User manual ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR 10

Adobe Illustrator Help Using Help Using Help | Contents | Index Back 1 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. 2 Click a topic on the Contents page to move to the first page of that topic. 3 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. 2 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. 3 Locate your entry, and click the page number link to view the information. 4 To view multiple entries, click Back to return to the same place in the index. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 1 Adobe Illustrator Help Using Help Using Help | Contents | Index Back 2 To find a topic using the Find command: 1 Choose Edit > Find. 2 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. 3 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 2 Adobe Illustrator Help Contents Using Help | Contents | Index Back 3 Contents Looking 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 Using Help | Contents | Index Back 3 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 4 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.) 2 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 4 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 5 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 corner of the palette and hold down the mouse button. in the upper right 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). 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. Note: A few palettes, such as the Color palette, cannot be resized by dragging. · · Using Help | Contents | Index Back 5 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 6 Toolbox overview (1 of 5) The selection tool (V) selects entire objects. The direct-selection tool (A) selects points or path segments within objects. The groupselection tool selects objects and groups within groups. The magic wand tool (Y) selects objects of similar attributes. The direct-select lasso tool (Q) selects points or path segments within objects. The lasso tool selects entire objects. The pen tool (P) draws straight and curved lines to create objects. The add-anchorpoint tool (+) adds anchor points to paths. The delete-anchorpoint tool (-) deletes anchor points from paths. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 6 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 7 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. The vertical areatype tool changes closed paths to vertical type containers and lets you enter and edit type within them. The vertical pathtype tool changes paths to vertical type paths and lets you enter and edit type on them. Toolbox overview (2 of 5) The line tool (\) draws individual straight line segments. The arc tool draws individual concave or convex curve segments. The spiral tool draws clockwise and counterclockwise spirals. The grid tool draws rectangular grids. The polar grid tool draws circular chart grids. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 7 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 8 The polygon tool draws regular, multisided shapes. The star tool draws stars The flare tool creates lens-flare or solar-flare-like effects. The paintbrush tool (B) draws freehand and calligraphic lines, as well as art and patterns on paths. The pencil tool (N) draws and edits freehand lines. The smooth tool smooths bezier paths. The erase tool erases paths and anchor points from the artwork. The rotate tool (R) rotates objects around a fixed point. Toolbox overview (3 of 5) The reflect tool (O) flips objects over a fixed axis. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 8 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 9 The reshape tool smooths or changes a path while retaining the path's overall shape. The warp tool (Shift+R) molds objects with the movement of the cursor (like molding clay, for example). The twirl tool creates swirling distortions within an object. The pucker tool deflates an object. The bloat tool inflates an object. The scallop tool adds many curved details to the outline of an object. The crystallize tool adds many spiked details to the outline of 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. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 9 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 10 Toolbox overview (4 of 5) The symbol sizer tool resizes symbol instances. The symbol spinner tool rotates symbol instances. The symbol stainer tool colorizes symbol instances. The symbol screener tool applies opacity to symbol instances. The symbol styler tool applies the selected style to symbol instances. The column graph tool (J) positions columns vertically. The stacked column graph tool stacks columns on top of one another. The bar graph tool positions columns horizontally. The stacked bar graph tool stacks columns and positions them horizontally. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 10 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 11 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. The mesh tool (U) creates and edits meshes and mesh envelopes. The gradient tool (G) adjusts the beginning and ending points and angle of gradients within objects. Toolbox overview (5 of 5) 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 measure tool measures the distance between two points. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 11 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 12 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. · · · · · · Using Help | Contents | Index Back 12 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 13 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 "Soft-proofing colors" on page 185.) 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. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 13 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 14 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 14 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 15 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 "Step 2: Select overprint options for overlapping colors" on page 346.) 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 "Scaling" on 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. 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. Back 15 · · · · Using Help | Contents | Index Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 16 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.) Using Help | Contents | Index Back 16 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 17 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 17 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 18 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 "Opening and placing artwork" on page 33.) To display transparency interactions with linked images: 1 If necessary, choose Window > Links. 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. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 18 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 19 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]. Using Help | Contents | Index Back 19 Adobe Illustrator Help Looking at the Work Area Using Help | Contents | Index Back 20 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). Using Help | Contents | Index Back 20