Working with Illustrator CS5 Interface (part 2) - Using the panels

3. Viewing the tool tips

What if you forget the function of a specific tool or you can't tell the difference between the various tools in Illustrator? No problem! Illustrator comes equipped with a handy tool tips feature that identifies tools quickly and easily. When you have tool tips activated (and it is by default), you simply move your cursor over the element you want to identify, and a yellow text box pops up and tells you its name. For example, when you place your cursor over the Type tool, a box appears with the words Type Tool (T). The letter within the parentheses indicates the keyboard shortcut for the tool. In this example, if you press T, you activate the Type tool without clicking it. Illustrator provides tool tips for every tool in the Tools panel as well as for the panel controls.

If you find the tool tips annoying or if you know the tips well enough not to need them, you can disable tool tips in the General screen of the Preferences dialog box. To open the Preferences dialog box, simply choose Edit (Illustrator) => Preferences => General and then deselect the Show Tool Tips option.

4. Using the panels

Panels are small windows that are similar to dialog boxes. Panels can float or be docked. To make the following discussion a little more readable, I'll refer to both as panels; they're mostly interchangeable terms when discussing how they work and the contents of each of them, but differences are noted in the following text.

Panels allow you to control virtually every aspect of the Illustrator drawing environment. Illustrator has 34 standard panels and an unlimited number of library panels (for swatches, symbols, brushes, styles, and more), all of which can remain open while you work on your document panel. Technically speaking, a panel is a modeless window. The big difference between a modeless window and a dialog box is that you don't have to close the modeless window to perform other tasks. Therefore, you can work with the features on one panel without having to close another panel.

Unlike windows, panels are never really active. Instead, the one you're working in is in the front. If the panel has editable text fields, Illustrator highlights the active one or makes the text cursor blink. To bring a panel to the forefront — that is, bring it into focus — simply click in it anywhere.

Panels are like regular windows in many ways. Each panel has a title bar that you can click and drag to move it. The title bar also has buttons for minimizing a regular panel or zooming (back to regular size) a minimized one and closing the panel. Each panel also has a tab with the name of the panel within it.

Occasionally, a panel has a handle on the lower-right corner that looks like a triangle made up of dots, as seen in Figure 3. You can use this handle for changing the panel's size by clicking and dragging the corner containing the handle.

Figure 3. You can resize a panel that has a dotted triangle in its lower-right corner.

4.1. Linking together and tearing apart panels

You can place panels together in different combinations by tabbing and docking them. Tabbing stacks the tabs for several panels into a single panel. Docking aligns the panels without stacking them into the same space.

Each panel (except for the Tools panel) has a tab on it. Clicking the tab of a panel brings it to the front. Dragging a tab from one panel to another moves that panel into another panel. Dragging a tab out of a panel makes the panel separate from the previous panel. Figure 2.4 includes a set of panels that have been tabbed together. When you create a set of panels like this, it stays grouped together even if you quit Illustrator and relaunch.

If you drag a floating panel to the right side of the screen, it becomes a docked panel. If you drag a docked panel into the document window, it becomes a floating panel.

You can dock panels together by dragging the tab of one panel to the bottom of another panel. When the bottom of the other panel darkens, releasing the mouse button docks the moved panel to the bottom of the other one. Then, when you move the other panel, the docked panel moves with it. To separate a panel from the others, click and drag the tab away from the original panel.

Figure 4. This panel contains a number of panels tabbed together.

4.2. Working with panels

Panels are even more useful when you can reveal and hide them to suit your needs. Under the Window menu, you can choose which panels show and which ones hide. Simply click the check box next to a panel to show it, and deselect the check box next to the panel to hide it. Some panels use a keyboard shortcut to access them, and others are accessed through the Window menu. To see the shortcuts, look to the right of the panel name. Under the Window menu, you can see what panels are visible by the check mark next to them.

Here are some of the available panels:

• Control. This is the panel along the top edge of the document window.

• Tools. This panel contains all of Illustrator's tools.

• Actions. Use this panel to record a sequence of events to play at any time.

• Align. This panel lets you align objects (Shift+F7).

• Appearance. Use this panel to check the attributes of a selected object (Shift+F6).

• Artboards. Use this panel to view a list of all the artboards in your document.

• Attributes. Use this panel to view the overprinting and any URLs associated with the selected object (Ctrl+F11/+F11).

• Brushes. Use this panel to choose a brush type (F5).

• Color. This panel lets you apply color to your illustrations (F6).

• Color Guide. This panel lets you access the Live Color feature (Shift+F3).

• Document Info. This panel shows information about the document, such as color mode, artboard dimensions, and other options.

• Flattener Preview. Use this to see certain areas of flattened artwork. You can also adjust the Flattener options here.

• Gradient. This panel is used for changing and applying gradients (Ctrl+F9/+F9).

• Graphic Styles. This panel lists the default graphic styles and lets you save graphic styles (Shift+F5).

• Info. This panel displays information on the selected object. It's used for measuring objects or distance (F8), among other things.

• Layers. This panel lets you put objects on different layers for easier organization (F7).

• Links. This lists the placed objects that are linked to the document.

• Magic Wand. Use this to adjust the settings for the Magic Wand tool.

• Navigator. Use this to quickly move around a large document.

• Pathfinder. Use this to combine, split, divide, and do more to multiple paths (Shift+Ctrl+F9/Shift++F9).

• Separations Preview. Use this to view the individual printing plates in your document.

• Stroke. This panel lets you adjust the width and style of the stroke (Ctrl+F10/+F10).

• SVG Interactivity. Use this panel to set options for Scalable Vector Graphics.

• Swatches. This panel houses preset colors, gradients, and patterns.

• Symbols. This panel houses preset symbols and lets you define new symbols (Shift+Ctrl+F11/Shift++F11).

• Transform. This panel lets you move, scale, and apply other transformations (Shift+F8).

• Transparency. Use this panel to adjust the opacity of objects (Shift+Ctrl+F10/Shift++F10).

• Type. The following panels are accessed from the Type submenu, including:

  • Character (Ctrl+T/+T)

  • Character styles

  • Glyphs

  • OpenType (Alt+Shift+Ctrl+T/Option+Shift++T)

  • Paragraph (Alt+Ctrl+T/Option++T)

  • Paragraph styles

  • Tabs (Shift+Ctrl+T/Shift++T)

• Variables. This panel is used to set the options for data-driven graphics.

5. Using Illustrator's menus

Although Adobe places more emphasis on Illustrator's panels and other elements, such as its Tools panel, you still find many important and useful features in Illustrator's menus.

Some general rules apply to Illustrator menus:

• To choose a menu item, pull down the menu, choose the menu item you want, and then release or click the mouse button. If the cursor is not on that item but is still highlighted, the command can't take effect.

• Whenever an ellipsis appears (three little dots that look like this ...), choosing that menu item displays a dialog box where you must verify the current information by clicking OK or by typing more information and then clicking OK. If the option has no ellipsis, the action you choose occurs immediately.

• When you see a key command listed on the right side of the menu, you can press that key instead of using the mouse to pull down a menu. Using key commands for menu items works just like clicking the menu bar to choose that item.

• If you see a little triangle next to a menu item, it means the menu possesses a submenu. You can choose items in the submenu by scrolling over to the menu and then scrolling up or down to choose the menu item needed. Submenus usually appear on the right side of the menu, but due to space limitations on your monitor, submenus may appear on the left side for certain menus.

5.1. Panel menus

Not only does the main document window have menus, but panels have menus, too. You can find a variety of features and options to meet your creative needs. To open these menus, simply find and click the triangle located in the top-right corner of most panels. Figure 5 gives an example of the options you have available when you access the Swatches panel's menu. These options and features change with each panel.

Figure 5. You can find a multitude of options by accessing a panel's menu.

5.2. Context-sensitive menus

Illustrator provides context-sensitive menus that appear right under your cursor as you work. Right-click (Ctrl+click) anywhere in a document window to open a context-sensitive menu. These menus contain commands that relate to the type of work you're doing and the specific tool you have active. Figure 6 shows a context-sensitive menu that opens in a document when a rectangle shape is created and selected. This menu looks different if another object is selected.

5.3. Typing keyboard commands

Keyboard commands are shortcuts for common activities that you perform in Illustrator. These shortcuts typically use the Ctrl () key in combination with other keys. Some menu items don't have keyboard commands; usually, you have to choose those items from a menu.

Keyboard commands are as important to an Illustrator artist as the mouse is; with a little practice, you can learn them quickly. Besides, many of the default keyboard commands are the same from program to program, which makes you an instant expert in software that you haven't used yet! Good examples of this are the Cut/Copy/Paste, Select All, and Save commands:

• Cut/Copy/Paste. You activate these by pressing Ctrl+X (+X), Ctrl+C (+C), and Ctrl+V (+V), respectively.

• Select All. You can select everything in a document by pressing Ctrl+A (+A).

• Save. You can quickly save your work by pressing Ctrl+S (+S).

Figure 6. When you right-click in the document window, Illustrator reveals a context-sensitive menu.

6. Using the status bar

The status bar, located on the lower left of your document window, has a Zoom popup list and a button that displays useful and otherwise difficult-to-find information. To change the item shown in the status bar, click the triangle to the right of Show and then choose a different item. Although the default for this button displays the tool that you're currently using, you can change the information to display one of the following instead:

• Version Cue Status. Choose this to see the Version Cue information for shared files. This option is available only if you have Adobe Creative Suite installed.

• Current Tool. Choose this to show the selected tool's name.

• Date and Time. Use this to show the current date and time.

• Number of Undos. This is a handy option that shows the number of queued undos and redos.

• Document Color Profile. This shows the current Color Profile.

Mousing around in Illustrator

Illustrator requires the use of a mouse for selecting items, pulling down menus, moving objects, and clicking buttons. Learning to use the mouse efficiently requires patience, practice, and persistence.

You use the mouse to perform five basic functions in Illustrator:

• Pointing. Move the cursor around the screen by moving the mouse around your mouse pad.

• Clicking. Press and release the left mouse button (or the only button on some Mac mice) in one step. You click to select points, paths, and objects and to make windows active.

• Dragging. Press the mouse button and keep it pressed while you move the mouse. You drag the cursor to choose items from menus, select contiguous characters of text, move objects, and create marquees (dotted rectangles used for zooming the view).

• Double-clicking. Quickly press and release the mouse button twice in the same location. You double-click to select a word of text, highlight a text field with a value in it, access a dialog box for a tool, and run Illustrator (by double-clicking its icon).

• Right-clicking (Ctrl+clicking). This displays a context-sensitive menu when you click the right mouse button (or Ctrl+click on a Mac lacking a two-button mouse).

The cursor is the little icon (usually an arrow) that moves in the same direction as the mouse. In Illustrator, the cursor often takes the form of the tool that you're using. When the computer is busy, an hourglass (Windows) or a spiraling circle (Mac) takes its place.