When a student sends me a “problem” Illustrator file, the first thing I do is open up the Document Info palette (Window > Document Info). Using this tremendous resource, I find out virtually everything I could possibly need to know about a document. The kind of information that can answer lots of questions, which can also help to find the cause of possible problems.
Using the Options menu of the Document Info palette, I can get a overview of the Document or take a closer look at the details. What kind of Objects are being used and how many of each? (Open Paths, Closed Paths, Masks, Compound Paths, Gradient Meshes, Etc.) Are there any Graphic Styles? How about Brushes, Spot colors, Patterns, or Gradients? What Fonts are being used (including a detailed closer look at Styles and Font Format) And what about Embedded and Linked Images? Having easy access to detailed information like this can make the whole problem-solving process a lot faster and more efficient.
Tip provided by Jeff Witchel, Certified Adobe® Training Provider.
Author: jeff witchel
Jeff Witchel graduated from Pratt Institute in 1973 with a B.F.A. (Cum Laude) in Advertising Design and Visual Communications. He has been an award-winning advertising art director, writer, designer, illustrator, and TV producer ever since.
Before starting his own advertising agency in New Jersey, Jeff built his career at top New York ad agencies such as Young & Rubicam, Grey Advertising, and Wells, Rich, Greene. Over the years, he has created award-winning work for many clients including AT&T, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Jell-O Pudding, The Plaza Hotel, and Pfizer. His many prestigious awards include N.Y. Art Directors Club Gold Award, One Show Gold Award, N.J. Art Directors Club Award, multiple Andy Awards, Graphis Annual, numerous readership awards, plus an Emmy Award nomination.
Jeff is a self-taught computer artist with over 19 years of experience. His initial introduction to the computer was with PageMaker, but he switched to Quark 1.0 when it was first introduced in 1987. Having arrived on the desktop publishing scene so early, Jeff became the “go to” guy for answers when others started getting into computer graphics.
As an Adobe Certified Expert, he’s provided online support for Adobe and is now an Adobe Certified Training Provider for both Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Adobe InDesign CS2. Jeff is one of just a handful of Adobe Certified Instructors in the New York metropolitan area. He also is a Quark Certified Expert in QuarkXPress 6 as well as a master of Adobe Photoshop and related applications. He counts among his training clients ad agencies, design studios, magazines, illustrators, and photographers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
