Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
For Your Information: Things to Remember About Batch File Processing
There are many settings and requirements in order to make your batch file
processing a success. Remember that before you begin, you need to have a
created action. After your action is created, and all the kinks are worked
out, you can then set up your batch file processing. Knowing ahead of time
where the source images are, where you'll be storing them (destination),
having a naming convention, and other similar details will help reduce your
setup of the batch file processing to a few easy steps.
Opening and Using Scripts
A
script
is a series of commands that instructs Illustrator to perform a set of specified ac-
tions. These actions can be simple, affecting only a single object, or more complex, affect-
ing many objects. The actions can call not only Illustrator, but also invoke other applica-
tions. Scripts are useful for repetitive tasks and can be used as a creative tool to streamline
tasks that are time consuming and boring. A scripting language lets you ask a question
(an event), and use the answer to that question to perform any commands (an action) that
are available in Illustrator. You can use one of Illustrator's built-in scripts, such as Ex-
portDocsAsFlash, ImageTracing (
New
!
), or SaveDocsAs PDF, or create one of your own.
To create your own scripts you need a working knowledge of a scripting language like
JavaScript, and either a script-editing application or a simple text editor, such as Notepad
(Win),TextEdit (Mac) BBEdit oreven Microsoft Word.The languages youcan usetoper-
form scripting are varied and include Visual Basic, AppleScript, and JavaScript, to name a
few. As a matter of fact, the Scripts Events Manager lets you set JavaScript and Illustrator
Actions to run automatically when a specified Illustrator event occurs.
Use Built-in Scripts
Click the
File
menu, and then point to
Scripts
.
Select one of the following built-in scripts:
•
ExportDocsAsFlash.
•
Flex Skins.
Then select
Create Flex 3 Skin
or
Export Flex 3 Skin.
•
ImageTracing.
(
New
!
)
•
SaveDocsAsPDF.
•
SaveDocsAsSVG.
