Adobe Illustrator CS3 - Manual (Page 441)

ILLUSTRATOR CS3
User Guide
435
3 Enter an action name, select an action set, and set additional options:
Function Key Assigns a keyboard shortcut to the action. You can choose any combination of a function key, the Ctrl
key (Windows) or Command key (Mac OS), and the Shift key (for example, Ctrl+Shift+F3), with these exceptions:
In Windows, you cannot use the F1 key, nor can you use F4 or F6 with the Ctrl key.
Note: If you assign an action the same shortcut that is used for a command, the shortcut will apply the action rather
than the command.
Color Assigns a color for display in Button mode.
4 Click Begin Recording. The Begin Recording button in the Actions palette turns red .
Important: When recording the Save As command, do not change the filename. If you enter a new filename, that new
name is recorded and used each time you run the action. Before saving, if you navigate to a different folder, you can
specify a different location without having to specify a filename.
5 Perform the operations and commands you want to record.
Not all tasks in actions can be recorded directly; however, you can insert most nonrecordable tasks using commands
in the Actions palette menu.
6 To stop recording, either click the Stop Playing/Recording button, or choose Stop Recording from the Actions
palette menu. (In Photoshop, you can also press the Esc key.)
To resume recording in the same action, choose Start Recording from the Actions palette menu.
Insert nonrecordable tasks into actions
Not all tasks in actions can be recorded directly. For example, you can’t record commands in the Effects and View
menus, commands that display or hide panels, and use of the Selection, Pen, Paintbrush, Pencil, Gradient, Mesh,
Eyedropper, Live Paint Bucket, and Scissors tools.
To tell which tasks cannot be recorded, watch the Actions panel. If the name of the command or tool doesn’t appear
after you perform the task, you may still be able to add the task using commands in the Actions panel menu.
To insert a nonrecordable task after you create an action, select an item within the action after which you want to
insert the task. Then choose the appropriate command from the Actions panel menu.
See also
“Actions palette overview” on page 433
Insert a nonrecordable menu command
1 Choose Insert Menu Item from the Actions panel menu.
2 Select the command from its menu, or begin typing the command name in the text box, and click Find. Then click OK.
Insert a path
❖ Select the path, and choose Insert Select Path from the Actions panel menu.
Insert selection of an object
1 Enter a name for the object in the Note box of the Attributes panel before you start recording. (Select Show Note
from the Attributes panel menu to display the Note box.)