Slices and image maps, About slices – Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 User Manual
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Web graphics
Last updated 6/5/2015
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When you are satisfied with the results, click Save in the Illustrator Save for Web & Devices dialog box.
Note: To simply open Device Central from Illustrator (instead of creating and testing a file), select File > Device Central.
For a tutorial about creating content with Illustrator and Device Central, see
.
Tips for creating Illustrator images for mobile devices
To optimize graphical content for mobile devices, save artwork created in Illustrator in any SVG format, including
SVG-t, which is especially designed for mobile devices.
Use the following tips to ensure that images created in Illustrator display well on mobile devices:
• Use the SVG standard to create content. Using SVG to publish vector graphics on mobile devices results in a small
file size, display independence, superior color control, zooming ability, and editable text (within the source code).
Also, because SVG is XML-based, you can incorporate interactivity into images, such as highlighting, tool tips,
special effects, audio, and animation.
• Work within the final dimensions of your target mobile device(s) from the beginning. Although SVG is scalable,
working within the correct size will ensure that final graphics are optimized in quality and size for the target
device(s).
• Set Illustrator color mode to RGB. SVG is viewed on RGB raster display devices, such as a monitor.
• To reduce file size, try reducing the number of objects (including groups) or making it less complex (fewer points).
Using fewer points significantly reduces the amount of textual information needed to describe the artwork in the
SVG file. To reduce points, select Object > Path > Simplify and try different combinations to find a balance between
quality and number of points.
• Use symbols when possible. Symbols define the vectors that describe an object once, instead of multiple times. This
is useful if artwork contains objects like button backgrounds that are reused.
• When animating graphics, limit the number of objects used and try to reuse objects whenever possible to reduce file
size. Apply animations to groups of objects instead of to individual objects to avoid code repetition.
• Consider using SVGZ, the compressed gzipped version of SVG. Compression can reduce file size dramatically,
depending on the content. Text can usually be heavily compressed, but binary-encoded content, such as embedded
rasters (JPEG, PNG, or GIF files), cannot be compressed significantly. SVGZ files can be uncompressed by any
application that expands files compressed with gzip. To use SGVZ successfully, check that your target mobile device
can decompress gzip files.
For more tips and techniques for creating content for mobile phones and devices, see
.
Slices and image maps
About slices
Web pages can contain many elements—HTML text, bitmap images, and vector graphics, to name a few. In Illustrator,
you can use slices to define the boundaries of different web elements in your artwork. For example, if your artwork
contains a bitmap image that needs to be optimized in JPEG format, while the rest of the image is better optimized as
a GIF file, you can isolate the bitmap image using a slice. When you save the artwork as a web page using the Save For
Web & Devices command, you can choose to save each slice as an independent file with its own format, settings, and
color table.