Illustrator Crashes using Pathfinder

After you first install Illustrator on MacOSX you may be faced with the problem of Illustrator crashing without warning. This usually occurs when Illustrator is performing complex actions such as in the Pathfinder. There is a solution to this problem, which I found on the Adobe support page. Follow this routine and your problem should be solved:

Run Illustrator.
Close the Appearance palette.
Quit Illustrator.
Run Illustrator again.

And now when you run Illustrator it should be fixed, and you can now use pathfinder to your liking. The Adobe support page does not explain what the problem is, but it seems to be a software bug related to the Appearance palette and perhaps Intel based Macs. However you should not be afraid of using the appearance palette, because after your crashing problem is fixed for the first time, you can open up your appearance palette again and use it as you normally would.

Scrubby Sliders

In all Adobe programs scrubby sliders let you have the option of setting a value or dragging a slider without having to actually grab the slider. Simply place your mouse over the name of the value (for instance the Opacity value in the Layers palette), click and drag from left to right to set the value. This works with most values, not all, and is really a great time saver if you get the hang of it. You can also hold SHIFT while dragging to set the value by ten.

And a related tip: To set the value of a setting using the keyboard simply click the name to highlight it (or click the number), and use the up & down arrows on your keyboard to increment the value up and down. Hold SHIFT to increment values by ten.

Understanding Overprint

Overprint: This function is available in all print production programs. Understanding how overprint works is essential for any designer to get the best results for his printed material.

The definition of overprint is that in most cases, when two objects of different colors overlap, they knockout - they won’t print on top of each other. To intentionally print one layer of ink on top of another is to overprint. This can be useful to terminate gaps between touching colors, for instance if a black object is printed on top of a magenta object.

This is in most cases the default setting for text set to print in default [black] color of your program, but sometimes you have to set objects and text to overprint.
In InDesign and Illustrator you can set your fills or strokes to overprint in the ‘Attributes’ palette.

Overprint preview: In InDesign and Illustrator, the results of overprinting objects can be previewed by selecting View>Overprint preview, or pressing ALT+SHIFT+CTRL+Y.
In Acrobat this can be viewed by selecting Advanced>Overprint preview, or pressing ALT+SHIFT+CTRL+Y.
A good rule is to check Overprint preview for every project, even though you don’t use overprint intentionally, to see if everything looks the way you intended.
Also, if you view your seperations you can see that overprinting objects do not knock out other objects.

Note: Overprint should be used with caution, incorrect use can produce unwanted results.

Procedures and Techniques in Advertising and Design

Welcome.
On this blog I’ll try to teach you readers some procedures and techniques I have picked up during my career as a Graphic Designer. I will obviously be posting some tips & tricks in the tools of the trade:

• Adobe PhotoShop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe/Macromedia Flash
• Adobe AfterEffects

I will also write something about all aspects of print-, web- and TV- Post-Production. However, this blog will not be a ground for critique or discussion of design aestetis.

I hope you will find something useful on this blog.