Illustrator® CS4 For Dummies®

Chapter 18. Ten Production-Enhancing Tips

In This Chapter

• Making holes in objects

• Avoiding using Photoshop filters in Illustrator, and why

• Getting gradients to print properly

• Making complex graphics simpler

• Hiding elements you aren't using

• Using the ToolTips

• Changing your units of measurement on a whim

• Moving brushes, swatches, and styles between documents

• Placing documents within documents within documents

• Making type easier to select

If you can picture something, you can probably create it in Illustrator. The only trick is knowing how to create it. People who use Illustrator rely on thousands of little tricks to make their lives easier, make production faster, avoid unnecessary hassle and expense, and generally make their world a better place to live. Well, those thousands of tricks might not all fit in one book, but here are ten simple ways to jazz up your use of Illustrator.

Punching Holes

Take a close look at the two blue circles in Figure 18-1. The hole in the center of the left circle is actually a white circle that obscures the background. In Illustrator, white is a color that is really "there" — and it blocks anything behind it. In the circle on the right, the hole in the center really is a hole, revealing the image behind it.

Figure 18-1. Use Compound Paths to create a "hole."

How do you ...