Creating a custom startup fileAdobe Illustrator provides two different startup files: a startup file for the CMYK color mode and a startup file for the RGB color mode. When you create a new document, you are asked to choose a color mode for the new document. Depending on the startup file you choose (CMYK or RGB), your new document will contain the default settings for that particular startup file: brushes, swatches, gradients, patterns, and styles. The startup files are called Adobe Illustrator Startup_CMYK and Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB, respectively, and are found in the Plug-ins folder inside the Adobe Illustrator application folder. You can create a custom startup file that defines the contents of the Swatches palette by default, including any custom color libraries that you want to appear in the Swatches palette. In this way, you can have easy access to the patterns, gradients, brushes, graph designs, colors, and color libraries that you use most frequently. By adding these elements to one or both of the startup files, you make them available in every new Adobe Illustrator file you create. In addition, any files you create have the same Document Setup and Page Setup settings as those found in the CMYK or RGB startup files, and they use the same zoom level, window size, viewing preferences, and scroll position as that of the startup file when it was last saved. To create a custom startup file:
Save the new file as Adobe Illustrator Startup _CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB, and place it inside the Plug-ins folder. Important: Make sure that you select the correct type of startup file (that is, CMYK or RGB) and that you save it with the exact name for its color mode. Also, you must quit the Illustrator application and restart it before the new startup settings are applied to a new document. |