1 GETTING TO KNOW

THE WORK AREA

Lesson overview
In this lesson, you’ll explore the Illustrator workspace and learn how
to do the following:
• Open an Adobe Illustrator file.
• Work with the toolbar.

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• Move the toolbar.
• Work with panels.

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• Reset and save your workspace.
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• Use view options to change the display magnification.
• Pan with the Navigator panel.
• Rotate the canvas view.
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• Navigate multiple artboards and documents.
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• Arrange multiple documents.

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This lesson will take about 45 minutes to complete. To get the lesson
files used in this chapter, download them from the web page for this
book at adobepress.com/IllustratorCIB2023. For more information,
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see “Accessing the lesson files and Web Edition” in the Getting Started
section at the beginning of this book.

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By learning how to navigate the workspace easily

and efficiently, you’ll be able to make the most of the
extensive drawing, painting, and editing capabilities
of Adobe Illustrator.

29
 Introducing Adobe Illustrator
In Illustrator, you primarily create and work with vector graphics (sometimes called
vector shapes or objects). Vector graphics are made of lines and curves defined by
mathematical objects called vectors. You can resize vector graphics to cover the side
of a building or use them as a social media icon without losing detail or clarity.

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An example of vector artwork. Editing vector artwork.

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Vector graphics maintain crisp edges when printed to a PostScript printer, saved in
a PDF file, or imported into a vector-based graphics application. As a result, vector
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graphics are the best choice for artwork like logos that will be used in various sizes
and output media.
▶ Tip: To learn more Illustrator also allows you to incorporate bitmap images—technically called raster
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about bitmap graphics,
images—made up of a rectangular grid of square pixels. Each pixel in the grid has a
search for “Import
specific color. Take a look at the image below.
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bitmap images” in
Illustrator Help
(Help > Illustrator Help).
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Example of a raster image and a zoomed-in portion to show the pixels. I added a grid to the
zoomed-in part on the right to give you the idea.

Pictures you take with your phone camera are considered raster images. Raster
images can be created and edited in a program like Adobe Photoshop.

30 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

Opening an Illustrator file
In this lesson, you’ll open a document and use that file to begin exploring
Illustrator by navigating, zooming, and investigating an Illustrator document and
the workspace.
First, you’ll restore the default preferences for Adobe Illustrator. You’ll reset
preferences at the start of each lesson in this book to ensure that the tools function
as described in the lesson.
1 To delete or deactivate (by renaming) the Adobe Illustrator preferences file, see
“Restoring default preferences” in the “Getting Started” section at the beginning
of the book.
2 Double-click the Adobe Illustrator icon to launch Adobe Illustrator.
With Illustrator open, you will see the Home screen showing starting file sizes,

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resources for Illustrator, and more.
3 Choose File > Open or click the
Open button in the Home screen.
• Note: If you
have not already

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downloaded the
4 In the Lessons > Lesson01 folder project files for
on your hard disk, select the
L1_start1.ai file, and click Open
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computer from your
Account page, make
to open the design for a shoe ad. sure to do so now.
See the “Getting
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To start, with the file open, you’ll Started” section at the
reset the Illustrator interface so beginning of the book.
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we all see the same thing.

5 Choose Window > Workspace and make sure Essentials is selected. A
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checkmark appears next to the name if selected.

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6 Choose Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials to reset the workspace.
The Reset Essentials command ensures that the workspace, which includes all
of the tools and panels, is set to the default settings. You’ll learn more about
resetting the workspace later in the section “Switching and resetting workspaces.”
7 Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window.
An artboard is the area that
contains artwork that can be
output and is like a page in Adobe
InDesign or Microsoft Word. This
command fits the whole artboard
into the Document window so you
can see the whole design. I added
a red line around the artboard in
the figure. You won’t see the red
line in your project.
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 31
 Exploring the workspace
When Illustrator is launched and a file is open, the menus, Application bar,
toolbar, and panels appear on the screen. The arrangement of these elements is
called a workspace.
When you first start Illustrator, you see the default workspace, which you can
customize. You can create and save multiple workspaces—one for editing and
another for viewing, for example—and switch between them as you work.
A. Application bar

B. Panels

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C. Toolbar

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D. Document
window
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E. Status bar

•
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Note: The screen A. The Application bar, across the top by default, contains application
captures in this lesson
controls, the workspace switcher, and search. On Windows, the main menu
were taken using
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macOS and may look bar items appear inline with the Application bar—see the following figure.
slightly different
from what you see,
especially if you are
using Windows.

B. Panels help you monitor and modify your work. Certain panels are
displayed by default in the panel dock on the right side of the workspace,
and you can display any panel by choosing it from the Window menu.
C. The toolbar contains tools for creating and editing images, artwork,
artboard elements, and more. Related tools are grouped together.
D. The Document window displays the file(s) you’re working on.

E. The Status bar appears at the lower-left edge of the Document window.
It displays file information, zooming, and navigation controls.

32 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

Getting to know the tools
The toolbar on the left side of the workspace contains tools for selecting, drawing,
painting, editing, and viewing, as well as the Fill and Stroke boxes, drawing modes,
and screen modes. As you work through the lessons, you’ll learn about the specific
function of many of these tools.
To start, you’ll make a few changes to the design with the tools you select.
1 Move the pointer over the ▶ Tip: You can
turn the tool tips on
Selection tool ( ) in the toolbar on the left.
or off by choosing
Notice that the name (Selection tool) and Illustrator > Preferences >
General (macOS) or
keyboard shortcut (V) display in a tool tip,
Edit > Preferences >
as well as, in most cases, more information General (Windows) and
about the tool. selecting or deselecting
Show Rich Tool Tips.

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2 Click the text “STARTING AT $89” to select it. Drag it up higher so it’s more
centered in the area below the shoe. pa
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The Selection tool is one tool you will use a lot and is used for moving, resizing,
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scaling, and rotating the artwork in your designs.

3 In the toolbar on the left, press and hold the Rectangle tool ( ) to reveal a
menu of tools. Select the Star tool ( ).

Any tool in the toolbar that displays a small triangle contains additional tools
that can be selected this way.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 33

 4 To the left of the “STARTING AT $89” text in the ad, drag to draw a little star.

▶ Tip: Don’t like where Notice that the star you made is probably purple. That’s because you selected
the star is? Don’t forget
the text, which was purple, before making the star. Whatever you make next
about the Selection
tool ( )! You could keeps the same color!
select the Selection tool
and move it.
Working with the Properties panel

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When you open a document in Illustrator, you’ll see the Properties panel on the
right side of the workspace by default. The Properties panel displays options you
can set for the active document when nothing is selected. It also shows appearance

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properties for any content you choose. It’s a panel you’ll use quite a bit; it puts all
the most commonly used options in one place.
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Using the Properties panel, you’ll change the color of the star in the poster.
1 Select the Selection tool ( ) in the toolbar, and look in the Properties panel on
the right.
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2 Choose Select > Deselect so the star is no longer selected.
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At the top of the Properties panel, you will see “No Selection.” This is the
Selection Indicator. It’s a great place to see what type of content is selected (if any).
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With nothing selected in the document, the Properties panel shows the current
document properties and program preferences.
3 Click to select the large text “VIBES” in
the background.
In the Properties panel, you should now
see appearance options for the selected
artwork, which is a group, as indicated

34 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

 by “Group” at the top of the panel. You can change the size, position, color, and
much more for the selected artwork.
4 Click the color box ( ) to the left of the word “Fill” in the Properties panel to
show a panel of colors.
5 In the panel that shows, make sure the Swatches option ( ) is selected at
the top (circled in the following figure), and then click any color you want to
apply it. I chose a slightly lighter purple.

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6 Press Escape to hide the panel.
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Finding more tools
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In Illustrator, not all available tools are shown in the toolbar by default. As you go
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through this book, you’ll explore some of those hidden tools. In this section, you’ll
see how to access a hidden tool so you can use it to make a particular edit.
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1 Click Edit Toolbar ( ) at the bottom of the toolbar on the left.

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A menu appears that shows all of the available tools. The tools that appear
dimmed (you can’t select them) are already in the default toolbar. You can drag
any of the remaining tools you see in the menu into the toolbar so you can
use them.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 35

 2 Move the pointer over a tool in the list
that is dimmed, like the Selection tool at
the top of the list (you may need to
scroll up).
The Selection tool is outlined in blue in the
toolbar. If you were to hover over a nested
tool like the Ellipse tool, which is nested
within the Star tool, the Star tool would be
outlined, showing you where it is nested.
3 Scroll in the list of tools until you see the Knife tool ( ) near the bottom. To
add it to the toolbar, drag it between two tools. When a blank space appears,
release the mouse button to add the Knife tool.
4 Press the Escape key to hide the extra tools.

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▶ Tip: After clicking The Knife tool will now be in the toolbar until you remove it or reset the
Edit Toolbar ( ), you
toolbar. Now you will use the Knife tool to cut a shape in the background so you
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can reset the toolbar by

clicking the panel can change the color.
menu icon ( ) and
5 Select the Selection tool ( ) in the
choosing Reset.
toolbar. Click the lighter orange shape
behind the “STARTING AT $89” text.
You’ll learn more about how to use
the Knife tool in Lesson 4, but for
now, know that you can cut only what
is selected.
6 Select the Knife tool ( ) you just
added to the toolbar.
7 To zoom out a little and give yourself some room to work, choose View > Zoom
Out once or twice.

36 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

8 Drag across the selected shape to cut it into two pieces. Use the following figure
as a guide for where to drag.
The cut line won’t be perfectly straight—that’s how the Knife tool is supposed
to work.

9 Choose Select > Deselect so the two parts of the shape are no longer selected.
10 Select the Selection tool ( ) in the toolbar. Click the smaller orange shape

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behind the “STARTING AT $89” text.

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11 Click the color box to the left of the word “Fill” in the Properties panel to show a
panel of colors.
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You did this in the previous section when you changed the color of the star!
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12 In the panel that shows, make sure the Swatches option ( ) is selected at the
top, and then click any color you want to apply it. I chose a lighter yellow/
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orange color.

Moving the toolbar

To learn about how to customize the appearance and location of the toolbar,
check out the video Moving the toolbar, which is part of the Web Edition. For more
information, see the “Web Edition” section of “Getting Started” at the beginning of
the book.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 37

 Working with panels
On the right side of the workspace, the Properties panel is grouped with a few
other panels by default. Sometimes those panels can get in the way. Next, you’ll
explore how to minimize those panels and how to get them back the way they were.
1 In the upper-right corner of the
application, click the Layers panel
tab to the right of the Properties
panel tab.
The Layers panel is grouped with two
other panels—the Properties panel
and the Libraries panel.
▶ Tip: Press Tab to 2 Click the double arrow at the top of the dock to collapse the panels.
toggle between hiding

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and showing all panels.
You can hide or show all
panels at once, except

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for the toolbar, by
pressing Shift+Tab to
toggle between hiding
and showing them.
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▶ Tip: To expand or
collapse the panel dock, You can use this method of collapsing the panels to create a larger area for
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you can also double-
working on your document. You’ll learn more about docking in the next section.
click the panel dock title
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bar at the top. 3 Drag the left edge of the docked panels (Properties, Layers, and Libraries) to the
right until the panel text disappears.
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This hides the panel names and collapses the panel dock to icons only.
4 Click to select the large text “VIBES” in the background of the ad.
5 Click the Properties panel icon ( )
to show it.
Now you’ll change the color of the
text again.

38 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

6 Click the color box to the left of the word “Fill” in the Properties panel to show a
panel of colors, and select another color. I went back to the original purple.

7 Click the Properties panel icon ( ) to hide it. • Note: You’ll most
likely need to click the
icon twice. Once to hide
the Swatches panel, and
a second time to hide
the Properties panel.

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8 Click the double arrow again to expand the panels.

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9 Choose Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials to reset the workspace.
You’ll learn more about resetting and switching workspaces in the section
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“Switching and resetting workspaces.”

Moving and docking panels

Panels in Illustrator can be moved around in the workspace and organized to
match your working needs. Next, you’ll open a new panel and dock it with the
default panels on the right side of the workspace.
1 Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window to fit the ad in the window.
2 Click the Window menu at the top of the screen to see all of the panels available
in Illustrator. Choose Swatches from the Window menu to open the Swatches
panel and the panels grouped with it by default.

▶ Tip: A checkmark next to a panel name in the Window menu means it’s already open and in
front of other panels in its panel group. If you were to choose a panel name already selected in the
Window menu, the panel and its group would either close or collapse.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 39

 Panels you open that do not appear in the default workspace are free-floating.
That means they are not docked and can be moved around. You can dock free-
floating panels on the right or left side of the workspace.
3 Drag the Swatches panel group by the title bar above the panel names to move
the group closer to the docked panels on the right.

Next, you’ll dock the Swatches panel with the Properties panel group.

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• Note: When
dragging a panel to the
4 Drag the Swatches panel by its panel tab onto the Properties, Layers, and
Libraries panel tabs on the right. When a blue highlight appears around the
dock on the right, if you

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see a blue line above entire panel dock, release the mouse button to dock the panel in the group.
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before releasing, you’ll
create a new panel
group above rather
than docking
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the panel with the
existing panel group.
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5 Click the X at the top of the

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Brushes and Symbols panel group,

which is free-floating, to close it.

▶ Tip: To remove a panel from the dock,

you can drag a panel by its tab away from
the dock.

You might be thinking to yourself,

“The Swatches panel has the same colors I see when clicking the Fill color in
the Properties panel!” Why put the panel out here when you can see the same
colors by clicking the Fill color in the Properties panel? I put the Swatches panel
out here because with the Properties panel, artwork needs to be selected to see
the swatches. If I want to make a color without having anything selected, for
instance, you can use the Swatches panel!

40 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

 Scaling the Illustrator interface
When you launch Illustrator, it identifies your screen resolution and adjusts the
application scale factor accordingly. You can scale the user interface of Illustrator
based on your screen resolution to make the tools, text, and other UI elements
easier to see.
Choose Illustrator > Preferences > User Interface (macOS) or Edit >
Preferences > User Interface (Windows) to change the UI Scaling settings. The
change will take place after restarting Illustrator.

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Switching and resetting workspaces
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As you’ve seen, you can customize the parts of your workspace, like rearranging
panels. As you make changes, like opening and closing panels and changing their
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position (among other things), you can save that arrangement as a workspace—and
switch between workspaces while you work. Illustrator also comes with a host of
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workspaces that are tailored to various tasks.

Next, you’ll switch workspaces and learn about some new panels.
1 Above the docked panels, click the workspace switcher ( ) at the right end of ▶ Tip: You can also
choose Window >
the Application bar.
Workspace > Layout (or
another workspace).

You’ll see a number of workspaces listed; each has a specific purpose and will
open panels and arrange your workspace accordingly.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 41

 2 Choose Layout from the workspace switcher menu to change workspaces.

You’ll notice a few major changes in the workspace. One of the biggest is the
Control panel, which is now docked at the top of the workspace, just above
the Document window (it’s highlighted in the previous figure). Similar to the
Properties panel, it offers quick access to options, commands, and other panels
relevant to the currently selected content.

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Also, notice all of the collapsed panel icons on the right side of the workspace.
In workspaces, you can create groups of panels that are stacked on top of
others. That way, a lot more panels are visible.

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3 Choose Essentials from the
workspace switcher ( ) above the
docked panels to switch back to the
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Essentials workspace.
Notice that the Swatches panel is still
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docked in the panels.
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4 Choose Reset Essentials from

the workspace switcher in the
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Application bar.
When you switch back to a previous
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workspace, it remembers any changes

you made, like grouping the Swatches
panel. To completely reset a workspace to its default settings, the Essentials
workspace in this case, you’ll need to reset it.

Saving your own workspace

If you get all the panels you want out and set them right where you want them,
you can save a custom workspace.
To save your own workspace, make sure your panels are where they should be and
then choose Window > Workspace > New Workspace. Change its name to whatever
makes sense to you in the New Workspace dialog box, and click OK.
You can now select that workspace from the workspace switcher!

42 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

Using panel and context menus
Most panels in Illustrator have more options available in a panel menu, found by
clicking the panel menu icon ( or ) in the upper-right corner of a panel.
These additional options can be used to change the panel display, add or change
panel content, and more. Next, you’ll change the display of the Swatches panel
using its panel menu.
1 With the Selection tool ( ) selected in the toolbar, make sure the large “VIBES”
text is selected.
2 Click the Fill color box, to the
left of the word “Fill,” in the
Properties panel.
3 In the panel that appears, called the
Swatches panel, make sure that

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the Swatches option ( ) is selected
toward the top of the panel. Click the
panel menu icon ( ) in the upper-right corner, and choose Small List View

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from the panel menu.
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This displays the swatch names, together with thumbnails. Because the options
in the panel menu apply only to the active panel, only the Swatches panel view
is affected.
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4 Click the same panel menu icon ( ) in the panel showing, and choose Small
Thumbnail View to return the swatches to their original view.
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In addition to the panel menus, context-sensitive menus display commands

relevant to the active tool, selection, or panel. Usually the commands in a
context menu are available in another part of the workspace, but using a context
menu can save you time.
5 Press Escape to hide the Swatches panel.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 43

 6 Choose Select > Deselect so the text is no longer selected.
Another type of menu you can show is a context menu, which appears wherever
you right-click.
▶ Tip: If you move the 7 Move the pointer over the dark gray area surrounding the ad. Then, right-click
pointer over the tab
or title bar for a panel
to show a context menu that displays commands specific to the open document.
and right-click, you can
close a panel or a panel
group from the context
menu that appears.

8 Choose Zoom Out to make the ad appear a little smaller.

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The content of context-sensitive menus will change depending on what the
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pointer is positioned over; in other words, it changes depending on its context.
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Adjusting the brightness

of the user interface
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As with Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator supports a brightness

adjustment for the application user interface. This is a program-wide preference
setting that allows you to choose a brightness setting from four preset levels.
To change the user-interface brightness, you can choose:

• Illustrator > Preferences > User Interface (macOS)

• Edit > Preferences > User Interface (Windows)

44 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

Changing the view of artwork
While working in files, you’ll likely need to change the magnification level and
navigate between artboards. The magnification level, which can range from 3.13%
to 64000%, is displayed in the title bar (or document tab) next to the filename and
in the lower-left corner of the Document window.
There are many ways to change the zoom level in Illustrator, and in this section,
you’ll explore several of the most widely used methods.

Using view commands

View commands are found in the View menu and are an easy way to enlarge or
reduce the view of artwork. I zoom into and out of my artwork most often using
these commands.
▶ Tip: The keyboard

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1 Choose View > Zoom In twice to enlarge the display of the artwork.
shortcut for the
Using the viewing tools and commands affects only the display of the artwork, View > Zoom In
not the actual size of the artwork. Each time you choose a Zoom option, the command is Command

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view of the artwork is resized to the closest preset zoom level. The preset zoom and + (macOS) or Ctrl
and + (Windows).
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levels appear in a menu in the lower-left corner of the Document window,
identified by a down arrow next to a percentage.
You can zoom out
using the keyboard
shortcut Command
2 Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window to see the entire ad again. and – (macOS) or
Ctrl and – (Windows).
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▶ Tip: Choose
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View > Actual Size to

display the artwork at
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actual size.
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By choosing View > Fit Artboard In Window or using the keyboard shortcut
Command+0 [zero] (macOS) or Ctrl+0 [zero] (Windows), the entire artboard
(page) is centered in the Document window.
If you need to zoom in to a specific area of your design—like the “STARTING
AT $89” text, you can select that content first and then use the View > Zoom In
command to zoom in to what’s selected.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CLASSROOM IN A BOOK (2023 RELEASE) 45

 3 Click the text “STARTING AT $89” to select it. Choose View > Zoom In.

4 Press the Shift key and select the star to select it as well.
5 Choose Object > Group to group the text and star together. You’ll learn more

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about grouping in Lesson 2, “Techniques for Selecting Artwork.”
6 Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window to see the whole ad.

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7 Choose Select > Deselect so the group is no longer selected.

Using the Zoom tool

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In addition to the View menu commands, you can use the Zoom tool ( ) to magnify
and reduce the view of artwork to predefined magnification levels. I tend to use the
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Zoom tool when I need to zoom in to a particular area and zoom in or out a lot.
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1 Select the Zoom tool ( ) in the toolbar, and then move the pointer into the
Document window.
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Notice that a plus sign (+) appears at the center of the pointer.
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2 Move the Zoom tool pointer over the word “VIBES” on the shoe, and click once.

46 LESSON 1 Getting to Know the Work Area

 The artwork is displayed at a higher magnification, depending on your
screen resolution. Notice that where you clicked is now in the center of the
Document window.
3 Click two more times on the same “VIBES” text.
The view is increased again, and you’ll notice that the area where you clicked is
centered in the document window. Being this close to the artwork can make it
easier to see smaller details and possibly make it easier to select things.
4 With the Zoom tool still selected, press the Option (macOS) or Alt (Windows)
key. A minus sign (–) appears at the center of the Zoom tool pointer. With the
Option or Alt key pressed, click the artwork twice to reduce the view
of the artwork.

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Using the Zoom tool, you can also drag in the document to zoom in and out.
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By default, if your computer meets the system requirements for GPU

performance and it’s enabled, zooming is animated. To find out if your
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computer meets the system requirements, see the sidebar “GPU performance”
following this section. ▶ Tip: With the
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Zoom tool selected, if

5 Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window. you move the pointer
into the Document
6 With the Zoom tool still selected, drag from the left side of the document to the window and press
right to zoom in. The zooming is animated. Drag from right to left to zoom out. the mouse button for
a few seconds, you
can zoom in using the
animated zoom.

• Note: If your
computer does not
meet the system
requirements for
GPU performance,
you will instead draw
a dotted rectangle,
Zooming this way can be challenging at first. If you pause before dragging, like I
called a marquee, when
say in the tip at right, it will zoom without control. The secret is not to pause— dragging with the
rather, just drag. Zoom tool.

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