Datasheet

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Part I ✦ Illustrator Basics
If you run into a situation in which the Quit function doesn’t work, or is unavailable,
Mac OS 9 users can press Ô+Option+Esc, Mac OS X users can hold down the Option
key while Ô+clicking on the dock and selecting the Quit changes to Force Quit (or
users choose the Force Quit option from the Application menu and select Illustrator
from the Force Quit dialog box) and Windows users can press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to
“force” Illustrator to quit. However, doing so may cause you to lose your work and
may make your system unstable; if you do this, you’ll be better off if you take the
time to restart your computer before running Illustrator again (or before opening
any other software applications, for that matter). Restarting isn’t necessary for Mac
OS X users.
One of the most likely reasons that Illustrator becomes unstable is due to a lack of
memory. If the computer on which you are running Illustrator doesn’t have enough
memory, then working on large complex images will cause the interface to respond
slowly, and if many other programs are open at the same time, Illustrator may quit
responding.
Using the User Interface Elements
Before you can create amazing illustrations using Illustrator, you’ll need to learn the
tools and controls of Illustrator’s user interface. If you’ve used other Adobe products
such as Photoshop or InDesign, the user interface should look familiar. Adobe has
made user interface elements consistent across their product line. Adobe’s main
products, including Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, PageMaker, Premiere,
Dimensions, and Streamline, all have a fairly consistent interface that includes
menus, palettes, and dialog boxes. Adobe listened carefully to its users and has
made certain that the Illustrator environment is very similar to that of the other
software products its users typically use. This gives Photoshop users a headstart
into understanding and using Illustrator and vice versa.
The Illustrator user interface includes many unique elements that hold a lot of
power. As you learn to use these elements, you’ll discover many shortcuts to
accomplish certain tasks. The Illustrator elements, shown in Figure 1-1, include
the following:
✦ Document Window: The document window consists of the Artboard and the
Pasteboard where the actual artwork will be displayed.
✦ Toolbox: This palette includes a set of common tools. Each tool is represented
by an icon that can be selected by clicking on it.
✦ Palettes: These tabbed floating windows can be opened and closed as needed.
They contain an assortment of controls and settings.
✦ Menus: At the top of the window are menus that open to submenus of options
and commands.
Note
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