Just select the Replace check box to replace the selected graphic, or leave the box unchecked to leave the selected graphic alone. You have the option of replacing that graphic with the graphic that youвЂ™re about to place or bringing the new graphic in as a separate graphic. This option is available only after youвЂ™ve already placed a graphic in the file and that graphic is selected. Template layers are especially useful when you plan to use the pixel-based image as a guide for tracing in Illustrator.Д¬hoose to replace or add the graphic to the rest of the placed graphics (if necessary). Template layers also donвЂ™t print and arenвЂ™t included in the artwork when you use the Save for Web command. (See Chapter 13 for more on layers.) This layer is locked (you canвЂ™t change anything on the layer), and the graphic is dimmed, making the graphic 50 percent lighter. If you select the Template check box (lower left), Illustrator creates a special layer for the pixel-based image. To embed the file you want to place in the Illustrator file, deselect the Link box.Д¬hoose to use the graphic as an artistic element or a template. To create a link between the file you want to place and the Illustrator file (the default setting), make sure that the Link box (lower left) is selected. If you donвЂ™t have any files lying around, look in the Sample Files folder (located in the Adobe Illustrator application folder) and pick one of those files.ДЇigure 17-1: Select a document to embed or link with the Place dialog box.Д¬hoose to link or embed the file you want to place. The Place dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 17-1, so that you can choose the file that you want to place. To place a graphic in Illustrator, follow these steps: In order for linked files to print properly, both the Illustrator file and all linked files must be present. Linking also enables the file to be updated outside of Illustrator (while maintaining the link). The file size of the Illustrator document is smaller as a result, and any change to the linked file is automatically reflected in the Illustrator document. Linking: Creates a link in the Illustrator document to the placed artwork.

That way, you need only the single Illustrator file for your artwork to print properly.Д®mbedding can dramatically increase the file size. Each of these processes has different implications for file size and storage:Д®mbedding: Makes the placed artwork part of the Illustrator file, even though the artwork was created elsewhere.

When you place artwork into Illustrator, you usually have the option of either embedding or linking the artwork. The вЂњGetting Files Out of IllustratorвЂќ section (later in this chapter) contains a list of the most common file formats that Illustrator can both export and import. Every type of graphic or text that can be inserted in Illustrator can be placed with this command, making it the one-stop location for all file importing. The Eyedropper tool indicates it is sampling RGB color from the screen by displaying a black-colored square to the right of the tool.You can bring graphics or text into Illustrator in several different ways, but the most straightforward, Joe-Friday way is to use the Place command from the File menu. Tip: The Eyedropper tool samples only the RGB color from the screen when sampling anywhere outside the current document. If you uncheck Appearance on both sides of the Eyedropper tool options, you will also be able to sample color from the pixels, without holding shift. Holding shift overrides the вЂњEyedropper Picks Up AppearanceвЂќ setting, and lets you sample the color of the pixels in your image. So by that logic, if you are sampling the Appearance of a photo placed in Illustrator, you are actually sampling nothing, thereвЂ™s no fill or stroke, no Appearance. everything that makes a path look the way it looks. Appearance refers to things like stroke weight, color, fill, transparency, effects applied, etc. This setting is generally the most useful way to work in Illustrator. By default, Appearance is checked in both columns: Eyedropper Picks Up, Eyedropper Applies.

Illustrator document info palette