Working with Panels in Adobe Illustrator CS4

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The Tools panel

Using the Tools panel

The Tools panel contains 77 tools that are used for object creation and editing, as well as color controls and a screen mode menu. If the Tools panel is hidden, choose Window > Tools to display it. To move the Tools panel, drag the top (dark gray) bar.

Click once on a visible tool to select it, or click and hold on a tool that has a tiny arrowhead to choose a related tool from a pop-out menu. Some tools, such as the Paintbrush and Pencil tools, have a related options dialog box, which you can open by double-clicking the tool.

To create a standalone tearoff toolbar, A–B click the arrowhead, then release the mouse when it’s over the vertical tearoff bar on the far right side of a tool pop-out menu. Move a tearoff toolbar by dragging its top bar. To restore a tearoff toolbar to the Tools panel, click its close box.

To access a tool quickly, use the assigned letter shortcut. They are listed in parentheses on the next two pages, as well as in the tool tips onscreen.* C Some tools can also be accessed temporarily via a toggle key. For example, pressing Cmd/Ctrl accesses a temporary Selection tool. You’ll learn more tool toggles as you proceed through this book.

To turn tool pointers into a crosshair for precise positioning, go to Preferences > General and check Use Precise Cursors. Or if you prefer to turn the pointer into a crosshair temporarily, press the Caps Lock key and leave the preference off.

Hiding and Showing Panels and Toolbars Hide or show all currently open panels and tearoff toolbars, including the Tools panel. Tab Hide or show all currently open panels and tearoff toolbars, but not the Tools panel. Shift-Tab

The Tools panel illustrated

The tearoff toolbars

5 Adobe Illustrator Tools for Print Production

In a previous post, Illustrator Tips and Shortcuts, we showed you helpful keyboard shortcuts to help speed up your production times. Today, we offer 7 tips that we often use in the electronic prepress department. Illustrator is a very robust application with many features available, but in printing, it is best to use Illustrator along with InDesign and Photoshop for your page layout. Export vector art from Illustrator to place into InDesign. Try not to use Illustrator exclusively for page layout of books and multi-page documents.

Scale Strokes and Effects Proportionally

One reason to export your files from Illustrator as an AI or EPS file is the ability to scale the graphic proportionally. Illustrator works best for vector are that can be enlarged or reduced without losing any clarity. Placing your file in InDesign and enlarging will keep all the strokes and effects even and looking nice. In Illustrator, sometimes when you enlarge a graphic with strokes and effects, the strokes and effect do not enlarge proportionally. To fix this, choose General Preferences under the menu (or use the command+k keyboard shortcut), and make sure the Scale Strokes and Effects checkbox is checked. Now your strokes and effects will scale just fine. You could also select your graphic and choose Expand Appearance under Object in the menu bar. This will convert your strokes to fills, so be careful about using this method if you need to change the thickness of a stroke later.

Draw Inside a Shape

Illustrator provides a couple drawing modes, Draw Normal, Draw Behind and Draw Inside, that are easy to use. You can access these tools at the very bottom of the Tools palette, or by pressing Shift+D to cycle through them. Draw Normal and Draw Behind are pretty self explanatory. When you use Draw Inside, it creates a quick and easy mask with the shape you have selected. As long as you do not "exit out" of the graphic you are drawing inside of by using the Selection Tool and clicking outside of the graphic, you can add as many elements as you need. If you do click out of the graphic and want to go back and add or remove something, using the Selection Tool, double click the graphic that you want to draw inside of. This allows you to edit the clip group. Once you are done, double click anywhere on the art board to go back to regular editing.

Paste in Place

You have options for pasting an item copied to your clipboard in Illustrator. Pressing Command+V will place the copied file at the top of your current layer and in the center of the page, or, if you are copying and pasting between documents, will paste it on the top of the current layer in a new document. Pressing Command+Shift+V will paste in place, placing the copied file at the top of the current layer you are working on. And pressing Command+F (front) or Command+B (back) will place the copied file in the front or back of the copied graphic or layer item you have selected. Pasting in front or back helps if you are adding strokes or effects to an item, although using the Appearance panel works best for items with multiple strokes or effects.

Selecting Similar Objects

Many times we will get a logo or support EPS file that should print in a spot PMS color but has parts of the graphic built in process. In order to grab all of the vector parts that need the color to be changed, use the select similar objects option. First, grab a vector that is not the color you need it to be using the Direct Selection Tool. Next, choose Select > Same > Fill Color. This will select every area that is filled with the same color as the part you selected. Now choose your fill to be that of the PMS color you need it to be. If you need the stroke of an object selected, using the Direct Selection Tool, click on the stroke of an object you need to change. Now choose Select > Same > Stroke Color and stroke with the PMS color you need. This is a quick and easy way to adjust colors of an Illustrator file.

Pathfinder Tool

If you create any kind of vector files, learning and using the Pathfinder Tool in Illustrator is highly encouraged. The Pathfinder Tool, Window > Pathfinder, allows you to take different shapes and either Unite, Minus Front, Intersect or Exclude one from the other. Uniting one or more shapes will combine them together allowing you to make one continuous shape. This is good for taking many pieces, uniting them together in order to create an outline around the entire shape. If the objects you are uniting have a stroke around them, be sure to expand the appearance, as when you unite the pieces, all stroke weights will become the same thickness.

Minus Front removes the front shape from the shape behind it, like taking a bite out of something.

Intersect takes the two shapes and deletes the areas that are not on top of each other, leaving you only with the area the shapes overlapped.

Exclude is the opposite of intersect. Choosing exclude will delete the areas the shapes overlap, leaving and combining the shapes that do not overlap.

There are many tools to use in Illustrator and as the application keeps growing, I'm sure more tools will be added to assist graphic designers and prepress operators with their jobs. If you have questions about these tools and tips, please contact us at PrintSouth Printing using

Adobe software list: Which apps do you need?

The Adobe software list is pretty long, as you'd expect given the Creative Cloud suite covers pretty much every creative practice. Whether you're a graphic designer, web designer, photographer, illustrator, marketing professional or are working in TV and movies, it has most of the tools your profession considers industry standard.

But most Adobe software requires a subscription. Potential subscribers have the choice of signing up to just a single app, the Photography Plan or the whole Creative Cloud suite (keep an eye out for an Adobe Creative Cloud discount). It's a big decision to make, so it's vital you're aware of exactly what you're buying. Though there are over 50, yes 50, apps altogether, there are 13 main ones you definitely need to know about.

In this Adobe software list, we round up those 13 standout apps and explain, in simple terms, what they do and why you might need them. And to help you out once you're signed up, also see our best Photoshop tutorials and Illustrator tutorials. If you're into video editing, you might also want to check our list of the best video editing software.

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Adobe software list

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01. Adobe Photoshop Photo editing and so much more Specifications Used for: Image editing and manipulation, photo retouching, graphic design, web and app prototyping, 3D modelling Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPad Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Feature-rich + Powerful Reasons to avoid - Complex - Big learning curve

The first entry in the Adobe software list won't surprise anyone. If you want to edit images, Photoshop is the industry standard; so much so, that the word ‘Photoshop’ has even become a verb. But tweaking photos isn’t all that Photoshop does: it’s also a fully fledged graphics editor.

Photoshop (opens in new tab) can be used, for example, to edit and compose raster images, graphics and text in multiple layers; edit and render text and vector graphics; and create and edit 3D graphics and video. This wide range of capabilities means that Photoshop is not just used by photographers and photo retouchers, but also by digital artists, graphic designers and art directors, and even, increasingly, by 3D designers and VFX artists.

It’s important to note that Photoshop works with raster graphics, in contrast to Illustrator (below), which works with vector graphics. To understand the difference between these, read our guide to common file formats. Also check out our best alternatives to Photoshop and our review of Photoshop for iPad.

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02. Adobe Illustrator Create gorgeous vector graphics and illustrations Specifications Used for: Illustration, designing vector graphics Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPad Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Feature-rich + Now on the iPad Reasons to avoid - Expensive compared to rivals

While Photoshop has wide and ever-expanding capabilities, Illustrator (opens in new tab) is much more focused on a specific tasks. It’s essentially a drawing programme based on vector graphics (which contain less detail than raster graphics and are infinitely scalable). As the name might suggest, Illustrator is most commonly used by artists, illustrators and graphic designers, to create everything from simple graphics, such as logos, icons and infographics, to complex illustrations, and everything in-between. Illustrator for the iPad has also recently been released. You can read our review of Illustrator CC here.

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03. Adobe After Effects Used for visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing Specifications Used for: VFX, motion graphics, compositing Platforms: Mac, Windows Today's Best Deals £19.97 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) £49.94 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Lots of features + Integration with Cinema 4D Reasons to avoid - Not sophisticated enough for full movie production

After Effects (opens in new tab) is a popular tool for visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing so a valuable entry in an Adobe software list. Although you wouldn’t use it to create an entire movie, it might be used by a creative studio to create the kind of simple animations you’d feature on a website, in an explainer video, or on a credit sequence, for example.

After Effects is also used in the post-production process of film making and television, for tasks such as keying, tracking and compositing, and creating visual effects such as explosions and lightning strikes. As well as being smoothly integrated with other Adobe apps, it also plays nicely with Maxon’s 3D application Cinema 4D. See our After Effects tutorials for help on getting to grips with After Effects.

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04. Adobe XD Adobe's software for web and mobile prototyping Specifications Used for: Web and app prototyping Platforms: MacWindows, with iOS and Android app for testing Today's Best Deals £9.98 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Starter plan free + Available on Windows (unlike Sketch) Reasons to avoid - Sketch still industry standard

Launched a few years back as Adobe's rival to Sketch, Adobe XD (opens in new tab) is a vector-based UX tool for prototyping web and mobile apps. In other words, you don’t create the whole app in XD, but use it for visualising the interface and defining how all the different parts function and relate to each other. This makes it easier to get everything working correctly, before you embark on the final coding. Note that XD's starter plan is free, and you don’t need a Creative Cloud subscription to use it. For more info on the free and paid-for versions, see our download Adobe XD post.

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05. Adobe Substance Adobe's brand new 3D offering Specifications Used for: Creating 3D content, AR experiences and virtual photography Platforms: Mac, Windows Today's Best Deals £15.97 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) £31.97 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Excellent integration with Adobe suite + Established workflow for pro artists Reasons to avoid - Not included in All Apps plan - Big learning curve

Adobe Substance (opens in new tab) brings the industry standard texturing Substance suite for 3D artists (acquired by Adobe in 2019) to the Creative Cloud suite. The collection features four 3D design apps (Painter, Sampler, Designer and Stager) as well as a huge library of 3D assets. But beware: it isn't included in the Creative Cloud All Apps plan, so you'll have to fork out an extra subscription to get the most out of it.

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06. Adobe InDesign CC The go-to software for desktop publishing Specifications Used for: Desktop publishing Platforms: Mac, Windows Today's Best Deals £19.97 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Industry standard Reasons to avoid - Learning curve

InDesign (opens in new tab) is a page layout tool that’s used primarily for print, but also has digital publishing capabilities. The industry standard tool for the publishing industry, it’s typically used by graphic designers and production artists to create posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, presentations, books and ebooks.

Check out our InDesign tutorials to have you using this app like a pro.

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07. Adobe Lightroom Adobe's image organisation and editing software Specifications Used for: Image organisation and editing Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Great organisation features Reasons to avoid - Not as powerful as PS for image editing

Lightroom (opens in new tab) is a family of tools for image organisation and image manipulation. Its strength lies primarily in the former, and is a good tool for a photo studio or photographer that needs to handle large numbers of images. It doesn’t have all the image editing features offered by Photoshop, but that does make for a simpler interface that’s easier to use for standard tasks.

Also note that Lightroom's edits are always non-destructive. This means both the original image and the edits you’ve applied to it are saved separately, so it’s easy to undo changes if things don’t turn out how you wanted.

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08. Adobe Premiere Pro Comprehensive video editing tool Specifications Used for: Video editing Platforms: Windows, Mac Today's Best Deals £19.97 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) £49.54 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) £49.94 /mth (opens in new tab) at Adobe (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Powerful integration with other apps Reasons to avoid - Steep learning curve

Premiere Pro (opens in new tab) is a comprehensive video editing tool, based on a visual timeline, that’s used widely in the film and TV industry, as well as by YouTubers and marketing and design studios, to edit everything from commercials and music videos to TV series and feature-length movies. Recent new features include Auto Reframe, which applies intelligent reframing to your footage (keeping the action inside the frame for different aspect ratios) and the ability to snap graphic elements to guides, to each other, or to tracked items.

Premiere Pro is often used in conjunction with other Creative Cloud apps in the Adobe software list including After Effects, Audition and Photoshop. It’s quite a complex tool to learn, and for this reason Adobe has recently released a more lightweight video editing app, Premier Rush, for beginners and more casual users.

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09. Adobe Spark Easy-to-use tool for creating graphics, web pages and videos Specifications Used for: Creating graphics, web pages and short videos Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Simple to use Reasons to avoid - Basic tool

Adobe Spark (opens in new tab) is a suite of apps for creating graphics, web pages, and short videos for social media, easily and quickly. It’s aimed at marketing and social media professionals, as well as amateurs and beginners who want to create cool content for Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, but don’t have the time to learn more complicated software such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

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10. Adobe Fresco Adobe's digital art app is now available on the iPhone Specifications Used for: Digital art Platforms: iOS version 12.4 or later Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Simple, intuitive interface Reasons to avoid - Premium subscription expensive

Adobe Fresco (opens in new tab) is a digital art app, which mimics some of the best elements of other fine art programs for iPad. It combines the expression and power of Photoshop brushes, with the precision of vector brushes. The Live Brush function allows you to paint with watercolours and oils that blossom, blend, smear, and smudge just like in real life. Fresco has a simple and intuitive interface that's great for beginners and pros alike, so you'll want to try out this top pick from the Adobe software list soon.

See our full Adobe Fresco review.

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11. Adobe Rush Easy and intuitive video editing Specifications Used for: Video editing Platforms: Mac, Windows, iOS and Android Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Emphasis on ease and speed + Upload directly to social media accounts Reasons to avoid - Not a heavy duty video editor

Adobe Premiere Rush (opens in new tab) is an all-in-one, cross-platform video editing software that processes and uploads video clips quickly, ideal for social media content creators. The app supports video cropping, resizing, rotating and colour correction, plus a host of sound and sequence editing features. All content is saved in the cloud, ideal for editing across multiple devices, and there's an auto-sync option, which makes it even easier. Rush is designed to make it super-simple to edit and upload content directly to social media platforms, so it isn't heavy-duty – but its full integration with Premiere Pro means it doesn't need to be.

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12. Adobe Dimension Create photorealistic scenes and images Specifications Used for: Mocking up, compositing and rendering photorealistic 3D images Platforms: Mac, Windows Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Unique + Easy to use Reasons to avoid - Results can look fake it not done well

Adobe Dimension (opens in new tab) is a tool for mocking up, compositing and rendering photorealistic 3D images based on 2D and 3D models, photos and textures you have imported from elsewhere, including Adobe Stock. It’s used by graphic designers to, for example, create product mockups, brand visualisations and packaging designs. The main advantage is being able to create scenes that look like photographs, without having to organise a photoshoot. Learn how to use it by following our article, Get started with Adobe Dimension CC.

(Image credit: Adobe)

13. Adobe Dreamweaver Veteran software for code-free website building Specifications Used for: Creating websites Platforms: Mac, Windows Today's Best Deals Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + No coding needed Reasons to avoid - Other web builders easier to use

Last up in our Adobe software list is one of the original apps. First created in 1997, Dreamweaver (opens in new tab) is Adobe’s tool for people who want to build websites without learning how to code. It was cutting-edge at the time, but nowadays there are many alternative tools that offer similar capabilities, if not better. The main reason to use Dreamweaver in 2019, then, is that you’ve used it before, but for those who are unfamiliar with it, there’s not really a compelling reason. Certainly check out our list of the best website builders first to see if there’s a platform that suits you better.

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