Setting up the work area
Once you have created a document, you can then set up your work area to organize your work and streamline the workflow. For example, you can change the size of the artboard, tile your workspace, or move your page boundaries.
To open a new file: - Choose File > New, and then enter a name in the Name text box.
- Select the CMYK or RGB color mode. (See Color modes and models.)
- If necessary, specify a height and width for the artboard.
To create a new document without opening the New Document dialog box, press Ctrl+Alt+N (Windows) or Command+Option+N (Mac OS). The new, untitled document has the settings last used.
To open an existing file: - Choose File > Open.
- Select the name of the file you want to open, and click Open.
To close a file and quit Illustrator: - Choose File > Exit (Windows) or File > Quit (Mac OS).
- If the file has not yet been saved or named, the Save dialog box appears. To save the file, enter a name in the Name text box (if necessary) and then click OK.
To show or hide the artboard: To show the artboard, choose View > Show Artboard; to hide the artboard, choose View > Hide Artboard.
To change the size of the artboard: - Choose File > Document Setup. Then choose Artboard from the pop-up menu at the top left of the Document Setup dialog box.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose a preset size from the Size pop-up menu.
- Choose Custom from the Size pop-up menu, and enter the dimensions you want in the text boxes, up to 227 inches by 227 inches. You can change the units in the document (and therefore of the artboard size) by choosing a different unit from the Edit > Preferences > Units & Undo dialog box (Windows and Mac OS 9) or the Illustrator > Preferences > Units & Undo dialog box (Mac OS X).
- Select Use Print Setup (Windows) or Use Page Setup (Mac OS) to set the size of the artboard to match the page size set in the Print Setup (Windows) or Page Setup (Mac OS) dialog box. The size of the artboard then changes anytime you choose a new page size in the Print/Page Setup dialog box.
- Click OK.
Note: The artboard displays the maximum printable area but does not define the size of the printed page. The printable area of the page is derived from the printer driver and ppd of the printing device. You can only change page size settings if your printer will accept custom page sizes.
To change the size of the page: Choose File > Print Setup (Windows) or File > Page Setup (Mac OS) and select a page type in the dialog box. Note: The imageable area and page size are not limitations when printing to imagesetters that handle large media. Imagesetters can typically print to the edge of the page. The page size used by an imagesetter may be larger than the page size specified in Illustrator, enabling you to print bleeds, for example, that run past the edge of the page.
To change the color of the page: - Choose File > Document Setup.
- Select Transparency from the pop-up menu.
- Select Simulate Paper, and then click the top color swatch and select a new color from the color picker.
- Click OK.
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