Help with illustrator cs2 noob

wolf99

Hi folks

have been using photoshop for years, but have just opened illustrator (whoop) for serious use for the first time.

Oh. My. God. its driving me bloody bannanas!!

question the first: when I scroll up, not down, it makes the error "bing" for each line i scroll so I get "b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bing" when I scroll an inch or two.

question the second: zooming out shortcut ctrl+- works OK but for zooming in, ctrl++ does absolutely nothing as far as I can see.

final Q for now: how to properly select paths?
using the white arrow tool, sometimes I click on a point and the whole group moves, sometimes I click on a point and just that point moves
I'd prefer the latter, but there seems to be no logic to when it does either of these...

I would have thought the first 2 at least are just settings to be adjusted, I'm probably going totally wrong with the third, but its the worst one of them all!!

thanks for taking to apply to my very noob questions

Rycn

Step 1: Get CS5.

Step 2: Watch a few basic tutorials describing how to use each tool.

wolf99

thanks for replying

step 1: according to adobe.com, this step requires apporx E1000, if you would like to provide me with this I will happily follow your steps, other wise, this is not a helpfull suggestion.

step 2: I have prepay mobile broadband, So i thought to come here to get some precise answers before wasting precious internet moneys sifting through videos by 13 year olds for the one professional one that probably doesnt tell e how to stop the "binging" noise

I do appreciate you taking the time to write a post in reply but in this case I have to remark tha it was less than helpfull...

5uspect

wolf99 wrote: »

Hi folks

have been using photoshop for years, but have just opened illustrator (whoop) for serious use for the first time.

Oh. My. God. its driving me bloody bannanas!!

Illustrator takes a bit of getting used to alright!
For example you can't right click on the tool pallete to open sub tools. You hold left click. (It's still very mac and graphics tablet orientated)

question the first: when I scroll up, not down, it makes the error "bing" for each line i scroll so I get "b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bing" when I scroll an inch or two.

Not sure about this. I don't normally scroll tho. Hold space to quick switch to the hand tool and draw your canvass about.

question the second: zooming out shortcut ctrl+- works OK but for zooming in, ctrl++ does absolutely nothing as far as I can see.

Should work. Try Alt+Mouse wheel. Ctrl + mouse wheel scrolls horizontally. Add shift to increase the step size.

final Q for now: how to properly select paths?
using the white arrow tool, sometimes I click on a point and the whole group moves, sometimes I click on a point and just that point moves
I'd prefer the latter, but there seems to be no logic to when it does either of these...

A selecting paths. Fun times.
An easy and more direct way to select exactly the path you want is to go to the layers pallete. (Just like in photoshop)


See that little arrow to the left of "Layer 1"?
If you expand it, just like a layer style in PS all paths on that layer get listed. Click the circle on the right of a path to select it.

There are also groups here that can be further expanded. Bear in mind that the Direct Selection Tool is sensitive to where you click. Click inside a line and it selects the line. Click a vertex and it selects only that vertex.
Click in side a box and it selects that box, but the above rules apply to its vertices and edges.

I would have thought the first 2 at least are just settings to be adjusted, I'm probably going totally wrong with the third, but its the worst one of them all!!

thanks for taking to apply to my very noob questions

Hope this helps!

civis_liberalis

wolf99 wrote: »

Hi folks

have been using photoshop for years, but have just opened illustrator (whoop) for serious use for the first time.

Oh. My. God. its driving me bloody bannanas!!

I'm in the same situation as yourself. It really is maddening coming from PS to AI...

Had to get some work done in it and a combination of that, problems with Adobe Indesign, my own stupidity and the hour of the morning it was turning into... I seriously just wanted to cry.

wolf99

Ha ha. I nearly hopped me screen of the floor wit frustration a coupla times!

I couldnt believe I find it so hard to move from PS to AI, or that commands could be so un-intuitive compared to PS. I actually havent been back to it sincve, am hopping for a long free quiet day to spend some serious time at it...

5uspect

I find it grows on me.

Dublin_Gunner

wolf99 wrote: »

Ha ha. I nearly hopped me screen of the floor wit frustration a coupla times!

I couldnt believe I find it so hard to move from PS to AI, or that commands could be so un-intuitive compared to PS. I actually havent been back to it sincve, am hopping for a long free quiet day to spend some serious time at it...

Maybe because they are completely different tools for completely different jobs?

Do not attempt to think that because you've messed around in PS, that you'll instantly be able to jump into Illy. Illy is a more complex piece of software, and is excellent at what its designed to do - vector graphics.

5uspect

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Maybe because they are completely different tools for completely different jobs?

Do not attempt to think that because you've messed around in PS, that you'll instantly be able to jump into Illy. Illy is a more complex piece of software, and is excellent at what its designed to do - vector graphics.

Leaving the purpose of Illustrator aside there are some differences in the UI that aren't immediately apparent and can frustrate. You have to hold left mouse over a tool to expand sub tools rather than right click for example

Other UI behaviour is the same. X and D to switch and reset pallet colours or fill/stroke for example.

Tools with the same name and icon behave differently in both programs and can also confuse the newbie.

This apparent inconsistency takes a bit of getting used to never mind getting familiar with vector.

I've noticed the UI becoming more unified in new versions tho.

Dublin_Gunner

5uspect wrote: »

Leaving the purpose of Illustrator aside there are some differences in the UI that aren't immediately apparent and can frustrate. You have to hold left mouse over a tool to expand sub tools rather than right click for example

Other UI behaviour is the same. X and D to switch and reset pallet colours or fill/stroke for example.

Tools with the same name and icon behave differently in both programs and can also confuse the newbie.

This apparent inconsistency takes a bit of getting used to never mind getting familiar with vector.

I've noticed the UI becoming more unified in new versions tho.

What you've described is exactly the reason I made my post.

To the casual user, at first glance, you would assume (and probably correctly) that both programs, with corresponding tools and shortcuts should indeed behave the same. The reality is they don't.

It is a downfall of the integration between different Adobe products.