Datasheet

Chapter 1 ✦ Learning the Illustrator Interface

Figure 1-7: The Navigator palette

Occasionally, a manual resize box (which looks like three diagonal lines) appears in

the lower-right corner for changing the palette’s size. Any palette that has this

resize box can be resized by dragging on the palette’s edges or corners.

For some palettes, a double arrow icon appears to the left of the title name.

Clicking this icon toggles the palette size among several different sizes.

Unlike windows, palettes are never really active. Instead, the one you are working in

is in the front, and if it has editable text fields, one is highlighted, or a blinking text

cursor appears. To bring a palette to the forefront — that is, bring it into focus —

simply click it anywhere. Palettes seldom have scroll bars, although the Layers

palette is an exception.

Tabbing and docking palettes

Palettes can be linked together in different ways called tabbing and docking. Each

palette (except for the toolbox) has a tab on it. Clicking the tab of a palette brings

it to the front. Dragging a tab from one palette to another moves that palette into

another palette. Dragging a tab out of a palette makes the palette separate from

the previous palette. Figure 1-8 includes a “set” of palettes that have been tabbed

together.

The default installation of Illustrator includes many palettes that are tabbed

together, but you can change them to fit your needs. For example, the Appearance,

Navigator and Info palettes are tabbed together by default.

You can dock palettes together by dragging the tab of one palette to the bottom of

another palette; when the bottom of the other palette darkens, releasing the mouse

button “docks” the moved palette to the bottom of the other one. Then, when the

other palette is moved, the docked palette moves with it. Figure 1-9 shows a “set”

of palettes that have been docked together. To undock a palette, simple click on its

tab and drag it away from the other palettes.

Note

Tip

Palette tab Close

Minimize/maximize toggle

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