Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

11.

Switch to the Selection & Anchor Display set-

tings. Click the pop-up menu to the right of the

word General and choose the next set of prefer-

ences. The key setting change I want you to make

here is to turn on the Object Selection by Path Only

check box. If you’re new to Illustrator, this may

mean nothing to you yet and you’ll have to take my

word for it. If you have some experience with the

application, then know that this means you must

click on the outline along the edge of an object in

order to select it, rather than just clicking inside it.

So the result is that turning this feature on, as I’ve

done in Figure 8, gives you much finer control in-

side complex illustrations.

You may want to also change the size and shape of your

anchor point and handle display to something suiting your

eyesight needs. I notice that the older I get, the larger I like

them to be.

12.

Move to the Units panel. Next, choose Units from

the pop-up menu at the top of the Preferences dialog

box. Your General, Stroke, and Type units should be

set to Points, as in Figure 9. A point is

1

⁄72 of an inch

(or

1

⁄12 of a pica for those familiar with that term).

International users may find or want some other

measurement in the units setting, which is fine and won’t

keep you from completing the exercises. Just be aware

that I’ll be working in points.

13. Navigate to the Appearance of Black panel ...