No description of Adobe Illustrator would be complete without that well-known, but little utilized area called Preferences. Illustrator preferences serve several purposes. They help customize the program to your particular designing style, and they help you utilize available computer resources to increase the overall performance of the program.
As you use Illustrator, you’ll come to realize the importance of working with units and rulers. Precision is the name of the game when you are working with images. What about the color of your guides, grids, and slices? No big deal, you say. Well, if you’ve ever tried viewing a blue guide against predominantly blue artwork, you know exactly why guide color is important. By working through preferences, such as Display Performance and Scratch Disks, speed increases of up to 20% can be achieved.
In addition, customizing the program helps make you more comfortable, and studies show that the more comfortable you are as a designer, the better your designs. Plus, being comfortable allows you to work faster, and that means you’ll accomplish more in the same amount of time. What does setting up preferences do for you? They make Illustrator run faster, you work more efficiently, and your designs are better. That’s a pretty good combination. Illustrator doesn’t give you Preferences to confuse you, but to give you choices, and those choices give you control.
IL 1.4
Illustrator’s General preferences help you configure some of the more common features of the program. Some of the options include keyboard increment choices to move selected objects with arrow keys, anti-aliased artwork to smooth out edges, showing tooltips to display onscreen help tags, and scaling stroke & effects to scale an object’s stroke weight and appearance when you it. You can also click the Reset All Warning Dialogs to allow warnings for which you previously selected the Don’t Show Again check box.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click General.
Select the various options you want to use:
Keyboard Increment. Enter a distance value (0-1296 points) that a selected object moves when an arrow key is pressed.
Constrain Angle. Enter the angle (−360 to 360) for the x and y axes. Many tool operations and other measurements are calculated relative to this angle.
Corner Radius. Enter a value (0-1296 points) to specify the curvature in the corners of objects drawn with the Rounded Rectangle tool.
Disable Auto Add/Delete. Select to disable the behavior of the Pen tool to change to the Add Anchor Point or Delete Anchor Point tool when you point to an anchor.
Use Precise Cursors. Select to use crosshairs instead of the tool icon for drawing and editing tools.
Anti-aliased Artwork. Select to display smoother edges of vector objects.
Show Tool Tips. Select to display a popup tag with a name or short description when you point to a program item, such as a button or tool.
Select Same Tint %. Select to select only objects with the same spot color and tint percentage as the currently selected object when you use the Fill Color and Stroke Color commands.
Append [Converted] Upon Opening Legacy Files. Select to append “[Converted]” to Illustrator 11 or earlier files when you open them.
Double Click To Isolate. Select to place a double-clicked group in Isolation Mode.
Use Japanese Crop Marks. Select to use Japanese-style crop marks when you print separations.
Transform Pattern Tiles. Select to transform a pattern when you use a transformation tool on an object that contains a pattern.
Scale Strokes & Effects. Select to scale an object’s stroke weight and appearance when you scale an object by using its bounding box, the Scale tool or the Free Transform tool.
Use Preview Bounds. Select to include an object’s stroke weight and any effects when calculating its dimensions.
Reset All Warning Dialogs. Click to allow warnings for which you previously selected the Don’t Show Again check box.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
Illustrator’s Selection & Anchor Displays preferences allow you to set selection and anchor relation options. The Selection options include Tolerance, which specifies a value within which an anchor point becomes selected when you click near it; Object Selection by Path Only, which selects an object when you click a path segment or anchor point; and Snap to Point, which snaps objects to an anchor point or guide within the specified value. The Anchor Display main options include Anchors and Handles, which allow you to select the display of anchor points and handle end points.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Selection & Anchor Display>.
Select the Selection Options you want to use:
Tolerance. Enter a value (in pixels) within which an anchor point becomes selected when you click near it with the Direct Selection tool.
Object Selection by Path Only. Choose to select an object with the Selection or Direct Selection tool when you click a path segment or anchor point.
Deselect to select a filled object in Preview view with a selection tool when you click the filled area.
Snap to Point. Select to snap objects to an anchor point or guide within the specified value (in pixels).
Select the Anchor Point and Handle Display options you want to use:
Anchors. Specify the display of anchor points.
Handles. Specify the display of handle end points (direction points)
Highlight anchors on mouse over. Select to highlight the anchor point located directly below the mouse pointer.
Show handles when multiple anchors are selected. Select to display direction lines on all selected anchor points when you use the Direct Selection or Group Selection tool to select an object.
Deselect to display direction lines for an anchor point when it is the only anchor point on the path or when the Bezier segment for the direction line is selected and the anchor point is not selected.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
Although Illustrator is not by definition a typesetting application, such as Adobe InDesign, it does have some very powerful type features. For example, Adobe Illustrator allows you to set options to customize the way you select text. In addition, Illustrator’s type menu lets you see fonts exactly as they will print or display. For designers who use a lot of fonts, this WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) font menu is a timesaver. You can use Type preferences to help you select the type and font options you want to use.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Type.
Specify values for Size/Leading, Tracking, and Baseline Shift to increment selected text each time you press a keyboard shortcut for the command.
Select from the following Type options you want to use:
Type Object Selection by Path Only. Choose to select text when you click on a type path.
Deselect to select text when you click with a selection tool on or near the type.
Show Asian Options. Select to display Japanese, Chinese, and Korean type options in the Character and Paragraph panels.
Show Font Names In English. Select to display non-roman fonts using their roman names.
Font Preview Size. Select to display fonts on the menu in small, medium, or large size.
Enable Missing Glyph Protection. Select to automatically select incorrect, unreadable characters between roman and non-roman (Japanese or Cyrillic) fonts.
Use Inline Input for Non-Latin Text. Select to type non-Roman characters directly into Illustrator instead of using a separate dialog box.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
While changing the measurable units and rulers do not affect output quality, they do help to measure information in a document consistent with the specific output device. In Units & Performance preferences, you can set units of measure for general, stroke, and type related features. The General option (Units) sets a unit of measure for rulers, dialog boxes, and Transform, Control, and Info panels. To maximize preformance in Illustrator, you can drag the Hand Tool slider to specify a balanced performance setting between Full Quality and Faster Updates.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Units & Display Performance.
Select from the following Units options you want to use:
General. Select a unit of measure for rulers, dialog boxes, and Transform, Control, and Info panels.
Stroke. Select a unit of measure for the Strokes panel and Stroke Weight field on the Control panel.
Type. Select a unit of measure for the Character and Paragraph panels.
Asian Type. Select a unit of measure for Asian type.
Numbers Without Unit Are Points. Select to not convert points to picas when Picas is set as the General unit.
Identify Objects By. For dynamic objects, select an option to assign variables to the Object Name or an XML ID.
Drag the Hand Tool slider to specify a performance setting.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
Illustrator allows you to slice a document into smaller pieces. You might want to slice an image to create interactive links; however, the best reason is speed. You gain speed by compressing individual slices to reduce the image size. In Slices preferences, you can set options to show a slice number on the screen for easier management and select a line color for slices. In Hyphenation preferences, you can set options to specify a default language, and enter words in the New Entry box that you want hyphenated a certain way.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Slices.
Select from the following Slice options you want to use:
Show Slice Numbers. Select to show slice numbers.
Line Color. Click the list arrow, and then select a line color for slices.
Click the list arrow, and then click Hyphenation.
Select from the following Hyphenation options you want to use:
Default Language. Select a default language for use with Hyphenation.
Exceptions. Enter words in the New Entry box that you want hyphenated a certain way (include the hyphen), and then click Add. To delete an entry, select it from the list, and then click Delete.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
The Plug-ins preferences give you the ability to organize your plug-ins by saving them in one or more folders. These additional folders are typically used to hold third-party plug-ins. When selected, plug-ins contained within the folder will be available in Illustrator. Organizing your plug-ins into folders helps keep your projects focused and reduces the clutter of plug-ins when you want to select them.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks.
Select the Additional Plug-Ins Folder check box if you have additional plug-ins stored outside the default Illustrator plug-ins folder.
Important
The first time you select this option, Illustrator asks you where the plug-ins are stored.
If you change the location of your additional plug-ins folder, you can always click Choose and navigate to it.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
The Scratch Disk preferences are available to help you get the best performance out of your computer by letting you choose one or more hard drives for scratch operations. When your computer doesn’t have enough RAM to perform an operation, Illustrator uses free space on any available drive, known as a Scratch Disk. Illustrator runs faster when you divide the Scratch Disk workload. Scratch operations are performed on your hard drive and take place when Illustrator is using one of its many filters and adjustments. Illustrator detects and displays all available disks in Plug-ins & Scratch Disks preferences, where you can select the disks you want to use. By assigning additional hard drives to the task, you speed up Illustrator’s overall performance. Scratch Disk changes take effect the next time you start Illustrator.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Plug-ins & Scratch Disk.
Click the Primary list arrow, and then select a location for use as a virtual memory location for processing.
Click the Secondary list arrow, and then select a location for use as a secondary virtual memory location for processing when needed.
Important
Illustrator holds scratch disk space as long as the application is open. To delete scratch disk space you must close Illustrator.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
User Interface preferences give you control over some user interface features. If you prefer to use individual windows for your documents, you can turn off the Open Documents As Tabs option; otherwise it’s on by default. You can use the Brightness control to specify different shades of gray for display panels. In addition, you can also set options to automatically collapse icon panels when you click away from them, and allow you to open documents as tabs instead of individual document windows.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click User Interface.
Select from the following Interface options:
Brightness. Drag the slider to specify a gray value from Dark to Light for the background of all panels.
Auto-Collapse Icon Panels. Automatically collapses icon panels when you click away.
Open Documents As Tabs. Select to open documents as tabs instead of individual document windows.
Click OK.
IL 1.4, 9.3
In File Handling & Clipboard preferences, you can set file linking and copying to the Clipboard options. You can set file linking options to display linked images as low-resolution to increase performance and specify how to update the links. In addition, you can set options to specify what format you want to use to copy content to the Clipboard. The available options include PDF and AICB (a PostScript format). For the AICB option, you can also select an option to copy the selection as a set of detailed paths or preserve the selection’s appearance and any overprinting.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click File Handling & Clipboard.
Select from the following Files options:
Use Low Resolution Proxy for Linked EPS. Select to display linked images as low-resolution to increase performance.
Update Links. Specify how to update linked images: Automatically (no dialog box), Manually (update in the Links panel), or Ask When Modified (use dialog box).
Select from the following Clipboard on Quit options:
Copy As PDF. Select to copy a selection to the Clipboard in the PDF file format, which preserves transparency.
Copy As AICB. Select to copy a selection to the Clipboard in the AICB file format (a PostScript format). Select an option to copy the selection as a set of detailed paths or to preserve the selection’s appearance and any overprinting.
Click OK.
IL 1.4
If a printer uses a combination of CMYK inks instead of the actual 100K black tone to create a rich black look, you can set options in the Appearance of Black preferences to specify how you want to create the appearance of black in your documents. There are two available options to determine the appearance of black in your document: one for On Screen and another one for Printing/Exporting. Each of the options allows you to specify how you want to work with the appearance of black (true black or rich black) in your documents.
Click the Edit (Win) or Illustrator (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Appearance of Black.
Select from the following Appearance of Black options:
On Screen. Select Display All Blacks Accurately to display blacks based on actual CMYK color values or select Display All Blacks as Rich Black to display all blacks as rich blacks (a mix of CMYK values).
Printing / Exporting. Select Output All Blacks Accurately to print blacks using actual CMYK color values on RGB and grayscale devices, or select Output All Blacks as Rich Black to print blacks as rich blacks (a mix of CMYK values) on RGB devices.
Click OK.
IL 1.9
A wise man once wrote “time is money,” and Illustrator is a program that can consume a lot of time. That’s why the Illustrator application uses keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard Shortcuts, as their name implies, let you perform tasks in a shorter period of time. For example, if you want to open a new document in Illustrator, you can click the File menu, and then click New, or you can abandon the mouse and press Ctrl+N (Win) or
+N (Mac) to use shortcut keys. Using shortcut keys reduces the use of the mouse and speeds up operations. In fact, a recent study in the American Medical Journal suggested that the use of shortcut keys significantly cuts down on repetitive stress, and reduces instances of carpal tunnel syndrome. Illustrator raises the bar by not only giving you hundreds of possible shortcut keys, but also actually allowing you to define your own shortcuts.
Click the Edit menu, and then click Keyboard Shortcuts.
Click an arrow (left column) to expand the menu that contains the command for which you want to create a shortcut.
Select an item from the Commands list.
Use the keyboard to create the new shortcut. For example, press Ctrl+N (Win) or
+N (Mac).
Click OK.
Click OK.
When you design on a computer, you’re leaving the natural world of oil, watercolor, and canvas, for the electronic world of computer monitors and pixels (don’t worry, it’s a relatively painless transition). Without a doubt, there are many differences between traditional and digital design; however, it’s not necessary to abandon all aspects of the natural media world. For example, the computer mouse has always been a problem with designers who miss the feel and control of a brush in their hands. Fortunately, technology came to the rescue several years ago, with the invention of the drawing tablet. Drawing tablets combine a drawing surface and a brush-like drawing tool in the form of a pen. A designer picks up the pen and moves it across the drawing tablet surface. In turn, the drawing tablet interprets those movements as brush strokes. Not only does Illustrator fully support drawing tablet technology, it also interprets the particular drawing style of the designer. For example, pushing harder with the brush against the drawing tablet instructs Illustrator to create a wider stroke, or to apply more color. Drawing tablets have helped to translate the control of working with real art brushes on canvas, into the world of the digital designer. Of all the manufacturers, Wacom stands out as the leader in drawing tablet technology. Wacom returns the feel of designing with a brush to the digital designer’s world, and the software required to power the tablet works seamlessly with Illustrator and the Windows or Macintosh operating systems. To check out which tablet might be right for your needs, point your browser to www.wacom.com and check out the available options.
