Create multipage documents in Illustrator. There are no lines, you give objects

In this tutorial, you will learn how to reproduce objects in Illustrator on an assembly sheet of any format. Most often, this is necessary for printing in a printing house or on a regular home or office printer.

open Adobe program Illustrator. Go to the menu File (File) - New (New) or press Ctrl + N.

In the new document window, in the Size field, select A3 format (or any other format you need). You can also set the desired size of the mounting sheet yourself in the fields: width (width) and height (height). In the units field, select the unit of measure that is convenient for you, it is closer to me in millimeters.

Place the layout you want to reproduce. This will be my business card. If you need to print the layout, I recommend converting all fonts to "curves". To do this, select the business card with the mouse or hotkey: Ctrl + A and go to the menu Type (Type) - Create Outlines (Create curves), mountains. cl: Shift+Ctrl+O.


Next, we will work with the palette Align (Alignment). It is located in the menu Window (Window) or mountains. class Shift+F7. The photo shows in detail how to use it. Align the business card to the top and left, set the alignment relative to the mounting sheet in the palette.


Open palette Transform (Transformation) from the menu Window or mountains. class Shift+F8. In the Transform palette, check that your layout is correctly sized in the Width and Height boxes.

After that, select the business card and press the enter key. The Move window will pop up. Set the exact width values ​​in the Horizontal field, as in the Transform palette, I have 94 mm. and click "copy".


The business card was duplicated on the right.


If you need to duplicate on the left, you need to enter a minus sign (-94). Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D to duplicate a few more times.


Now let's multiply the business card vertically. Select all the horizontal business cards and hit the enter key. In the Vertical field, type in the height of the business card, I have 54 mm, and click copy.


Press Ctrl+D to duplicate it a few more times.


After being able to reproduce business card on A3, select everything and group (Ctrl + G). In the Align palette, center the business cards on your artboard horizontally and vertically, as in the picture. Everything, reproduction of business cards succeeded :)

Unfortunately, Adobe Illustrator does not provide for the creation of multipage documents. It has the ability to create only one page. But there are situations when you need to create multiple pages. This is where the possibility of a "tiled" printout comes to the rescue. Each tile is the size of one sheet of paper. In essence, you must adjust the sheet sizes and print margins.

Below is a step by step example.

1. First select File > New. The document in the viewport should look like the one shown below.

Click File > Document Setup In the sector art board dialog box that appears, select "Custom" for the field size, and enter the page dimensions in width and height. In this example, we will make an artboard that is four sheets of paper 34 inches (4 × 8 1/2 inches) long / The author of the translation apologizes for being too lazy to convert sizes to the metric system, tk. I need to redo the illustration. We leave the height at 11 inches. In section view select "Tile full pages". After entering all the parameters, click OK.


3. The document should now look like the one shown below. I would like to note that page numbers are not printed.


4. When you click File > Print, each tile is printed as a separate page.


If you want to save the file as a multi-page PDF, do not use File > Save As > PDF, otherwise you may only end up with one page in a PDF the size of your document. To get a multi-page document, you need to send the document for printing using Adobe Acrobat Distiller File > Print > to Distiller.

Any Graphic Designer knows that Adobe Illustrator is one of the best vector graphics editors. Beginners complain at first that working with the program is not very convenient, but all its power is revealed later, when the designer begins to understand how everything works. With the help of Adobe Illustrator, you can realize almost any graphic idea, and that is why millions of designers around the world use it today. One of the reasons that explain the incredible demand for Illustrator is its functionality, the program has a lot of great tools that make your work much easier. Some of them are very simple, others will be a little more difficult to master, but no successful designer or illustrator can do without knowing the features of their work.

It doesn't matter what exactly you need to create with Adobe Illustrator - you won't be able to do without tools. They save the user from routine work and significantly save time. For example, if you want to create some effect in an illustration, you can do it like this: start from the very beginning and achieve the desired result after, say, 100 actions. But if you know exactly how this or that tool works, you can create the same effect with a couple of mouse clicks. However, in this article we will not consider various tricks and tricks that allow you to achieve amazing effects. FreelanceToday brings you 10 Adobe Illustrator tools every designer should know about.

RULER (LINE)

The ruler is a very simple yet very useful tool if you need to keep precise dimensions when working on a project. Guides allow you to accurately position objects inside the workers, control their sizes, they can be used to create graphic grids of any complexity. Ruler is one of the first tools that a budding designer should get to know.

Rulers are not displayed by default in Illustrator. To make them visible, you need to press the keyboard shortcut ctrl+R or by finding them in the menu view>Rulers>showRulers(Show rulers). Two rulers will appear: top and left.

Rulers must be used if you want to achieve balance in the composition. In addition, they significantly speed up the workflow, as they allow you to accurately position objects relative to each other.

BlendTool is one of the most obscure and underestimated tools, many designers only begin to understand its versatility after a long time. Blend Tool (Transition) seems complicated and it is not entirely clear in which cases it can be used to speed up work.

Like many other Illustrator tools, the Blend Tool can be used for a wide variety of tasks. With it, you can create complex patterns and textures or, as the name of the tool suggests, make smooth color transitions between two objects.

The Blend Tool is located in the toolbar, it can also be called from the menu object>Blend. In the dialog box that opens, you can set the necessary transition options. This is a very handy tool that should be in the arsenal of any designer.

OFFSETPATH

It is often necessary to create a larger copy of an already existing object, or to increase the size of an object's outline. There are several ways to achieve this, and beginners often use the most obvious ones with a lot of extra moves. Meanwhile, Illustrator has a very useful tool called offsetPath, that is, a parallel circuit.

As the name suggests, Offset Path creates an enlarged copy of the selected object directly below it. The new figure is identical in shape and color to the original, only the size is different.

Using parallel paths, you can create concentric circles, simulate an increase in the size of the path, while all objects do not move relative to each other. The Offset Tool will be very useful when working on icons or when creating infographics.

You can find the tool in the section object>Path. In this case, the object must be selected, otherwise the dialog box for changing the parameters of the parallel contour will not appear.

THECLIPPINGMASK

Tool clippingMask budding designers are often unfairly overlooked. But it is enough to get to know him better, as it becomes clear that this is an excellent assistant for creating a variety of shapes and effects.

What is a clipping mask? This is an object that masks unwanted areas of another object, so that what lies inside the clipping path remains visible as a result. The most obvious use of the Clipping Mask is to crop images, but with enough skill, this tool allows you to create the desired shapes very quickly.

As a rule, when creating complex compositions, when you need to change the shape of objects, the Pathfinder panel and its Shape modes are often the best choice. But sometimes the use of clipping masks is justified, since they are easier to work with, while the user still has the ability to edit the masked objects.

The Clipping Mask tool is also in the menu section Object.

ARTBOARDS PANEL

It is very common in print design to use the same graphic elements within different media. If you need, for example, to place a logo and elements corporate identity on a booklet, banner and business card and do this without creating three new documents, then the use of Artboards, that is, artboards, will help here.

Using multiple artboards saves a lot of designer time. All necessary elements and the composition options are right in front of it, in Artboardspanel, so accessing the desired artboard takes a fraction of a second.

Artboards Panel also greatly speeds up the process of exporting, printing and saving artboards. When working on complex projects, such as large icon packs that need to be saved in different sizes and formats, using the Artboard Panel tool can save a lot of time.

LAYERS PANEL

If artboards allow you to create one document with multiple assets, then Layerspanel gives you the ability to create detailed compositions using a logical structure that allows you to easily identify and adjust the individual parts of one composition without worrying about losing or erasing any element.

The Layers panel should be used if you want to create a detailed hierarchy in your document. Any complex design consists of several parts, there are basic sections, there are intermediate and final ones. By placing parts of the composition on separate layers, you can systematically work until it is finished.

In the Layers panel, you can lock, hide, rename, and move any layer, giving the user an idea and understanding of what they are creating. This way, the designer can focus on one thing and try to improve the composition. Other design options can be hidden at this time, and after a final decision is made, unnecessary layers can be removed.

PATHFINDER PANEL

Four modes can be found in the Pathfinder panel shapemode, which you can use to create new shapes by merging, intersecting, or excluding objects. With sufficient skill, using any mode allows you to very quickly create an object of the desired size and shape. As already mentioned, a lot of things in Illustrator can be done using the tool clippingmask, clipping masks in the right hands are very effective. But if you need to create a completely new shape, then this can be easily done in the Pathfinder panel.

Modes available to the user Unite, Subtract, Intersect and Exclude, with which you can create new interesting forms. Over time, the designer chooses the most convenient mode for himself, which he uses in the future.

ALIGN PANEL

If you need to align objects on the artboard or distribute multiple shapes at a certain distance from each other, then the panel Align (Alignment) is the best tool for solving problems of this kind.

The Align panel should be used in cases where you need to bring several objects to a single state, for example, align them to the left, top or bottom. It is enough to select the desired shapes and click on the desired icon.

By default, several panel options are hidden, to make them visible, you need to click the small arrow and turn on showOptions. As a result, additional functionality will appear distributionSpacing, with which you can accurately position two or more objects at a given distance from each other.

To understand how the tool works Grid (Grid), you need to first bring this grid to the display. To do this, go to the menu section view and find the item showGrid.

Why is this tool so important. Any designer knows that all elements of the layout should be at a certain distance from each other. The easiest way to arrange them, focusing on the grid. The grid facilitates the positioning of elements and tells you how to properly structure all parts of the layout.

This is a very useful tool for those designers who create pixel-perfect layouts. Grid will also be appreciated by web designers and interface designers. The tool is very powerful and there is no way in this article to describe how you can use it in your work. Additional information about the Grid tool can be found.

SNAP TO GRID / PIXEL GRID

The grid itself is a powerful tool, but once you need to create a layout where objects need to be positioned with pixel precision, beginners can get in trouble. However, Illustrator has a solution to this problem: Snap to Grid / Pixel Grid(Snap to Grid/Pixel Grid).

In different projects, you will have to adjust the grids depending on what exactly needs to be done, while the size of the canvas and the principles of placing elements in the layout matter. For simple compositions, you can use the standard grid, but when perfect accuracy is required, it is better to set the minimum possible settings: grid line every single pixel, division within the grid step: 1.

Through the use Snap to Grid / Pixel Grid you can create incredibly sharp images that look very professional. This is not unusual, since all objects are tied to a pixel grid, and, importantly, they were all created with predetermined pixel sizes from the start.

Hi all! And we have another lesson in Adobe Illustrator, in which I will tell and show the advantages of using multiple artboards. If you don't have the most old version illustrator, then you probably noticed that in addition to layers, there is another dimension called Artboards. Artboards, workspaces, artboards. You can call them differently. It all looks something like this.

Yes, absolutely right. As if several pictures are in one vector file. This is Artboards. It is with them that we will conjure a little today. After all, using several artboards in one file is very convenient. Especially if you are making a series of same-type images or similaries for microstocks. When the work is finished, you can save all the illustrations in a couple of clicks. Whether there are at least ten of them, at least twenty. And you don’t need any actions, scripts and other troubles.

I decided to divide this Adobe Illustrator tutorial into several parts. At the very beginning, we cover the main points on working with artboards, which will be useful for beginners. And at the end it is shown how to save illustrations for microstocks from several Artboards.

Creating New Artboards

By default, Illustrator has one workspace. And when you make a new document, it might look like this.

As you already understood, the panel is responsible for the workspaces. Artboards. And the first way to add a new artboard to a vector file is to click on the button New Artboard.

The new artboard will appear next to it. Through panel Artboards you can also delete workspaces, the trash can icon clearly hints at this. If you go to the panel menu, then there you will be offered additional options.

New Artboard- create a new one, that's understandable.
Duplicate Artboards- create a copy of the artboard and everything that lies on it.
Delete Artboards- to delete, it is also clear.
Delete Empty Artboards- remove empty artboards.
Convert to Artboards- can turn a square into a workspace.
Artboard Options- workspace settings, you can dig deeper.
Rear Range Artboards- distribution, you can adjust the order and position.

In general, the panel Artboards possesses truly mystical abilities to distort and refract vector space in Adobe Illustrator.

But in fact, workspaces can be ordered when a new file is created. Pay attention to the item highlighted in red.

Editing Artboards

But the real master of the world, you will feel when you try the tool Artboard Tool (Shift+O). Its power is invincible, and allows you to penetrate the fabric of vector life in order to control artboards.

Yes, artboards can be moved, squashed, and stretched. Who had an A in school in geometry, pay attention to the information panel at the top. There will be the exact coordinates and dimensions of the current artboard, plus other useful buttons.

I also want to tell you about one very useful command that glues the workspace to an already drawn illustration. This is very handy when you need to adjust the size of the artboard to the finished image. Just select what you drew and go Object > Artboards > Fit to Selected Art. The current work area will change its size, fitting exactly along the edges of the selected illustration.

Saving a series of illustrations from one file

So, enough messing around, let's get down to business. For example, I took a file with three artboards. On the first one is a New Year's background, and on the second and third are redesigns of this picture with a ball and a Christmas tree. Artboard sizes 1200x1200px.

First let's make it all eps for stocks. Let's go File > Save as.

In the window that appears, write the name, of course. Then choose the type EPS. And be sure to tick Use Artboards. After that, the illustrator will take into account the workspaces in the file. There's still a pip nearby All and Range- that is, you can even choose which workspaces to save and which to ignore. Since I need everything, I left it as it is All. Finally, click Save. Further in the next window with settings EPS set as usual EPS-10 and click OK. Illustrator will puff a little, and we will get the following files.

Wherein christmas-background.eps this is a vector file that includes all three backgrounds. You can think of it as the so-called source code. But since in EPS-10 multiple workspaces is not supported, then in the end all three pictures will lie on the same workspace. Therefore, as a source, it is still better to save the vector separately in the format ai your current version Adobe Illustrator.

Files with numbers ending in 01, 02 and 03 are vectors with separate workspaces. If you open, for example, christmas-background-01.eps, then there will be only one workspace number 1 with a Christmas background. In this way Adobe Illustrator split the shared file into several EPS. One workspace each.

But let's get back to our file with several artboards, since we still need to make a bitmap preview for all the pictures. For this we go File > Export.

We press OK, the illustrator puffs for a while, it all depends on the number of artboards and the complexity of the vector. You might even have tea. As a result, we get the following files.

From each workspace, the illustrator made an export to a separate raster JPEG. The numbers, as in the case of EPS, correspond to artboard numbers. Dimensions JPEG in my example 5000x5000px, permission 300dpi. In general, a tasty and fragrant raster preview, which is suitable for almost all microstocks. So you can take a couple of files JPEG and EPS with the same names and feel free to download. Unless of course your vectors are prepared according to technical requirements microstocks. You can read more about this here.

I'm going to be making images that contain hundreds of lines of text of various lengths, all of which will have the same "background" except for the background length, which should be relative to the length of the text. I want to avoid having to manually insert text into the field each time.

The second twist is that I want the background to decrease the opacity, but I want the text to be 100% opaque.

This way the text will always be the same size and solid white on, say, an 80% opaque orange background. The "padding" (insert?) on all four sides of the text will be constant relative to the text. All that will change is the total width of the text line, corresponding to the total width of the "window".

I have looked at these two answers

which seems to solve this problem, but not quite. I am using Illustrator CS6.

Answers

Scott

As for fitting textboxes to text.. see the script in your first link to the question. This is the only method I know of.

Much easier to solve the padding problem.

  • select area text with selection tool (black arrow)
  • Add a new fill via the Appearance panel
  • set the fill color and drag the fill below the Symbology element in the Appearance panel.
  • With the fill selected in the Appearance panel, choose Effect > Convert To Shape > Rectangle and enter the values ​​you want. Then click OK
  • Click the Opacity indicator below the fill in the Appearance panel and enter the Opacity value you want to fill. It won't change the text.

Set it up once, then drag it all into the Graphic Styles panel. If you need to apply the same appearance, just select the Area Text field, and then click the style in the Graphic Style panel.

Note that the background is relative to the area's text field... if the block size changes, the background will also change.

Added after seeing what the script does to the look.

The script kills the look. So here's what I would do...

Customize the graphic style and save it.
Prepare the "Area" text box and prepare it for the script.

Now create a new activity and start recording...
- run script
- click on graphic style
Stop recording.
Assign the F key to an action.

Now all you have to do is select the area text box and press the assigned F key. If the text box needs to be resized as you work, just press the F key.

Warning....

Illustrator has and has had error related to scripting actions. The action will not save the script step if you exit Illustrator. So every time you launch Illustrator, you will need to set up the action again. It's annoying, time consuming and painful. However, recreating an action every time it's needed can be much faster than manually manipulating text fields and appearance.

Brian D

It is very useful! The script and the look/style method don't play well together, but it gives me a lot of work to do. The script needs to be applied every time I want to resize the box in the text. This would be tolerable, but it also irritates the look and feel set by the method you recommended.

Scott

@BrianD ahh I see it is. I have updated my answer above.

Brian D

Scott, this is really helpful. I've been playing around with my graphics just using your styling style - even with the need to resize the text box for each line, styling is very useful. Maybe not much harder than reapplying each time an AI file is opened for use. I'll try both ways and see which is less of a headache. Gratitude!

Scott

Glad I could help :)

 

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