Adobe Illustrator for Drawing Layouts

[mightymike]

I bought Adobe CS 5.5 Design Standard so I can hopefully make some great layouts that don't blur when zooming in.
It comes with Photoshop and Illustrator, Acrobat, and InDesign

So while I'm waiting for it to arrive, I've been watching YouTube tutorials, but nothing electronic specific. If there's any advice I can use to help my learning curve. It would be appreciated. Maybe there are some component templates to speed thing up? I would like to make them really clear to read, and 3D.

TIA, Mike

[vanhalen5150]

Thats cool Mike. I wish I knew how to do that. I've got some schematics I always wanted to see as a layout but didnt know how. Not anything I'd be able to post here anyway for various reasons but still would like to get around to doing them up in some fashion. Maybe I'll look into using that as well. Difficult?

[mightymike]

I just learning. I'm ok with programs like Photoshop, but this is vector graphics. Every thing done on a grid. I've searched all over for templates, and clip art of components that can be shared but nothing. I wonder if I open one of Billy Batz's layouts, if I will be able to edit it by changing parts by dragging them off or on. If that's possible, then some templates can be made with everything other than the board component for easy qu8ck drawing. The main thing is s no more blurry when you zoom in.

[vanhalen5150]

Are you able to import photos ? I was thinking of a chassis photo with boards , pots, sockets etc... and use that as a drawing template.

[mightymike]

That would be cool.. Almost a 3d accurate to scale type deal. I probably wont be able to install the program for a couple weeks when I'm back on home time. It should arrive in the mail any day now.

[somethin'else]

You can open a PDF in Illustrator and in most cases tear it apart.

Get to know your selection tools, the black black and the white arrows.

But it can be hairy, especially in a schematic like BBs...lots of little pieces and parts.

Open up the Layers pallet and use the white arrow (direct selection) to select something, then scroll the Layers to see a highlighted layer (the thing you selected), then copy and paste it into a new layer, and name it what you want.

Organization of layers will be the key to sanity!

I just got on Illustrator for the last year or so, and vectors ain't so bad once you learn a few tools.

I'll try to yank a Blatz open soon and see what's what.

Rock

[mightymike]

Cool.. I'll tell you who else had some killer illustrator layouts here before he yanked them was Xenrelic. They look almost like Billy Batz's layouts, but blue. SDM layout are zoomable too. Don't know what he uses, but layouts of his that have been edited by others blur when you zoom.

I wonder what Indesign does. It came with illustrator, photoshop, and Acrobat. I know all these programs work together.

[mightymike]

A heads up for anyone buying this program on Ebay. There's a scam where people list Student and Teacher Editions as Full Retail. The one I'm getting a buyer protection refund on was listed as Full Retail, with a Reduced size pic of the box so you couldn't make out where it says for Education. Then in the description it the seller says that she bought it WHEN she was a student, NOT THAT IT IS A STUDENT VERSION

Then when I requested a refund for Item not as described, the seller then says that she doesn't do refunds, and that EBAY listed it that way when she scaned the bar code. ( What bar Code?) How when she saw that, she was very careful in her wording...,but how how hard would if have been to just say it was a Student Version? She was cateful in her wording alright... Careful not to expose th3 truth. All she said in the listing was that she bought it when she was a student. That doesn't negate the tittle.

What pisses me off is that Ebay pulled down the listing after the sale so I can't Negative Feedback her ass.

She claims that it will function as Full retail with 2 licenses because someone with a student activated it, but I'm willing to just buy the legal version. If I wanted to pull a fast one, I could just download a cracked version.

I don't like being tricked, and other people seliing the student version had no problem with putting a correct tittle.

Is anyone honest anymore?

[vanhalen5150]

Is anyone honest anymore?

Nope. Ebay is a total haven. The Klon pedal I sold a few weeks ago was only to be sold in Canada, US, United Kingdom. A guy asked me if I would sell to Asia and I said no. Bidding went up and the guy bought it anyways listing himself as an American buyer. I did end up sending it to him and it worked out ok, but you just cant trust anybody. He had 100% rating. Paypal holding your $ for 30 days is another issue. Paypal fees of $75.00 on it as well...WTF!!!!

[mightymike]

Well I just pulled the trigger and bought Illustrator cs6 from Best Buy. It cost $656.00 with tax. Ebay sided with me on the buyer protection claim so I will get my $499 back. After all this crap, I haven't opened the package yet after having with me for 3 days. Cutting the seal tonight. Literaly the point of no Return.