Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 - Manual (Page 116)

111
Drawing
Last updated 6/5/2015
Rename a symbol
1 To rename the symbol, select the symbol in the Symbols panel, choose Symbol Options from the panel menu, and
then type a new name in the Symbol Options dialog box.
2 To rename a symbol instance, select a symbol instance in the artwork, and then type a new name in the Instance
Name text box in the Control panel.
Symbol registration point
The symbol registration point in Illustrator is similar to Adobe Flash Professional. A registration point is the origin of
the symbol definition art. This feature provides better interoperability between Illustrator and Flash.
When you create a symbol, you can choose the registration point from any of the 8-point across boundaries or center
of the symbol bounding box. The registration point is visible as a crosshair symbol in Symbol edit mode and in normal
mode when the symbol instance is selected. In isolation mode, you can snap your artwork with registration point mark.
In the Transform panel menu (flyout menu), the Use Registration Point for Symbol option is selected by default.
Coordinates of the registration point are visible in the Transform panel when symbol instance is selected. All
transformations of symbol instances correspond to the registration point of the symbol definition art.
The transformations applied on the symbol instance can be reset using the Reset Transformation option. For details see
Reset transformations .
Place or create a symbol
Place a symbol
1 Select a symbol in the Symbols panel or a symbol library.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Place Symbol Instance button in the Symbols panel to place the instance in the center of the current
viewable area of the document window.
• Drag the symbol to the artboard where you want it to appear.
• Choose Place Symbol Instance from the Symbols panel menu.
note: A single symbol placed anywhere in your artwork (as opposed to existing only in the panel) is called an
instance.
Create a symbol
1 Select the artwork you want to use as a symbol.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the New Symbol button in the Symbols panel.
• Drag the artwork to the Symbols panel.
• Choose New Symbol from the panel menu.
Note: By default, the selected artwork becomes an instance of the new symbol. If you don’t want the artwork to become
an instance, press Shift as you create the new symbol. In addition, if you don’t want the New Symbol dialog box to open
when you create a new symbol, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you create the symbol and Illustrator will
use a default name for the symbol, such as New Symbol 1.