Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

9.

Drag out the symbolism tools panel. Now to modify the active

symbol set. Click and hold on the symbol sprayer tool in the

toolbox to display a fl yout menu of eight tools. Drag to the ver-

tical “tearoff” bar on the right side and release. Illustrator pro-

duces a micropanel of eight horizontal tools, as in Figure 9-80.

Move the panel to anyplace you like. Here’s how this group of

eight tools work:

• Symbol sprayer. This tool lays down instances as you drag

and erases instances as you Alt-drag (or Option-drag).

You’ve already seen it, so I shan’t dwell.

• Symbol shifter. From here on out, a symbol set or instance

must be selected for the tool to work. The symbol shifter

tool moves instances of the active symbol in the direction of

your drag. You can also move instances forward, in stacking

order, by pressing the Shift key as you drag. To move them

backward, press Shift+Alt (or on the Mac, Shift-Option).

Note that these various keyboard tricks work on-the-fl y. So as you’re

pressing Shift to bring instances forward, you can add Alt (or Option)

to push them back. I’m not sure how useful this trick is for the symbol

shifter, but for other tools, it may prove helpful.

•

Symbol scruncher. Drag with the symbol scruncher tool

(hey, I didn’t name it!) to move instances together. Press

the Alt (or Option) key to move them apart.

• Symbol sizer. Paint with this tool to increase the si