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You can use the existing template from the library as well as from internet. Share your design with friends and colleagues if you want to experience the multiple platform capability of this software. There are some powerful additions such as the Blob Brush tool and transparency in gradients inspire fresh creativity.

Gradients in any design are present and you can design a fresh gradients as well with the help of Blob Brush tool. Overall workflow with this software is much more than CS3 version of Adobe Illustrator, because it has so many new features like Smooth design and multi core processing.

Smart Guides are also available, which further makes the tasks faster than the normal versions. Isolation mode and new panel makes the work more easier for all the designers who need some smoothness in the workflow. Print delivery is also more reliable with Separations Preview, and collaboration on motion and video projects is enhanced, thanks to improved cross-product integration. Such nice collection of features makes the software performance more better than old versions we have experienced.

Every design have some gradients and they can be edited as well. With the help of this new Blob Brush like in CorelDraw X8 Portable Version , change the specs of all the gradients that you have in the design.

The Tabs panel moves directly above the selected text object, with the zero point aligned with the left margin. If necessary, you can drag the resize button at the lower right corner of the panel to expand or reduce the ruler.

Snap tab stops to the ruler units. By default, you can position tab stops anywhere along the tab ruler. Choose Snap To Unit from the panel menu or hold down Shift as you drag a tab stop.

Change the units of measure for the tab ruler. To change the units of measure for all files, specify a new value for General Units in the Units preferences. To change the units of measure for the current file, specify a new units value in the Document Setup dialog box.

Set tabs. Insert the cursor in a paragraph, or select a type object to set tab stops for all paragraphs in the object. Do one of the following:. Click a location on the tab ruler to position a new tab stop.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add additional tab stops. Repeat tabs. Click an insertion point in the paragraph. In the Tabs panel, select a tab stop on the ruler. Choose Repeat Tab from the panel menu.

Move tabs. Drag the tab to a new location. As you move a tab stop, a visual guide appears in the selected text. Remove tabs. Drag the tab off the tab ruler. Select the tab, and choose Delete Tab from the panel menu. To return to the default tab stops, choose Clear All from the panel menu. Specify characters for decimal tabs. In the Tabs panel, create or select a decimal tab on the tab ruler.

 
 

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Using Adobe illustrator cs4 tabs free download Illustrator CS4, you can create illustrations, logos and graphics. You can work with multi-page documents: add several artboards, copy them, modify and export to PDF format. Adobe Illustrator offers brushes, a pen and tools such as the Blob Brush Tool that can be used for painting.

The latter allows combining the paths into one shape. By downloading Adobe Illustrator CS4, you get a full-featured vector graphics editor, capable of becoming a winner in Illustrator vs Photoshop battle. You can draw an illustration for a cartoon, create a logo for a website adobe illustrator cs4 tabs free download design branded products.

Besides, you can easily scale the developed adobe illustrator cs4 tabs free download. Both beginner and advanced illustrators and designers can make illstrator use of this software. Free Adobe Illustrator. Work with multi-page documents. You eownload create documents consisting of up to pages. Artboards can be dragged to the desktop, reoriented, or copied.

During printing, each artboard is placed on a separate page. While illustrayor to Acrobat, the program creates a multi-page PDF with numbered pages.

Brushes for combining paths. Free automatically combines all overlapping paths into a single path shape, regardless of the nature of the strokes in donwload picture.

Thanks to this illustratpr, you can draw a single, completely filled object, as well as change standard shapes such as a circle, rectangle, and paths. Improved gradients. You can use transparency in gradients and also blend colors directly in the necessary area of the object.

You don’t need to look for settings in the panel, http://replace.me/10203.txt it is possible to customize the gradient using the widget on the adobe illustrator cs4 tabs free download surface.

You can quickly view the color separations in the panel to immediately find improper colors. This will help you avoid typing errors. По ссылке, there are many other tools that can improve как adobe dreamweaver cs3 portable mega free download такой. The company has also updated the Graphic Styles functionality in Adobe Illustrator CS4 to make it easier for you to save and apply graphic effects, fill colors, and more.

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When working with large amounts of text in Illustrator, you do not have to keep applying the same font styles manually to every heading and block of text. You can simply save your settings using the Character Styles panel or the Paragraph Styles panel. To set a style, simply type your heading or paragraph using the font styles you want to save. A Styles panel box will appear, and in the upper-right corner will be a small arrow, which is the Styles menu.

When you would like to add your new Character or Paragraph Style to text, select the text. Then click on the style that you created in the Style panel box. The style you saved will now be added to the text.

To edit a style, click on the style in the panel box, then click to the Character and Paragraph Style options in the drop-down menu, or simply double-click on the style you want to change. Now on the left side of the dialog box that pops open, click on a formatting category.

Keep in mind that if text is selected, the changes will be made to it only. Click on the Selection tool and then click anywhere on the work desk to make sure that text is not selected before attempting to change the style of all text. To delete a style, select it in the Character or Paragraph Styles panel. The formatting of text associated with this style will not change, but a style will no longer be applied to this text.

Most Illustrator users know that type can be placed on a path to create shaped text or text that wraps around an object. The technique for applying text to a path is different depending on the path, though. Type can be placed on either an open path, which is a line with a beginning and end, or a closed path, such as a circle or square.

To place type on an open path i. Make sure to select the Type tool, and then move your cursor over the path until the cursor changes to a Type on a Path icon, which has a line through it.

Then just click on the path, and you will have created a Path Type object. The Stroke objects will be gone, and a blinking cursor will appear in which you can type your message. To make any changes to your open path type, choose the Selection tool and click on the path.

In and out ports small white boxes will appear at either end of the path and a line in the center and on the far left and right. Basically, Illustrator is now treating the path as it would area type.

Drag one of the lines to make the text path shorter or longer; make sure that your cursor is an arrow with a line-and-arrow symbol next to it. You can change the actual type just as you would any other area type, including by changing the font size. If this happens, a red plus sign will appear. If you click on the plus sign, the cursor will change to a linked container cursor it looks like a text box. Then, click on another area in your project to create another open path line of the same size and shape as your first.

New text will continue to flow onto this new line. Make changes to the actual path that the text sits on by choosing the Direct Selection tool and then clicking on the path.

You can now lengthen or shorten the path or change the shape, just as you would with any other path. You can also move the type to sit underneath the path by dragging the center line to the opposite side of the path.

Other changes can be made in this dialog box as well: change the effect, choose other path alignment options or adjust the spacing. The confusing part of placing type on a closed path is that the start and end points are in the same place. With an open path, your starting point is wherever you click with the Type tool to create a Path Type object, and the end point is the end of the path.

On a closed path, both the start and end points are wherever you click, because the object creates a continuous line. The center line on a closed path, such as a circle, would then be at the bottom of the circle if your start point is at the top.

To place type on a closed path, you will have to choose the Type on a Path tool by clicking on the Type tool and dragging to pull out the Type menu. Then click on the path where you would like the text to start and begin typing. Once again, make sure the cursor changes to the Type on a Path symbol.

Just as with an open path, you can change the location of the start and end points and, therefore, move the location of the text on the object. You can also move type underneath the line or flip type over the same way as you would with open type. Or you can make changes by dragging the center line. Point type, created by selecting the Type tool, is so called because it adds text to a certain point in an image. Area type, created by selecting the Area Type tool, adds text to fill a specified area of an image.

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Jayne says:. June 8, at pm. Dermot Reddan says:. February 12, at am. July 30, at am. Select Window Workspace Save Workspace. In the Save Workspace dialog box that opens, type in a name for this new workspace and click the OK button.

To use the new workspace, select its name from the Window Workspace menu. By default, the dock is collapsed. To expand it, click the tiny left-facing double arrows once at the top of the dock. Panels are grouped into families of similar tools. For example, the Swatches panel is grouped with the Brushes and Symbols, as shown in Figure Most panels share certain features, such as a button bar at the bottom, a flyout options menu, and the ability to expand, collapse, and be docked to the right edge of the workspace.

N Align This panel allows you to align objects. N Appearance This panel lets you view, build, and apply attributes to objects such as multiple fills, multiple strokes, transparency, and effects.

N Attributes Use this panel to view overprinting information and any web URLs associated with a selected object. N Brushes This panel lets you select a brush type. N Color Use this panel to select and apply color to your work. N Document Info Use this panel to view file information such as artboard size, color mode, font details, and ruler units.

N Gradient This panel lets you apply and adjust gradients. N Graphic Styles Use this panel to view, create, and apply custom graphic styles. N Pathfinder This panel allows you to apply transformations to add, subtract, trim, intersect, exclude, and merge objects. N Stroke Use this panel to adjust stroke settings such as weight, miter limit, alignment, dashed line, and cap and join shape.

N Swatches This panel displays preset color, gradient, and pattern swatches, custom swatches, and swatch libraries. N Symbols This panel displays preset vector symbols and symbol libraries.

It also lets you define and work with new custom symbols. N To open a panel, select the panel by its name from the Window menu or use the keyboard shortcut listed next to the panel name in the Window menu.

When a panel is opened, a checkmark will appear next to the panel name in the Window menu. N To dock and undock panels, click and drag a panel by its tab to the new desired location, which can be inside the existing panel group, into another panel group, into the dock as its own panel group, or outside the dock.

N To adjust the height of some of the panels within the dock, place your cursor above the dark gray divider line between any two panel groups, then click and drag when you see the vertical double-sided arrow.

N To reset the panel locations to their default layout positions, press the new Workspace button on the Control panel or select Window Workspace and choose the Basic or Essentials layout from the submenu, as seen in Figure N Transform Use this panel to apply transformations, such as scaling, rotating, and shearing, to selected artwork.

N Transparency This panel lets you adjust the opacity of selected objects, apply blending modes, and apply special opacity settings to grouped objects. Not only can you undock any panel or panel group from the docking area and put them back again, you can also completely close and reopen panels as needed, adjust the width, height, and appearance of any panel both inside and outside the dock, and drag on the tabs within a panel group to change the order of their display within the group.

Panel tab Input field. The Tools Panel The Tools panel, seen in Figure , can be expanded, collapsed, hidden, visible, docked, and undocked for freefloating placement in your workspace.

To see a tooltip displaying the name and keyboard shortcut of a tool such as P for the Pen Tool , hover your mouse over any of the tool icons. You can also do any of the following:. N To hide or show the Tools panel, select Window Tools.

N To use a tool, click its icon to select it. N To undock and move the Tools panel into the workspace, click and drag it from its top tab. N To toggle between single column and double column display, click the double arrow in the tab bar at the top of the Tools panel.

Flyout Menus Each of the tools that has a tiny black triangle next to it has a flyout menu beneath it containing a family of similar tools. To see the flyout menu, like the one shown in Figure , click and hold your mouse on that tool.

When the flyout menu appears, select any of the other tools by releasing your mouse when your cursor is floating above the desired tool. N With the flyout menu showing, drag your pointer over the tiny black arrow at the right edge of the tearoff menu to detach the flyout menu onto your artboard. To tearoff any of the flyout menus, drag your mouse to the tearoff bar on the right edge of the flyout menu, as shown in Figure After you release your mouse, the tearoff menu will appear as its own moveable and closeable mini Tools panel.

Tools and Tool Options This section will give you a quick overview of the Tools panel. Figure shows you a complete listing of all the available tools on the Tools panel including all of the tools hidden in each of the flyout menus. N Magic Wand Used to make selections based on object fill and stroke color, stroke weight, object opacity, and blending mode.

See Chapter 4. See Chapter 3. N Type Used to add text to the artboard. See Chapter N Line Segment Used to make line segments, spirals, and grids. N Rectangle Used to draw primitive shapes such as rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, polygons, stars, and flares.

See Chapter 5. N Scale Used to scale a selected object. N Warp Used to warp transform a selected object. See Chapter 2. N Slice Used to cut selected artwork into slices prior to optimizing graphics for the Web. See Chapters 3 and Stroke and Fill Tools N Used to specify the stroke and fill color for any selected object or path. You can toggle the active status of the Fill and Stroke icons by pressing the X key on your keyboard. N Fill To specify the fill color of a selected object, click the square Fill icon to activate the fill and change the color using the Swatches or Colors panel.

N Stroke To specify the stroke color of a selected object, click the Stroke icon to activate the stroke and change the color using the Swatches or Colors panel.

Screen Mode Tools N Click here or press the F key on your keyboard to toggle between three different screen modes for the workspace:. N Normal Screen Mode Shows full screen with application bar, document groups bar, artboard, rulers, Tools panel, and panels. N Full Screen Mode Shows expanded artboard with rulers.

All other workspace features are hidden. To get out of this mode, press the F key on your keyboard. Use these shortcuts at any time to access tools and features without using your mouse. To create a custom keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps: 1. Select Edit Keyboard Shortcuts to open the keyboard shortcut dialog box. Click the Save button to create a duplicate copy of the Illustrator Defaults keyboard shortcuts with your own name in order to preserve the original and keep your shortcuts separate.

You will now see this new name displaying the Set menu at the top of the dialog box. Select Tools or Menu Commands from the dropdown menu below the Set menu to see a listing of the existing tool or menu command keyboard shortcuts at the bottom of the dialog box. If the shortcut is already taken by another tool or menu command, an alert message will display in the bottom of the dialog box. If this occurs, try a different keyboard shortcut.

If the shortcut is available, the field will accept your input. Repeat steps 4 through 6 to create additional custom shortcuts. Click the OK button to close the window and begin using the new shortcuts. In addition to these, Illustrator allows you to either work with existing presets for creating transparencies, tracings, prints, PDFs, and SWFs, or create your own custom presets for each of these, which can then be loaded into the application when working on specific projects.

Preferences To access the Preferences dialog box, seen in Figure , select Edit Preferences Win or Illustrator General Preferences Mac and then choose one of the options from the flyout menu.

Once open, you can scroll through the different screens using the Previous and Next buttons to make adjustments to the different settings. Presets The Edit menu contains a list of preset options that refer to the default settings Illustrator will use when creating flattened transparencies, making image tracings, printing, creating PDFs, and exporting SWF files. By default, three resolutions are available: High, Medium, and Low. Use High for all your press outputs and high-quality proofs; Medium for onscreen proofs and files printing to PostScript color printers; and Low for publishing web files, exporting to SVG, or files to be output on black-and-white desktop printers.

When using the Live Trace tool to trace placed artwork, the tracing presets can be selected to determine how different types of artwork should be traced. You can modify these presets and create your own through the Tracing Presets dialog box. Print Presets When printing, you can create on-the-fly printing output settings through the File Print dialog box, or you can create and use custom Print Presets, or output settings, to match jobs to specific printers.

Edit these files through the Print Presets dialog box. Preset options include Flash Player Version, type of export, curve quality, frame rate, and more. Undoing and Automation One of the greatest things about Illustrator is the ability to undo and redo steps in your work. Illustrator supports unlimited undos, giving you the flexibility you need to try things out, change your mind, and make corrections as you go! You can also revert your file completely to its starting point and automate repetitive tasks using the Actions panel.

Repeat the Undo action as many times as needed to revert your work to the desired state. Likewise, when you open a file, you start with a clean slate. The Actions Panel To help speed up the process of repetitious work, Illustrator comes with a whole library of prerecorded actions inside the Actions panel.

Simply put, an action is a series of prerecorded steps or operations—such as selecting a tool, selecting an object, transforming that object, and optimizing the file as a web graphic—that can be played back at the push of a button.

You can use the Actions panel to play existing actions, as well as record, play, edit, and delete your own actions. Actions can include stops, where you can perform specific tasks like drawing with the pencil tool , as well as modal controls for entering specific values into a dialog box during playback.

To view the Actions panel, select Window Actions. The panel, shown in Figure , contains 22 prerecorded actions inside the Default Actions folder. A folder in this panel is called. You can create your own Sets and fill them with your own custom actions. Actions displaying a dialog icon next to it in the Dialog column of the panel will automatically open dialog boxes requiring user input.

This option can be toggled on or off in this column. Creating an Action To create a custom action, perform the following sample steps: 1. Click the Create New Set button to create a new folder for all your custom actions.

With the new Set folder selected, click the Create New Action button. In the New Action dialog box, enter a name for your action, and if desired, assign a function key and highlight color. Then, click Record. Select the object s on your artboard and perform the action s. When finished, click the Stop button to stop the recording. In fact, one of the things that makes this tool so powerful is that it pulls its online help files from community-generated del.

To open the panel, select Window Adobe Labs knowhow. The panel, shown in Figure , lets you get quick access to online information about a selected tool or search term.

Note: You must have a live Internet connection for this feature to work. Deleting an Action To delete an entire action, a step within an action, or even an entire Set folder , drag and drop the action, step, or Set into the Delete Selection trash icon at the bottom of the panel.

It can either be a blank file set up for a print, mobile, video, or web project, or you can start with one of the many free Illustrator template files provided by Adobe.

Setting up the file properly before you begin will help you avoid some common output mistakes. To change the document settings after you start working, select File Document Setup. N Name Enter a name for your document here. Use each profile as is, or as a starting point for creating a custom document profile.

Choose the Browse option to select and use your own custom and third-party profiles. N Number of Artboards Create files with multiple artboards by entering a number other than 1 in the Number Of Artboards field. Spacing and Rows fields will then become active, as well as the buttons to specify grid flow and layout orientation.

N Units Choose a unit of measure for your file and the document rulers. Options include points, picas, inches, centimeters, millimeters, or pixels. N Bleed The default Bleed options are typically set to zero, which is fine for most situations.

The typical setting is a minimum of 0. Projects with bleeds are printed on oversized paper and then trimmed down. When set, bleed guidelines appear outside the edges of the artboard as an aid during layout. N Raster Effects Raster Effects are special bitmap effects like a drop shadow that are drawn with pixels instead of vectors.

Select High ppi for all your Print projects, Medium ppi for your onscreen projects, and Low 72 ppi for your Web, Mobile and Devices, and Video and Film projects. N Transparency Grid This option appears when the Video and Film profile is selected so you can create work on a transparent background.

You may access these options through the View menu. Choose Default to see your work as vectors in full color. Select Pixel to see your work as it would appear if the art was converted from vector to rasterized pixelated art.

Select Overprint to preview your work onscreen to see roughly how transparency, blending, and overprinting will look in colorseparated output. This feature is not compatible with PDFs. Click it to launch Device Central to preview your file in a variety of simulated mobile devices. The template itself remains intact no matter how many times you open instances of it. To open and begin using a template, open one of the themed folders, select the desired file from the listing, and click the New button.

Once the file is open, be sure to save the file using the File Save command. All you have to do is set up a file the way you like it—including customized settings such as swatches, brushes, rulers, grids, guides, and magnification level—and then save it as a template by selecting File Save As Template.

However, you can still modify the number of artboards in your file after the file is already open. When creating multiple artboards by hand, as described in the following, keep in mind that as you create each new artboard, an artboard order number is automatically assigned to it. The number displays in the top left corner of the artboards when the Artboard tool is selected. Figure shows an example of a file with three artboards when the Artboard tool is selected.

To set up or change the number of artboards in your open document, follow these steps: 1. Select the Artboard tool at the bottom of the Tools panel. Once the tool is selected, the main artboard in your file becomes active. When the cursor turns into a double-sided arrow, click and drag to adjust the size. To add another artboard, click and drag in the workspace to draw a new artboard shape. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to add new artboards and reposition artboards in your layout.

You may also delete an artboard, whether selected or not, by clicking its close box. Select the Artboard tool from the Tools panel. Use the Artboard tools and settings on the Control panel, seen in Figure , to adjust the attributes of the selected artboard:. N New Artboard Click this button to add a new artboard to the center of your layout. You can then click and drag the new artboard to another location. N Display Options Menu Each artboard can have the following features turned on or off with these toggle buttons.

The icon of the last selected menu item will display to the left of the menu. N Show Cross Hairs Click here to add green cross hair guides representing the horizontal and vertical center of the artboard.

With multiple artboard files, the artboards will print as separate pages in the order they were created regardless of their placement on the artboard unless you specify that some of the artboards print while others do not. Since the size of the overscan varies from TV to TV, use a video safe area as a guide for content placement to ensure your text and graphics will fall within the action safe area of the TV screen.

You can also launch it by double-clicking the Artboard tool in the Tools panel. N File Save This opens the Save As dialog box, inside which you can choose a location for the saved file, type in a File name, select a file type from the Save As Type dropdown menu, and save your file. If the file has already been saved, the Save command will update the existing file with any recent changes. N File Save As Similar to File Save in that you will be confronted with a Save As dialog box, but your original file is closed and the Save As file becomes the opened active document in the Illustrator workspace.

N File Save A Copy This option saves a copy of the open file in your desired location with your desired file name, while leaving the original file opened. Native File Formats You should typically consider four file formats when saving your files. Also supported by some desktop publishing and drawing applications. These files support documents containing bitmap and vector graphics, text, and fonts.

The EPS format is a generic vector format and the option of choice if you plan to place the file into nonAdobe programs such as Microsoft Office programs or QuarkXPress. SVG Use this high-quality vector format when creating web graphics and art for interactive web files, such as Flash animations. After saving in one of these formats, you can safely export or create a copy of the file in any of the supported non-native file formats, as described next.

All this is done through the Illustrator Options dialog box, shown in Figure , which opens immediately after you save your file with a filename and an AI file type.

Exporting Files When you need a copy of a native Illustrator file in a non-native format, use the File Export command. The dropdown menu in the Export dialog box lists all the supported file types. Opening Files Illustrator lets you open existing Illustrator files as well as files created with other programs. You can open a file in four different ways:. Placing Artwork Placing importing artwork from another file into an open Illustrator document is different from pasting copied artwork into a file.

Illustrator supports the placement of many different file types, which are visible in the Files Of Type dropdown menu in the Place dialog box. N Linked art This gives you a low-resolution view of the linked artwork and maintains a connection with the original file.

When you print the file, the linked artwork will print in full-resolution. N Embedded art This embeds a full-resolution copy of the original art into your file, which could result in a higher file size. Placed files, whether linked or embedded, are easily identified in the Control panel when the object is selected and in the Links panel, which can be opened by selecting Window Links. Use the Links panel to view a list of all linked and embedded files and to select, update, embed, and access source artwork.

Figure shows an example of both linked and embedded art. Other icons that may appear in the panel include an exclamation, indicating the linked file needs to be updated due to changes in the original artwork , and a question mark, which indicates the linked file is either missing or has been moved and the path location to the file needs updating.

Moving Around the Workspace The following tools and panels will help you change the magnification of your page; reposition your view of the artwork when zoomed in or out; adjust the page orientation and units of measure on rulers; use grids, guides, and smart guides; and look at your work in the different preview modes.

The Zoom Tool Use the Zoom tool, which looks like a magnifying glass, to zoom in and out of your workspace. The area will zoom into view, filling the entire screen at the new magnification, as shown in Figure The zoom number displays in several places, including the Status bar, Document Title tab, and in the Info and Navigator panels. The Hand Tool Use the Hand tool to reposition your view of the artboard by dragging the view up, down, left, or right.

As you drag, the artboard within the work area shifts and will stay in the new position when you release your mouse. When you release your mouse, the cursor returns to the previous tool you were using. The Navigator Panel The Navigator panel, shown in Figure , allows you to quickly view a thumbnail of your work and adjust the magnification. A colored box in the thumbnail view shows your location on the image. The panel also has a zoom slider, zoom buttons, and the current zoom magnification.

The Info Panel The Info panel displays information about selected objects as well as any area in the workspace directly below the position of the pointer. Rulers, Grids, Guides, and Smart Guides When opening a new document, the document rulers, guides, and grids are hidden from view.

These visual aids are a must when creating art that requires precision alignment. Each can be easily turned on and off, and customized to meet your every need. The rulers will automatically display the unit of measure selected when you created the document points, picas, inches, millimeters, centimeters, or pixels. To see special artboard rulers directly above and along the left edge of your artboard, select View Show Artboard Rulers. Guides Once your rulers are displayed, you can easily drag nonprinting vertical and horizontal guides into the page to assist you with the alignment and placement of objects and text.

To create a guide, click the inside of the top or left ruler and drag your mouse into the workspace. Drag the guide indicator into the desired position on your artboard and then release. Repeat this process to bring additional guides into the workspace as needed. Figure shows a document with two guides in place and a third in the process of being placed. Guides can display as either lines or dots and in any color. N To lock and unlock guides, select View Guides Lock.

Snap to Grid When grids are visible, you can specify that Illustrator snaps objects to the gridlines when repositioning objects in the workspace. The grid need not be horizontal!

Once you click OK to close the dialog box, the grid will display at the new angle. So awesome! Smart Guides Smart Guides are visual aids that assist you with the creation, placement, alignment, transformation, and editing of objects. You can then drag objects to the desired position in the workspace and have them snap into place when the mouse pointer moving the object gets within 2 pixels of the anchor point.

You can actually feel the snapping occur with your mouse! The default full-color view of your page is called Preview mode. You can change this view to Outline mode so you see only the outlines, or paths, of your work without any color, gradients, or patterns applied to the fill or stroke. To switch from Preview to Outline mode, select View Outline. To return to Preview mode, select View Preview. Figure shows an object in both Preview and Outline mode. Print Tiling Tool The Print Tiling tool, located in the flyout menu under the hand tool on the Tools panel, lets you adjust the printable area of your artboard, which by default matches the size of the artboard s minus any margins as specified by your chosen printer.

To adjust the printable area, select the Print Tiling tool and click the artboard. Any work that falls outside these printable area guides will not be printed. With multiple artboards, each artboard has its own page tiling printable area that can be adjusted with the Print Tiling tool. The Bridge can be launched from any Adobe CS software application and supports both native Adobe and nonnative file formats.

When the Bridge opens, use the Folders panel on the left side of the application to browse for and find folders and files on your computer. The Content panel in the center of the Bridge will display thumbnail views of your files inside the selected directory.

This is a wonderfully powerful program that can streamline your work process and perform tasks such as batch renaming files, let you apply star label ratings to your files, preview files in a Slide Show format, and much more. When the page opens in your browser, click the Adobe Bridge link on the left to expand the navigation menu. Then click the Working With Adobe Bridge link to begin learning more about this useful tool. The Shape Tools Making shapes in Illustrator is incredibly easy to do!

In fact, all of the shape tools work in a similar fashion, so once you learn how to use one, you can apply those same skills to the rest. The shape tools are all located in the flyout menu under the Rectangle tool. How to Do Everything: Adobe Illustrator CS4 Because Illustrator is a vector-based program, all the shapes are drawn mathematically, which means you can alter the size of them as often as you like without any loss of resolution. You can even do things like enter the size of the shape in one unit of measure, such as inches, and have Illustrator automatically convert those units into another unit of measure, such as pixels.

Once shapes are created, you can modify their strokes and fills and further transform them with the other tools. Figure shows a star can be transformed into something new.

For best results, use the following guidelines when working with the shape tools:. Once the origin is set, drag in any direction to create the desired shape. For instance, drag up or down to create a tall shape, drag to the side to create a wide shape, or drag diagonally to create a more proportioned shape. The SHIFT key also constrains the paths and objects created by the other shape, pen, and line tools by aligning them to the artboard as you drag, or by ensuring the objects conform to or degree angles.

N Creating shapes with exact measurements To create shapes with precise dimensions, select the desired shape tool on the Tools panel and click once on the artboard without dragging. You can see these anchor points and paths as blue lines and blue dots around the edges of any selected object, like the example in Figure The Rectangle Tool Use the Rectangle tool to draw rectangular and square shapes with hard-edged corners.

Once you understand how to draw this shape, you can apply the same techniques for drawing shapes with the other tools. Select the Rectangle tool on the Tools panel. Click and drag your cursor diagonally on the artboard to create the desired shape. Release your mouse to add the shape to the artboard. In new, blank documents, the Stroke and Fill colors are set to a default white fill with a black 1-pt stroke.

When you need to create a rectangle or square using exact width and height measurements, select the Rectangle tool and click once on the artboard, without dragging, in the spot where you want the upper left corner the point of origin of your rectangle to be.

Enter the new desired Width and Height along with the desired unit of measure abbreviation, such as 3. Click the OK button. The new shape will be added to the artboard with the same stroke and fill attributes displaying in the Fill and Stroke boxes at the bottom of the Tools panel. To create a rounded rectangle, select the Rounded Rectangle tool on the Tools panel and click and drag your cursor diagonally on the artboard to create the desired shape.

Before you release your mouse, adjust the corner radius of your shape, if desired, by pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard: UP increases the corner radius, DOWN decreases the corner radius, LEFT removes the corner radius to create square corners, and RIGHT adds the maximum amount of curviness to create super-rounded corners. Figure shows examples of some rounded rectangles with different corner radius sizes. To create a rounded rectangle with a precisely sized corner radius, select the Rounded Rectangle tool and click the artboard.

Enter the desired Width and Height with the abbreviated unit of measure, such as 1 in, and then enter the desired Corner Radius size with unit of measure, such as 12 pt or 0. Click the OK button to add the new shape to your artboard. Once you create a shape, though you can edit it with other tools, there is no way to re-open the rounded rectangle radius dialog box to make precise adjustments to the corner radius.

Instead, your options include either creating a new shape with the desired dimensions and corner radius and deleting the old shape , or using a Convert To Shape effect, which can modify any shape into a rectangle, rounded rectangle, or ellipse. To modify a shape using the Convert To Shape effect, select the object to be modified and open the Shape Options dialog box by choosing Effect Convert To Shape and then selecting a shape such as Rounded Rectangle from the submenu.

When the dialog box opens, select Absolute to precisely resize the shape, or choose Relative to modify the size of the shape by adding extra width and height.

When applicable, enter the desired Corner Radius. To preview the shape effect, check the Preview checkbox. To accept the transformation, click the OK button. To reject it, click Cancel. The Ellipse Tool When you need to draw a circle or oval shape, select the Ellipse tool and click and drag on the artboard to create the desired shape.

Then, release the mouse to add the shape to the artboard. To create circles and ellipses with exact measurements, select the Ellipse tool and click without dragging on the artboard to open the Ellipse dialog box. Enter the desired measurements in the Width and Height fields, along with the unit of measure. For perfect circles, input the same unit, such as 1 in, in both the Width and Height fields.

Click OK to add the shape to your artboard. The Polygon Tool To draw polygons with three or more sides, select the Polygon tool and then click and drag on the artboard to create the desired shape. Before you release your mouse, you can add or subtract. When the shape meets your needs, release your mouse to add the polygon to your artboard. To create polygons with exact measurements, including the desired number of sides, select the Polygon tool and then click, without dragging, on the artboard to open the Polygon dialog box.

Enter a radius with the desired unit of measure, such as 2 in, enter the number of sides for your polygon in the Sides field, and click OK to add the polygon to your artboard. The Star Tool With the Star tool you can draw stars with three or more sides and with any length inner and outer radius for the points.

To create a star, select the Star tool, and then click and drag on the artboard to create a star shape. Before you release your mouse, use the following keyboard shortcuts to add or subtract points as well as increase or decrease the length of the points and center of the star:. When the star has the shape you want, release your mouse to add the shape to your artboard.

To draw a star that is perfectly sized with an exact number of points, select the Star tool and click without dragging on the artboard to open the Star dialog box. Enter the desired units and the unit of measure in the Radius 1 inner radius , Radius 2 outer radius , and Points number of points fields. Then, click OK to add the star to your artboard.

Figure shows a sample of the variety of shapes you can create with the Star tool. The Flare Tool The Flare tool creates the illusion of a lens flare. To use the Flare. Release the mouse to add the shape to your artboard.

For example, Figure shows how different flares look by themselves and on top of other objects. To customize the properties of the flare shape, select the Flare tool and click without dragging on the artboard to open the Flare Tool Options dialog box. Enter the desired settings to the Center, Halo, Rays, and Rings fields. For best results, enable the Preview checkbox to see the adjustments before you apply them. When satisfied, click the OK button to add the flare to your artboard, and then reposition the object as needed using the Selection tool.

The Line Segment Tools Drawing line segments with a vector tool is much simpler than trying to draw them by hand. The Line Segment Tool To create a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal straight line, select the Line Segment tool, click and drag on the artboard, and release the mouse to add the line segment to your artboard. To draw a line with precise dimensions, select the Line Segment tool and click the artboard to set the point of origin for the line and launch the Line Segment Tool Options dialog box.

Enter the desired length and angle for the line. If no stroke color is specified in the Tools panel but a fill color is, click the Fill Line checkbox to fill the line with the current fill color. Leave it unchecked to fill the line with the color specified for the stroke. Click OK to add the line segment to your artboard.

The Arc Tool Use the Arc tool to draw curved line segments. To draw an arc, select the Arc tool from the Tools panel, click the artboard, and drag to the desired length. After you release your mouse, the arc will be added to the artboard. Enter the desired arc attributes:. N Length X-Axis Enter a number to set the arc width. N Length Y-Axis Enter a number to set the arc height. N Reference Point Click a corner square in the reference point locator to set the point of origin for the arc.

When satisfied, click OK to add the arc to the artboard. Figure shows examples of an open arc, an open arc with fill, and a closed arc with fill. The Spiral Tool To create spirals quickly and easily, select the Spiral tool and do one of the following:. N Click and drag on the artboard to draw and rotate the spiral.

Release the mouse to add the spiral to the artboard. N Click without dragging to set the point of origin for the spiral while opening the Spiral dialog box. Enter the. N Decay Set the decrease in distance between one spiral and the next. N Segments Set the number of spiral segments. Each spiral twist is made up of four segments. The selected spiral in Figure has ten segments. The Rectangular Grid Tool With the Rectangular Grid tool you can create horizontal and vertical grids with any number of rows and columns.

To draw a grid, select the Rectangular Grid tool, click the artboard, and drag out the desired grid shape. Before releasing the mouse, adjust the number of rows and columns using your arrow keys. To create rectangular grids with exact proportions, select the Rectangular Grid tool and click the artboard to set the point of origin for the grid and to open the Rectangular Grid Tool Options dialog box.

Enter the desired grid settings and when satisfied click OK to add the grid to your artboard:. N Horizontal Dividers Set the number of horizontal dividers to create rows.

Enter a Skew number to weight the dividers toward the top or bottom of the grid. N Vertical Dividers Set the number of vertical dividers to create columns. Enter a Skew number to weight the dividers toward the left or right of the grid.

N Use Outside Rectangle As Frame This option draws the grid frame with a separate rectangle shape rather than with individual divider lines. Create a polar grid by selecting the tool and clicking and dragging on the artboard.