Datasheet

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Chapter 1 ✦ Learning the Illustrator Interface
This discussion assumes, of course, that you have actually drawn artwork on the
defined page. We used to get frantic calls from people who would choose Fit in
Window, resulting in the immediate disappearance of all their artwork. It took us
a while to figure out that they had drawn their artwork way off on the side of the
pasteboard.
The Page tool
The Page tool (found as a flyout to the Hand tool) changes how much of your
document will print; it does this by moving the printable area of the document
without moving any of the printable objects in the document. Clicking and
dragging the lower-left corner of the page relocates the printable area of the
page to the place where you release the mouse button.
Double-clicking the Page tool slot resets the printable-area dotted line to its original
position on the page.
The Page tool is useful when your document is larger than the biggest image area
your printer can print. The tool enables you to tile several pages to create one
large page out of several sheets of paper. Tiling is the process in which an image is
assembled by using several pieces of paper arranged in a grid formation. A portion
of the image is printed on each page, and when you fit the pages together you can
view the image in its entirety. This is really only good for rough laser prints, as a
quarter inch around the edge of each paper will need to be manually trimmed.
Chapter 16, “Understanding Printing, Separations, and Trapping,” further addresses
issues related to printing and changing page sizes and printing areas.
The toolbox
The toolbox appears on top of your document window, covering up part of your
document window in the upper-left corner. The toolbox (see Figure 1-4) has no
close box; to close it you must choose Window ➪ Tools. If the Tools menu has a
checkmark to its left, the toolbox is visible. If no checkmark exists, then the toolbox
is hidden. You can also press the Tab key (which hides all palettes, not just the
toolbox).
You can show and hide all the palettes except the toolbox by pressing Shift+Tab.
To choose a tool, click the tool you want to use in its slot within the toolbox and
release the mouse button. The background for the selected tool will be displayed
white to highlight it. The selected tool will stay active until you select another tool.
You can also choose tools by pressing a key on the keyboard; for instance, pressing
P selects the Pen tool.
Tip
Cross-
Reference
Tip
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