Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Align To a Selected Object

 
 

In a previous tip, I discussed Distribution to a Key Object using the Align panel. This ability to select a particular object for positioning of other objects also includes alignment. In other words, if you select various objects on your page, you can choose one of them as the Key Object to which all other objects will Align. To give it a try, draw a number of rectangles across your page and marquee across these objects with the Selection tool (V) to select them. Now click on any of your selected objects to make it the Key Object to which all other objects will Align and press the Vertical Align Bottom button (furthest to the right in the top row). All other objects will Align to the bottom of this Key Object. Just to show it isn't a fluke, go to Edit>Undo and with the objects still selected, click on another object to make it the Key. Press the Vertical Align Bottom button again and all the objects will Align to the bottom of this new Key Object.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Crop Perfectly to the Edge of All Objects

 
 

Sometimes to teach an Illustrator trick in a class, I play a trick on the students. The following is a quick example. I tell the students to draw a whole bunch of objects on their page of varying sizes, shapes, Strokes, and Fills. Then I ask that they use the Crop Area tool (Shift+O) to create a Crop Area that will crop perfectly to the outside edges of the objects that are closest to the edge of the page. In other words, all objects are included within the Crops and nothing more (or less). Many student just click-drag the Crop Area tool, trying to visually crop the page to include all the objects the best they can. Not a very good solution, especially when you Zoom in at high magnification to take a better look. Other students, in trying to be more precise, turn on Rulers (Command [Control]+R), Select All objects (Command [Control]+A) and drag Ruler Guides to the anchor points of selected objects that come closest to the edge of the page. Good thought, but they end up cropping parts of Strokes that extend beyond the selected anchor points. Then there's the one student who inadvertently finds the easy answer while playing with the tool. Don't trust your eyes. Don't select anything. Don't create Guides. Just choose the Crop tool and click anywhere on the page that does not contain an object. The Crops are placed instantly to the outer reaches of the objects including Strokes and Effects which extend beyond the vector paths.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Creating Cooler Color Groups!

 
 

Because of the overwhelming power of Live Color, sometimes the Color Guide panel gets overlooked. This is a shame, because the Color Guide is quite a powerful color manipulation tool in its own right. A quick example: Let's say you have a Color Group in the Swatches Panel, and you'd like to see variations of this Group with Swatches that are all a little cooler in color. Easy! Click on the Color Group folder in the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches). Take a look in the Color Guide panel (Window>Color Guide) and choose "Show Warm/Cool" from the panel's Options menu. Your original Group will be in the center column of the panel with warmer variations of the Group's colors in columns to the left and cooler versions of the Group's colors to the right. The further away from the center column, the more extreme the variations are. Command-click (Control-click on PC) on the cooler colors to the right of the center column to select one color in each row. Then press the "Save Color Group" button at the bottom of the Color Guide to add your Cooler Color Group to the Swatches panel.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - It’s Easy Having Your Own Personal Views

 
 

I'm working on a complex design with objects in several Layers including a small area of type. The bottom Layer contains a scan of a hand-drawn rough layout of the design to be used as a Template. By double-clicking on the Layer listing, I can access the Options window to make it a Locked Template that's Dimmed to 50%. In working on this design, I find myself turning off and on my bottom Layer to "preview" my work without the Template. I also have to keep zooming into the small type area with the Zoom tool (Z) to format and edit the text. Is there a way to save different Views of my document with the visibility of various Layers turned on or off at different magnification percentages? Because of a little known feature call Custom Views, the answer is YES! To try it, set up a couple of new Layers in a document by selecting New Layer under the Options menu of the Layers panel (Window>Layers). Draw several objects in each Layer. Turn off the bottom Layer visibility by clicking its Eye icon. To save a Custom View, go to View>New View, name it and click OK. This View is saved at the bottom of the View menu. Make your bottom Layer visible again by clicking its visibility box in the Layers panel and save a second Custom View. Now marquee across a small part of your design with the Zoom tool and save a close up Custom View. When you select each one of your Custom Views, you'll see exactly what you want on your screen instantly with no manual turning on or off of Layers or Zooming with the Zoom tool. But best of all, you can assign keyboard commands to apply each of these Views (up to ten) under the Edit menu>Keyboard Shortcuts.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Why Is "Merge Layers" Not Available?

 
 

In discussing the Layers panel in an advanced Illustrator class, one student posed an excellent question. "Why is 'Merge Layers' always grayed out in the Options menu of the Layers panel? How can I combine Layers if I can't access the command?," he asked. "Merge Layers is only available when you actually select multiple Layer listings in the panel," I answered. He jumped in, "But I targeted all the objects in three different Layers by clicking the hollow circle to the far right of each Layer listing." I answered, "Ah, but you didn't select the Layer listings, just the objects in those Layers. Click on the first Layer listing, then Command-click (Control-click with PC) on the other Layers that you'd like to Merge. If you look under the Options menu of the panel and select 'Merge Layers' (which is no longer grayed out), all Layers combine into the last Layer selected, which is marked with a small black triangle to the far right of the listing."

Adobe InDesign CS3 Tip – All Wrapped Up in a New Favorit

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Even before I wrote a Layers Magazine online tutorial about InDesign Text Wraps ("All Wrapped Up" - http://www.layersmagazine.com/indesign-making-wraps.html), I had a steady flow of emails with requests for tips and workarounds. As good as the Wraps feature was in CS2, there were some interesting quirks and issues. With the introduction of CS3, many of these Wrap workarounds are no longer necessary. One of my favorite new additions is in the Wrap Options section of the Wraps panel (Window>Text Wrap) - "Wrap Largest Area" in the "Wrap To" popup menu. What makes this a favorite? Try the following to see for yourself. Fill a two-column Text Frame with type (Type>Fill with Placeholder Text). Then draw an oval with the Ellipse tool (L). With the oval selected, click the "Wrap around object shape" button, in the wraps panel, and choose Wrap Largest Area from the Wrap To popup. Drag the oval across the Text Frame to see what happens. The type will Wrap either the left or right side of the object depending which side has the most type area next to it in a column. So text will Wrap one side of the Wrap object, instead of just jumping across it.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip – Alter Your Brush After You Paint

 
 

I saw an interesting illustration that contained a three dimensional globe with all of the water areas of the Earth missing. It looked as if all the continents were mapped to an invisible sphere. You could even see the reverse side of the continents on the far side of the globe. How was this done? Here's what I did to recreate it. I saved a flat outline tracing of the continents as a Symbol, by selecting the entire map with the Selection tool (V), and choosing New Symbol from the Options menu of the Symbols panel. Then I drew a circle by clicking and dragging the Ellipse tool (L), while holding down the Shift key. Next, I selected the left anchor point of the circle with the Direct Selection tool (A) and deleted it. I Filled the semicircle that remained with an existing blue Swatch and no Stroke from the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches). To apply a 3D Effect, I went to the Effects menu>3D>Revolve. Now the fun part – I pressed the Map Art Button, found the Continents Symbol from under the Symbol popup menu. Then I checked Scale to Fit, and Shade Artwork to give it a 3D shaded look. But how did I make the Water part of the Earth invisible? To see for yourself, check Invisible Geometry, the Preview button and OK.