restart Adobe Illustrator.

Tips for using brushes

When you work with brushes, keep the following points in mind:

• You can often use Scatter brushes and Pattern brushes to achieve the same effect.

However, one way in which they differ is that Pattern brushes follow the path exactly, while Scatter brushes do not.

Arrows in a Pattern brush bend to follow the path (left); arrows remain straight in a Scatter brush (right).

• If you apply a brush to a closed path and want to control the placement of the end of

the path, select the scissors tool and split the path. To change again, select the endpoints, choose Object >Path > Join, and use the scissors again. (See “

Splitting paths

with the scissors tool” on page 61.)

• To select all brush stroke paths in the current artwork, choose Select > Object > Brush

Strokes.

• For better performance when creating a brush from art that contains multiple

overlapping paths ﬁlled with the same color and with no stroke, use the Add ﬁlter in the Pathﬁnder palette before you create the brush. (See “

Creating a ﬁnal shape quickly” on

page 148).

Tr acing artwork

There may be times when you want to base a new drawing on an existing piece of artwork. For example, you may want to create a graphic based on a pencil sketch drawn on paper or on an image saved in another graphics program. In either case, you can bring the image into Illustrator and trace over it. You can create a layer to use especially as a template.

You can trace artwork in the following ways, depending on the source of the artwork to trace and how you want to trace it:

• Use the auto trace tool (ICON) to trace automatically any image you bring into

Illustrator.

• Place any EPS, PDF, or image ﬁle into an Illustrator ﬁle as a template layer and manually

trace over it using the pen or pencil tool. (See “

Changing the display of layered artwork”

on page 219.)

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Tracing with the auto trace tool

The auto trace tool traces any image shape automatically. With this tool, you can click the edge of a shape you want to trace, and Illustrator draws the entire outline of the shape. You can use the auto trace tool to trace lines as well as shapes. When you use the auto trace tool to trace a line, it travels all the way around the line and comes back to where you clicked, forming a closed path.

The auto trace tool is especially suited to tracing simple shapes and lines. For the best results when tracing artwork, trace simpler shapes with the auto trace tool and draw more complex shapes with either the pencil tool or the pen tool. You can also use a dedicated tracing program such as Adobe Streamline

To trace a bitmap image shape:

1 Open the ﬁle that contains the bitmap image you want to trace.

2 Select the auto trace tool .

3 Position the cross hair on the object you want to trace. You must position the cross hair

within 6 pixels of the edge of a bitmap shape. The auto trace tool is guided by the boundary between differently shaded areas.

™

4 Do one of the following:

• To trace the entire object, click the object. Illustrator draws the path, beginning where

you clicked, and follows the shape, keeping the shape on its right.

The path may be drawn clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on where you click and on the shape of the path.

• To trace part of the object, drag the pointer from the place on the bitmap shape where

you want the path to start to the place where you want the path to end. When tracing only part of an image, you must start and stop dragging within 2 pixels of the edge of the shape.

• To connect a new auto trace path to an existing auto trace path, start dragging at the

anchor point where you want the paths to connect.

Setting the auto trace gap distance

The lines and shapes in bitmap images often contain gaps that become visible when you enlarge your view of the image. You can control the accuracy with which the auto trace tool traces these gaps using the Tracing Gap option in the Type & Auto Tracing Preferences dialog box.

The gap distance setting tells the auto trace tool to ignore gaps that are equal to or less than the number of pixels you specify. For example, setting the distance to 1 tells the auto trace tool to ignore gaps of 1 pixel or less.

To set the auto trace gap distance:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Type & Auto Tracing (Windows and Mac OS 9) or

Illustrator > Preferences > Type & Auto Tracing (Mac OS X).

Enter 0 (the default), 1, or 2 in the Tracing Gap text box. The value is calculated in number of pixels. Click OK.

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Wo r king with Objects

Correcting mistakes

You can use the Undo command to correct mistakes you make while using the Adobe Illustrator program. You can even undo an operation after you choose the Save command (but not if you closed and then reopened the ﬁle). If an operation cannot be undone, the Undo command is dimmed.

Depending on how much memory is available, you can undo an unlimited number of the last operations you performed, in reverse order, by repeatedly choosing the Undo command. The Illustrator performance is usually not affected by the number of undo levels you choose; however, if you are trying to display complex artwork, you may receive a message asking you to reduce the number of undo levels because of insufﬁcient memory.

You can also revert a ﬁle to the version that was last saved (but not if you closed and then reopened the ﬁle).

To undo or redo an operation:

Choose Edit > Undo or Edit > Redo. (Depending on the memory available to your system, you can choose Undo an unlimited number of times.)

To change the minimum number of undo levels:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Undo (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > Units & Undo (Mac OS X).

2 Enter a value for Minimum Undo Levels, and click OK. The default undo level is 5.

To revert a ﬁle to the last saved version:

Choose File > Revert. You cannot undo this action.

Using rulers

Illustrator can display rulers, one along the top and one along the left side of the illustration window.

When you open a new ﬁle, the rulers are not visible, but you can display them at any time. These rulers are a tool for accurately placing and measuring objects on the artboard. As you scroll and zoom around the ﬁle, the rulers adjust accordingly.

To show or hide rulers:

Choose View > Show Rulers, or View > Hide rulers.

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Deﬁning ruler units

The large tick marks on the rulers indicate the unit of measure (such as inches), and the small tick marks indicate increments of the unit of measure (such as 1/8 inch). When you magnify or reduce your view, the increments of the unit of measure reﬂect the change in magniﬁcation.

The default units of measure for the rulers are points (a point equals .3528 millimeter). You can change the unit of measure to inches, millimeters, centimeters, picas (a pica equals 12 points or 4.2333 millimeters), or pixels by using the Units & Undo panel of the Preferences dialog box or the Artboard panel of the Document Setup dialog box.

The unit of measure that you set for the rulers applies when you measure objects, move and transform objects, set grid and guides spacing, and create ellipses and rectangles. It does not affect the units in the Character and Paragraph palettes, which always display size, leading, vertical shift, line width, and line dash in the units set in the Type pop-up menu in the Units & Undo Preferences dialog box. (See “

page 256.)

To set the ruler unit of measure for all ﬁles:

Setting type attributes” on

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Undo (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > Units & Undo (Mac OS X).

2 From the General pop-up menu, choose the unit of measure you want to use, and click OK.

To set the ruler unit of measure for only the current ﬁle:

1 Choose File > Document Setup. Choose Artboard from the pop-up menu at the top left

of the Document Setup dialog box.

2 From the Units pop-up menu, choose the unit of measure you want to use, and click OK.

You can quickly change the units of measure by right-clicking (Windows) or Controlclicking (Mac OS) the ruler and choosing a new unit of measure from the menu that

appears.

Automatically converting unit values in text boxes

If you use a unit other than the preset unit to enter values, Illustrator converts it to the set unit. For example, entering 3cm in a text box set to inches converts the value to 1.1811 inches.

You can also add, subtract, multiply, divide, deﬁne percentages, and perform other mathematical operations in any Illustrator text box that accepts numeric values. For example, when specifying the size of a rectangle, you can type 72 pt + 2cm for the height. Illustrator performs the calculation and uses the result.

The following rules apply when entering unit values:

• You can use the following units and abbreviations in text boxes: inch, inches, in, milli-

meters, millimetres, mm, Qs (one Q equals 0.25 millimeter), centimeters, centimetres, cm, points, p, pt, picas, pc, pixel, pixels, and px.

• Units are in points by default unless a different unit of measure was set in Edit >

Preferences > Units & Undo (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator > Preferences > Units & Undo (Mac OS X).

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• When mixing picas and points, you can enter values as XpY, where X and Y are the

number of picas and points (for example, 12p6 for 12 picas, 6 points).

• A value without a speciﬁed unit uses the default unit for that text box, unless it follows a

value with a speciﬁed unit. For example, in a text box that uses inches by default, typing 3 + 6 would equal 3 inches plus 6 inches, or 9 inches. Typing 3cm + 6 would equal 3 centimeters plus 6 centimeters, or 3.5433 inches.

• You can use percentages in combination with units. For example, typing 3cm*50%

would equal 3 centimeters multiplied by 50%, or 1.50 cm. Typing 50pt + 25% would equal 50 points plus 25% of 50 points, or 62.5 points.

Changing the ruler origin

The point where 0 appears on each ruler is called the ruler origin. When you open a ﬁle, the position of the ruler origin depends on the View option selected in the Artboard panel of the Document Setup dialog box. Generally, if you selected either the Single Full Page or the Tile Full Pages option, the default ruler origin is located at the lower left corner of page 1.

When you change the ruler setting, the new setting becomes the default for the ﬁle whenever that ﬁle is opened. You can change the origin for the rulers at any time. For example, you may be working on a 3-inch-by-5-inch card that is centered on an 8.5-inchby-11-inch page. Setting the ruler origin to line up with the 3-by-5-inch artwork rather than the 8.5-by-11-inch page can make precision editing easier for you.

Note: The position of the ruler origin affects the tiling of patterns, as well as the bounding box information for the Separation Setup command. (See “

Specifying the printing

bounding box in the separation” on page 355.)

To change the ruler origin:

1 Move the pointer to the upper left corner of the rulers where the rulers intersect.

2 Do one of the following:

• Drag the pointer to where you want the new ruler origin. As you drag, a cross hair in the

window and in the rulers indicates the changing ruler origin.

• Double-click the upper-left corner where the rulers intersect to restore the default

settings.

Using the measure tool

The measure tool calculates the distance between any two points in the work area. When you measure from one point to another, the distance measured is displayed in the Info palette. The Info palette shows the horizontal and vertical distances from the x and y axes, the absolute horizontal and vertical distances, the total distances, and the angle measured.

All measurements except the angle are calculated in the unit of measure currently set in the Units & Undo Preferences dialog box or in the Artboard panel of the Document Setup dialog box. (See “

Deﬁning ruler units” on page 92.)

To measure the distance between two points:

1 Select the measure tool .

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2 Do one of the following:

• Click the two points to measure the distance between them.

• Click the ﬁrst point and drag to the second point. Shift-drag to constrain the tool to

multiples of 45 degrees.

Using guides and grids

To help align text and graphic objects on the page, you can use background grids or you can create and display alignment outlines called guides.

Grids normally appear as lines or dots behind the artwork, and they do not print. You use grids to lay out objects or elements symmetrically. Selected artwork and tools snap to the grid if Snap To Grid is turned on. Grid spacing, color, and style can be different for each ﬁle.

Note: When your document’s viewing mode is Pixel Preview, the Snap to Grid command on the View menu changes to Snap to Pixel. For more information, see “

preview mode” on page 292.

Guides act as alignment tools. They also do not print. You can deﬁne any object as a guide to which you want to align artwork. Selected artwork and tools snap to guides when they are within tolerance of the guide. Guide color and style are the same for all ﬁles. (See “

Setting guide and grid preferences” on page 95.)

Working in pixel

Using guides

You can create two kinds of guides:

• Ruler guides are straight horizontal or vertical lines created with the ruler. These guides

are the simplest to make and are useful for setting alignment lines across the length or width of the work area.

• Guide objects are objects (such as lines, rectangles, or any other artwork consisting of

paths, except type) that are converted to guides. Using guide objects can help you plan and create your artwork around one or more objects. You can convert guide objects back into graphic objects at any point.

New guides are locked in place to orient your artwork. However, you can unlock a guide to select, move, delete, modify, or revert it to a graphic object.

By default, objects are aligned with guides whenever they are dragged within 2 pixels of the guide. (See “

To create a ruler guide:

1 If the rulers are not already displayed, choose View > Show Rulers.

2 Position the pointer on the left ruler for a vertical guide or on the top ruler for a

horizontal guide. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to switch the ruler guide from horizontal to vertical, and vice versa.

3 Drag the ruler guide into position.

Moving, copying, and deleting objects” on page 102.)

To make working with multiple guides easier, place all guides on a single layer. You can then choose the layer to select all guides for moving or adjusting. (See “

About layers”

on page 215.)

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To convert an object into a guide object:

1 Select an object, a group of objects, or any combination of objects and groups.

2 Choose View > Guides > Make Guides.

To move, delete, or release a guide:

1 Choose View > Guides > Lock Guides to lock or unlock the guide. When a guide is

locked, a check mark appears next to the Lock Guides command.

2 Select the guide you want to move, delete, or release, and do one of the following:

• Move the guide by dragging or copying.

• Delete the guide by pressing Backspace or Del (Windows) or Delete (Mac OS), or by

choosing Edit > Cut or Edit > Clear.

• Delete all guides at once by choosing View > Guides > Clear Guides.

• Release the guide object, turning it back into a regular graphic object, by choosing

View > Guides > Release Guides.

To show or hide guides:

Choose View > Guides > Show Guides to show all guides or View > Hide Guides to hide them.

Using grids

You can choose between two grid styles—dots and lines—and you can change the color of the grid by using either predeﬁned grid colors or colors you select using a color picker.

Spacing of grids is deﬁned by two values: the distance between major lines, and the spacing between subdivisions. The visibility of the grid and snapping to the grid are controlled by the Show Grid command and the Snap to Grid command in the View menu.

Setting guide and grid preferences

Use the Guides & Grid preferences to set the color and style of guides and the grid, and grid spacing.

To set guide and grid preferences:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > Guides and Grid (Mac OS X).

2 Set options for guides and the grid:

• For Color, choose a color for guides, or the grid, or both. If you choose Other, click the

color box, choose a color from the color picker, and click OK.

• For Style, choose a display option for guides, or the grid, or both.

• For Gridline Every, enter a new value (and unit of measure if necessary) for the spacing

of primary gridlines.

• For Subdivisions, enter a value to subdivide the grid.

• For Grids in Back, select the option to display the grid behind all artwork; deselect the

option to display the grid in front of all artwork.

3 Click OK.

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Using Smart Guides

Smart Guides are temporary, “snap to” guides that help you create, align, edit, and transform objects relative to other objects. You can also use Smart Guides when rotating, scaling, and shearing objects. Objects can snap to locked objects and objects on locked layers.

You choose the point on the selected object at which you want to snap by selecting the object at that point. Illustrator determines additional points on artwork to create guides and snapping points. These points are determined by the last objects the cursor has passed over with the selected object.

You can create intersecting Smart Guides by passing over two Smart Guide lines, and then moving your selected object to the intersection point.

As you create, align, move, edit, and transform objects, Smart Guides appear from any anchor point on a nearby object over which the pointer recently passed. The direction, angle, tolerance, and appearance of Smart Guides are determined by settings in Preferences.

To turn Smart Guides on or off:

To turn Smart Guides on or off, choose View > Smart Guides. A check mark appears next to the command when Smart Guides are turned on.

To change Smart Guide preferences:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Smart Guides (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > Smart Guides (Mac OS X).

2 Specify options for Smart Guides:

• Select Text Label Hints to display information about the position the cursor is currently

snapped to (such as center) as you manipulate the cursor.

• Select Construction Guides to see guidelines in the ﬁle as you use Smart Guides.

• Select Transform Tools to have Smart Guides help when you scale, rotate, and shear

objects.

• Select Object Highlighting to highlight the object below the pointer as you drag

around it.

3 Click a text box and set an angle at which you want guide lines drawn from the anchor points of a nearby object (the preview reﬂects your settings). You can set up to six angles. Do one of the following:

• Enter an angle in the selected Angles text box.

• Choose a set of angles from the Angles pop-up menu.

• Choose a set of angles from the pop-up menu and change one of the values in the text

box to customize a set of angles.

4 Type a value in the Snapping Tolerance text box to specify the number of points the pointer must be from another object for Smart Guides to take effect. Then click OK.

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How Smart Guides work

When Smart Guides are turned on and you move the cursor over your artwork, the cursor looks for objects, page boundaries, and intersections of construction guides to snap to that are within the tolerance range set in Smart Guides Preferences.

You can use Smart Guides in the following ways when you create, move, and transform objects:

• When you create an object with the pen or shape tools, use the Smart Guides to

position the new object’s anchor points relative to the other object.

• When you move an object, use the Smart Guides to align to the point on the object that

you have selected. You can align to the anchor point at the corner of a selected object near the bounding box. To do so, select the object just inside the bounding box handle. If the tolerance is 5 points or greater, you can snap to the corner point from 5 points away. (See “

• When the Transform Tools option is selected in Smart Guides Preferences and you

transform an object, Smart Guides appear to assist the transformation.

Note: When Snap to Grid is turned on, you cannot use Smart Guides (even if the menu command is selected).

Using the bounding box” on page 99.)

Selecting objects

Before you can modify an object, you need to distinguish it from the objects around it. You do that by selecting the object with a selection tool or command. Once you’ve selected an object, or a part of an object, you can edit it by moving or copying, deleting, or adjusting paths.

Note: You can drag to move an object you have just selected with the selection, directselection, and group-selection tools, but not with the lasso or direct-lasso tools.

Using the selection tools

You select objects with the following selection tools:

• The selection tool lets you select entire paths, objects, and groups by selecting any

spot on them (or within them if the path, object, or group is ﬁlled). When the selection tool is over an unselected path, object, or group, it changes to . When it is over a selected path, object, or group, the tool changes to . When it is over an anchor point, a hollow square appears next to the arrow or , depending on whether the path, object, or group is selected or not.

• The direct-selection tool lets you select individual anchor points or segments on a

path. All direction lines then appear on that part of the path for adjusting. When the direct-selection tool is over an unselected path or object, it changes to . When it is over the anchor point of a selected path or object, it changes to .

• The group-selection tool lets you select an object within a group, a single group

within multiple groups, or a set of groups within the artwork. Each additional click adds all objects from the next group in the hierarchy. (See “

objects” on page 110.)

• The lasso tool lets you select entire paths and objects by dragging around any part of

the path.

Grouping and ungrouping

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• The direct-lasso tool lets you select individual anchor points or segments on a path

by dragging around parts of a path. All direction lines then appear on that part of the path for adjusting.

• The magic wand tool lets you select objects of the same color, stroke weight, stroke

color, opacity, or blending mode by clicking in a colored area.

To use the last-used selection, direct-selection, or group-selection tool when using any other tool (except these selection tools), hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command

(Mac OS).

To select an entire object or line:

1 Select the selection tool or the group-selection tool .

2 Do one of the following:

• If the object is ﬁlled and you are in Preview view, click within the object.

Note: Clicking a ﬁlled object in Preview view selects the object only if the Use Area Select option in the General Preferences dialog box is selected. (See “

Selecting ﬁlled objects” on

page 100.)

• Click the path of the object.

• Click an anchor point of the object.

• Drag a dotted rectangle, called a marquee, around part or all of the object.

To select an entire object or line with the lasso tool:

1 Select the lasso tool .

2 Drag around or across the object.

To select a segment:

Do one of the following:

• Select the direct-selection tool , and then click within 2 pixels of the segment or drag a

marquee over part of the segment.

• Select the direct-lasso tool , and drag around part of the segment.

When you select a segment, all of the anchor points on the path are displayed, including all direction lines and direction points on that part of the path if the selected segment is curved. Direction points appear as ﬁlled circles; selected anchor points appear as ﬁlled squares; unselected anchor points appear as hollow squares.

To deselect a segment:

Using a selection tool, Shift-click or Shift-drag over the path or segment you want to deselect.

To add or remove selections with the selection, direct-selection, or group-selection tool:

Hold down Shift while selecting or deselecting additional objects or segments.

To add or remove selections with the lasso or direct-lasso tool:

1 Do one of the following:

• Hold down Shift while selecting to add to the selection.

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• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to subtract from the selection.

Using the bounding box

When you select one or more objects with the selection tool, you see a bounding box around them. With the bounding box, you can move, rotate, duplicate, and scale objects easily by dragging the selection or a handle (one of the hollow squares surrounding the selected objects).

The bounding box creates a temporary border around the selected object. You see an outline of the selection as you drag it. When you release the mouse button, the object snaps to the current border created by the bounding box, and you see the object’s outline move.

Selected objects before (left) and after (right) scaling using the bounding box

If you are working in Pixel Preview mode and want the object to snap to pixels when you drag it, turn off Use Preview Bounds in the General panel of the Preferences dialog box.

To move, duplicate, or scale objects, use the selection tool .

Note: You can also move and scale selected objects, as well as perform other transformation actions, using the free transform tool, transformation tools, and the Transform palette. (See “

Transforming selected objects” on page 113.)

If you rotate an object, its bounding box is also rotated. To reorient the bounding box to the page, choose Object > Transform > Reset Bounding Box.

To show or hide the bounding box:

Choose View > Show Bounding Box or View > Hide Bounding Box.

To move objects with the bounding box:

1 Select one or more objects using the selection tool.

2 Drag any part of the selection (but not a handle).

To rotate objects with the bounding box:

1 Select one or more objects using the selection tool.

2 Move the pointer near a corner handle so that it changes to a curve with arrows on

both ends.

3 Drag the handle.

To duplicate objects with the bounding box:

1 Select one or more objects using the selection tool.

2 Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the selection (but not a handle).

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Selecting ﬁlled objects

The Use Area Select option in the General Preferences dialog box determines whether you can select a ﬁlled object in Preview view by clicking anywhere within the area or whether you must click a path segment or anchor point. By default, the Use Area Select option is on. In some cases, you may want to turn off the Use Area Select option—for example, when you work with overlapping ﬁlled objects.

With Use Area Select option off, dragging selects points and segments within marquee.

With Use Area Select option on, dragging selects object.

To turn the Use Area Select option on or off:

1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows and Mac OS 9) or Illustrator >

Preferences > General (Mac OS X).

2 Select or deselect the Use Area Select option, and click OK.

Selecting and deselecting multiple objects

You can select several objects at a time and then move, paint, group, transform, or edit them using any editing tool. You deselect objects when you no longer want to edit them. You can deselect one object, several objects, or all objects in your artwork.

You can also select objects based on their paint style, stroke color, stroke weight, style, blending mode, opacity, and whether they are masks, stray points, or brush strokes. For more information, see “

Note: Objects that have been locked or hidden are not selected with the selection commands. (See “

To select multiple objects:

Do one of the following:

• With the selection tool, drag a marquee over all of the objects.

• With an object selected, Shift-drag a marquee over other objects to select.

• With the selection tool, select an object and then Shift-click to select additional objects.

Changing global colors and tints” on page 163.

Locking and hiding objects” on page 112.)

To select all objects in a ﬁle:

Choose Select > All.

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Adobe ILLUSTRATOR 10 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Using Help

About online Help

Navigating in Help

Using bookmarks, the table of contents, the index, and Find

Contents

Looking at the Work Area

Using the tools

Using palettes

Showing and hiding palettes

Changing the palette display

To olbox overview (1 of 5)

To olbox overview (2 of 5)

To olbox overview (3 of 5)

To olbox overview (4 of 5)

To olbox overview (5 of 5)

Using the Info palette

Using context menus

Viewing artwork

Setting up windows and views

Viewing artwork as paths

Viewing artwork as pixels

Viewing how colors will overprint

Magnifying and reducing the view

Using the Navigator palette

Using the status bar

Previewing placed EPS images

Using plug-in modules

Developing plug-in modules for Adobe Illustrator

Customizing shortcuts

Setting preferences

Using tool tips

Using Web resources

Using the Illustrator product section of the Adobe Web site

Using Adobe Online

Other learning resources

Customer Support

Customer Support on Adobe Online

Additional customer support resources

Setting Up Artwork in Illustrator

About vector graphics and bitmap images

Vector graphics

Bitmap images

About resolution in bitmap images

About the work area

Setting up the work area

Tiling artwork and adjusting page boundaries

Working with tiled artwork

Adjusting the bounding box when tiling pages

Moving the page boundaries

About imported artwork

Opening and placing artwork

Turning preview images on or off

Managing linked and embedded images

Specifying how to update links

Specifying how proxies display

Using the Links palette

Replacing linked images

Modifying the Links palette display

About workgroup management

Getting started with workgroup management

Managing links on a WebDAV server

Uploading changes to the server

Adding metadata to documents

Drawing

About paths

Changing a tool pointer

Drawing and editing freeform paths

Drawing and editing with the pencil tool

Smoothing the path with the smooth tool

Erasing the path with the erase tool

Setting preferences for the pencil and smooth tools

Drawing with the pen tool

Drawing straight segments with the pen tool

About direction lines and direction points

Drawing curved segments

Mixing curves, corners, and straight segments as you draw