Operation Manual

107
USING ILLUSTRATOR
Drawing
Last updated 11/8/2011
Edit or redefine a symbol
You can edit a symbol by changing the symbol’s artwork or you can redefine the symbol by replacing it with new
artwork. Editing and redefining a symbol changes the appearance of the symbol in the Symbols panel, as well as all
instances of the symbol on the artboard.
Edit a symbol
1 Do one of the following to open the symbol in isolation mode:
• Select an instance of the symbol and click Edit Symbol in the Control panel. When the Alert box opens, click OK.
• Double-click an instance of the symbol. When the Alert box opens, click OK.
• Double-click a symbol in the Symbols panel. A temporary instance of the symbol appears in the center of the
artboard.
2 Edit the artwork.
3 Exit isolation mode by clicking the Exit Isolation Mode button at the upper-left corner of the artboard or in the
Control panel or pressing Esc.
You can also apply the pixel-align property to a symbol. For more information, see “Aligning symbols to pixel grid”
on page 63.
Redefine a symbol with different artwork
1 Select the artwork that you want to use to redefine an existing symbol. Make sure to select original artwork and not
a symbol instance.
2 In the Symbols panel, click the symbol you want to redefine, and choose Redefine Symbol from the panel menu.
Note: The selected artwork automatically becomes an instance of the symbol. If you don’t want the selected artwork to
become a symbol instance, press Shift as you choose Redefine Symbol from the panel menu.
If you are not able to locate the panel menu, see “Use panel menus” on page 14.
Symbol libraries
Symbol libraries are collections of preset symbols. When you open a symbol library, it appears in a new panel (not the
Symbols panel).
You select, sort, and view items in a symbol library the same as you do in the Symbols panel. However, you can’t add
items to, delete items from, or edit the items in symbol libraries.
Open symbol libraries
❖ Do one of the following:
• Choose Window > Symbol Libraries > [symbol].
• Choose Open Symbol Library in the Symbols panel menu, and choose a library from the list that appears.
• Click the Symbols Library Menu button on the Symbols panel, and choose a library from the list that appears.
To automatically open a library when you start Illustrator, choose Persistent from the library’s panel menu.