Illustrator® CS2 Killer Tips

Illustrator® CS2 Killer Tips

Released September 2005
Publisher(s): New Riders
ISBN: 9780321330659

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Book description

Over 300 productivity-enhancing secrets you need to know about Illustrator CS. Fully illustrated, stand-alone tips reveal the hidden features and productivity-enhancing tricks that allow you to accomplish more in less time with Illustrator CS2. Easy-to-browse format lets you find and apply information instantly and includes many tips and techniques that focus on Illustrator CS2’s new features: Converting bitmaps into vectors with Live Trace, Painting with the new Live Paint tool, creating Custom Workspaces, and more.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Authors
  4. Introduction
    1. The idea behind this book
    2. Is this book for you?
    3. Is this book for Mac or Windows, or both?
    4. How to use this book
  5. 1. Basic Training: Basic Tips You Can’t Live Without
    1. Make Yourself Famous
    2. Additional Content
    3. More Additional Content
    4. Wacom Pen Tablets Work in Illustrator Too
    5. Ongoing Feedback
    6. Timing Is Everything
    7. The Ever-Changing Palette
    8. Quick Delete from Palettes
    9. Locking and Unlocking Guides
    10. Choose the Best Selection Tool for the Job
    11. Direct Selection Secret
    12. Quick Selection Tool
    13. Hide Bounding Box
    14. Quick Move Dialog
    15. Selecting the Next Object Below
    16. Create by Measure
    17. Position Shapes as You Draw
    18. Drawing Curves More Easily
    19. Simplifying a Path
    20. Select None
    21. Everything Else But
    22. What Happens When You Can’t See an Object?
    23. Even It Out
    24. Reflect vs. Flip
    25. Tool Preferences
    26. Name a Swatch
    27. Reset the Default Fill and Stroke Colors
    28. Color Picker
    29. Hide or Show Multiple Layers Easily
    30. Filters vs. Effects?
    31. Edit Existing Patterns and Symbols
    32. Use Text Import Options
    33. Scale Text Frame But Not Text
    34. Multiple Glyph Choices
    35. Effecting a Stroke or a Fill
    36. Transform Again
    37. Create Your Own Crop Marks
    38. Open a Template
    39. Make Your Own Template
    40. Save for Microsoft Office
    41. View Actions in Button Mode
    42. “Hidden” Keyboard Commands
  6. 2. The View: Viewing, Doing, Undoing, and More
    1. How Many Undos?
    2. Actual Size, Fit in Window
    3. Really Fit in Window
    4. Switching Between Multiple Open Windows
    5. Default Workspace to the Rescue!
    6. Your Own Personal Workspace
    7. Give Your Custom Workspace a Shortcut
    8. Control Bar Getting in Your Way?
    9. Palette Shortcuts and Control Palette All in One
    10. Center That Guide
    11. Center Guides Automatically
    12. Change Guide Direction
    13. Make Guides from Objects
    14. Lock a Guide to an Object
    15. Change Locked Guide into a Path
    16. Lock Everything Else
    17. Get a New Perspective on Guides
    18. Auto Add Rulers to Every New Document
    19. Measure from Where You Want
    20. Reset the Rulers
    21. Change Ruler Measurement
    22. Measure the Way You Want
    23. Multiple Tools?
    24. Your Logo Ready Anytime
    25. Simulate Paper Color
    26. Show/Hide Center Point
    27. Angled Grid
    28. Everything You Wanted to Know About…
    29. Get Object Info
    30. Actions Within Actions
    31. Save That View
    32. Two Views, One Document
    33. Pinpoint in the Navigator
    34. Hide and Show Palettes
    35. Change Your Mind in Mid-Zoom
    36. The One-Slide Slide Show
    37. Remember One Palette Shortcut
    38. Zoom Tool Shortcut
    39. Hand Tool Shortcut
    40. Keep Only Selected Objects
    41. Be Precise
    42. Front and Center
    43. Seeing Red
    44. Add the Unrecordable
    45. Hide Your Guides in One Click
    46. Free Resources
    47. Back To Basics
    48. Don’t Squint, Click
    49. New Document the Same as Last Time
    50. Reset the Page
    51. Change Tools Quickly
    52. Multiple Pages?
  7. 3. Tool Time: Creating in Illustrator CS2
    1. Photo Inside of Type
    2. Start with a Font
    3. Mapping Made Easy
    4. Find Your Favorite Logo?
    5. Change Star Shape, Part One
    6. Change Star Shape, Part Two
    7. Send Up a Flare
    8. Permanent Pathfinder
    9. Spray On, Spray Off
    10. Years in Graph Data
    11. That’s Out of One Hundred
    12. Edit Graph Designs
    13. Sliding Graph Designs
    14. Drag-and-Drop Instead of Copy-and-Paste
    15. Change Tool Settings on the Fly
    16. Make Your Own Spirograph
    17. Convert to Shape
    18. Let the Blend Tool Do the Math
    19. More Blending
    20. Yet More Blending
    21. Bend the Blend
    22. Shapes Around a Circle
    23. Change the Blend
    24. Outline Stroke
    25. Live Trace Not Working How You’d Like? Try This
    26. Is Live Trace Still Not Working How You’d Like? Take It a Step Further
    27. Viewing Reference Photos When Using the Mesh Tool
    28. Gradient Brushes
    29. Divide Objects Below
    30. Change Grids on the Fly
    31. Live Interlocking Objects
    32. Live Interlocking Objects, Part 2
    33. Creating Wireframes
    34. Add to a Shape to Create a Shape
    35. Move Points as You Draw
    36. Auto Add/Delete Getting in Your Way
    37. Multiple Objects as a Mask
    38. Round Those Corners
    39. Same Width and Height
    40. Changing Arcs
    41. Close a Path Automatically
    42. Preserve Brush Stroke Options
    43. Disable Auto Add/Delete
    44. Split into Grid
    45. The Perfect Star
    46. Target Practice
    47. Opacity Masks
    48. Vintage Texture Effect
  8. 4. Nip/Tuck: Selecting, Editing, and Transforming
    1. Save a Selection
    2. Reshape Paths by Drawing
    3. Reshape Paths by Painting?
    4. Editing a Type Path
    5. Cut or Add a Point
    6. Join vs. Average & Join
    7. Average and Join in One Step
    8. The True Center
    9. Bigger or Smaller a Bit at a Time
    10. Scale Tool Cloning
    11. Keep Proportions
    12. Quick Flip
    13. Liquify Brush Size
    14. Select Same, Again
    15. Select Color from Swatches
    16. Selecting Groups
    17. Selecting Mesh Points Easily
    18. Selecting Multiple Mesh Points Easily
    19. Let Illustrator Calculate It for You
    20. Editable Transformations
    21. Rotate with Care
    22. Rotation by the Numbers
    23. Repeat Last Pathfinder
    24. Transform by Number
    25. Free Transform
    26. Pick The Best Transformation
    27. Select Behind
    28. New Stroke Options in Illustrator CS2
    29. Scale Strokes & Effects
    30. Odd Numbers
    31. Move and Copy
    32. Straight Cuts
    33. Move It by Measure
    34. Draw and Smooth
    35. Simplify Path
    36. Magic Wand Not Working
    37. Copy While Transforming
    38. Transform Again and Send to Back
    39. Transform Again, Again
    40. Aligning the Fast Way
    41. Align to a Specific Object
    42. Convert Dashed Stroke to Outline
    43. Make a Mesh with Text
    44. Drag-and-Drop
    45. The Missing Twist Tool
  9. 5. Different Strokes: Colors, Swatches, Fills, and Strokes
    1. Your Colors, Every Time
    2. Slightly Lighter, Somewhat Darker
    3. Grab Only the Color
    4. Make Your Own Patterns
    5. Transform Just the Pattern
    6. Color the Opposite
    7. Use Global Color
    8. Borrow Some Color
    9. Persistent Swatches
    10. Color from Anywhere
    11. Gradient Palette Shortcut
    12. One-Color Gradient
    13. Color Stop
    14. Duplicate a Color Stop
    15. Swap Stops
    16. Use a Swatch as a Stop
    17. Quick Stroke Change
    18. Change Color Modes in the Color Palette
    19. Use Multiple Strokes in Appearance
    20. Round Joins
    21. Apply Sampled Colors
    22. Change Live Paint Behavior
    23. Same Color Again
    24. Fill and Stroke from the Keyboard
    25. None in a Hurry
    26. Want the Opposite?
    27. Make a Spot Color
    28. Complementary Colors
    29. Invert the Color
    30. Replace One Swatch with Another
    31. Grayscale or Color Gray
    32. Find a Color
    33. Grayscale Print from a Color File
    34. Save Swatch Libraries
    35. Expand a Gradient
    36. Test Page
    37. Fade to Nothing
    38. Use Preview Bounds
    39. One-Time Preview Bounds
  10. 6. Sultans of Swing: A Killer Collection of Illustrator Artists
    1. Scott Hinton
    2. David Pounds
    3. Philip J. Neal
    4. Mike Sellers
    5. Todd Ferris
    6. Scott Weichert
    7. John Schwegel
    8. Jib Hunt
    9. Brooke Nuñez
    10. Erwin Haya
    11. Mark Anderson
    12. Christian Musselman
  11. 7. Get Smart: Layers and Transparency
    1. Dim Images
    2. Name the New Layer
    3. White Really Isn’t White
    4. Hide Other Layers
    5. Change One Layer to Outline View
    6. Change Other Layers to Outline View
    7. Release the Layers!
    8. Copy an Object to a Layer
    9. Duplicate the Entire Layer
    10. Select Everything on a Layer
    11. Select Everything on Multiple Layers
    12. Lock All Other Layers
    13. Use Layers to Unlock Individual Objects
    14. Locate Layer
    15. Jump to a Layer
    16. Custom Layer Row Size
    17. Expand All Sublayers
    18. New Layer on Top
    19. New Layer Below
    20. Target a Layer
    21. Moving Targets
    22. Moving Targets, Part Two
    23. Paste Remembers Layers
    24. Mirror Reflections
    25. Layer Comps?
    26. Selecting Multiple Layers
    27. Move Objects to a Different Layer
    28. Vector Templates?
    29. Don’t Print
    30. No Sublayers
    31. Hide Template
    32. When Select All Doesn’t Work
    33. Merge Selected
    34. Collect in a New Layer
  12. 8. Extreme Makeover: Symbols, Brushes, Appearance, Filters, and Effects
    1. What Is New Art Has Basic Appearance?
    2. Effect Gallery
    3. Scrubby Sliders
    4. Creating Arrowhead Designs
    5. Symbolism Chooser
    6. Using the Eyedropper to Sample Appearance
    7. Drag an Appearance
    8. Merge Styles
    9. Instant Lichtenstein or Pop Art Dot Effect
    10. Apply the Same Effect Again
    11. Filters vs. Effects? What’s the Difference?
    12. Reset Effect and Filter Settings
    13. Add a Second Stroke
    14. Drop Shadows
    15. Check Document Raster Effects Settings
    16. Breaking a Link to a Style
    17. Disappearing Effects When Switching Between RGB and CMYK
    18. Add Stroke to Placed Image or Photo
    19. Redefine Symbols
    20. Viewing the Intensity of the Symbol Tools
    21. More Intensity, Different Size
    22. Change Multiple Symbols
    23. New Symbol and Instance
    24. Select All Instances (and Replace Them Too)
    25. Replacing Symbols
    26. Reverse Engineering a Graphic Style
    27. Why Are Some Filters and Effects Grayed Out?
    28. See 3D Effects While You’re Applying Them
    29. Rotate 3D Objects the Right Way
    30. Creating a 3D Banner
    31. Adding Text to the Banner
    32. Get Your Artwork in 3D
    33. 3D as a Style
    34. Stain Removal
    35. Scatter Brush Options
    36. Scatter Enhancers
    37. Symbol Stacking Order
    38. Make Your Own Bevels for 3D
    39. Stain Repellant
    40. Getting More Symbols in Illustrator
    41. Free! 1,000+ Scientific Symbols for Illustrator
    42. Brush Options vs. Options of Selected Object
    43. Birthday Brush
  13. 9. Trading Spaces: Text, Text, Text
    1. Selecting Text
    2. Picking the Next Word
    3. Select by Paragraphs
    4. Change the Default Font in Illustrator
    5. Pick a Font by Name
    6. Move All Tabs at Once
    7. Change Tab Style
    8. Delete All Tabs
    9. Evenly Spaced Tabs
    10. Tab Leaders
    11. Line Up the Tab Ruler
    12. Align On
    13. Angled Tabs
    14. Scroll the View with Text
    15. Quick Edit
    16. Hanging Indents
    17. Reset All Settings
    18. Colored Text, Colored Box
    19. Horizontal to Vertical Type
    20. Kern from the Keyboard
    21. Tracking with the Keyboard
    22. Control Number of Recent Fonts
    23. Font Preview—Or Not
    24. Reset Kerning and Tracking
    25. Open and Start Editing
    26. Edit Imported Text
    27. Reset Horizontal Scaling
    28. Set Leading to the Font Size
    29. Increase or Decrease Leading
    30. Convert Paragraph Text
    31. Cleaning Up Your Text
    32. Make Your Own Typeface
  14. 10. Whose Line Is It Anyway? ...And More Text
    1. Transforming Type
    2. Drag-and-Drop Text from Desktop
    3. Before and After Legacy Text
    4. Type Size by Math
    5. Gradient-Filled Text
    6. Hide the Highlight
    7. Clear the Override
    8. Override the Override
    9. Load Styles from Other Documents
    10. Angled Margins
    11. Character Rotation
    12. Convert Warped Text to Outlines
    13. Edit Warped Text
    14. Type on a Circle
    15. Stop Flipping
    16. Baseline Shift Amount
    17. Type Not on a Path
    18. Copy from Text
    19. Thread Text into a New Box
    20. Hide Text Threads
    21. Threaded Text Blocks of Any Shape
    22. Stop the Threading
    23. Thread Text on Two Paths
    24. Text Wrap Around a Photo
    25. Make a Fraction
    26. Don’t Have an Open Type Font?
    27. Automatic Ordinals
    28. Global Change Case
    29. Blend Two Text Objects
    30. Your Styles in Every Document
    31. Columns and Rows Galore
    32. Columns and Rows in Any Shape
    33. Turn Off Typographer’s Quotes
    34. Pull It Together
  15. 11. Friends: Illustrator with Other CS2 Applications
    1. Export in Photoshop Format
    2. Open an Illustrator File In Photoshop
    3. Place an .ai File into Photoshop
    4. Drag-and-Drop into Photoshop
    5. Drag-and-Drop from Desktop
    6. Open a PSD File in Illustrator
    7. Place a PSD File into Illustrator
    8. Place in Illustrator from Adobe Bridge
    9. Change Between Embedded and Linked Graphics
    10. Editing Linked Images
    11. Vector Shapes in Photoshop
    12. Without Warning
    13. No Visible Image
    14. Copying-and-Pasting Between Illustrator and Photoshop
    15. Drag from Illustrator to Make a Path in Photoshop
    16. Your Illustrator Logo Built Into Photoshop
    17. Export Paths from Photoshop
    18. Borrow Shapes from Photoshop to Use in Illustrator
    19. Common Color Settings
    20. Take Your Swatches Anywhere
    21. Info for Photoshop
    22. Metadata Templates to Save You Time
    23. Show Images or Photos in Outline Mode
    24. Dashed Lines in Photoshop (Thanks to Illustrator)
    25. Stop Clipping When Saving as an EPS
    26. Illustrator Layers in Acrobat
    27. Open a PDF in Illustrator
    28. Place a PDF with Spot Color
    29. Sending a File to a Service Bureau
    30. Reduce File Size
    31. Cleaning Up Your Illustrations
    32. Save for Older Versions of Illustrator
    33. Trial Separation
    34. Printing Even Larger Than Illustrator Will Let You
    35. Save Preset for Printing
    36. Saving Print Settings
    37. Save for Web Right Within Illustrator
    38. Start Over in Save for Web
    39. Remember Your Save for Web Settings
    40. Optimize by File Size
    41. Flattener Preview
    42. Get Your Gradients to Print
    43. Miss the Old Gal?
  16. Colophon
  17. Additional Resources

Product information

  • Title: Illustrator® CS2 Killer Tips
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: September 2005
  • Publisher(s): New Riders
  • ISBN: 9780321330659