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People new to Adobe Illustrator often say that they find the program complex and hard work. When we hold Adobe Illustrator classes in London, we acknowledge the need to help delegates get rid of the belief that Illustrator is a difficult piece of software to use. We have found that there are three main aspects to showing users that Illustrator is no harder or more annoying than any other application.

The first thing is, we are always reminding new users of the ease with which you can change back your drawing to a state earlier than the point where it has gone wrong. Also, we constantly remind delegates that they must be on the right tool in order for a given operation is to work. As well as this, we give them an insight into the subtle and useful visual feedback provided by Illustrator as you create and manipulate elements within your drawing.

If you a new user to a sophisticated program like Illustrator, you cannot be expected to avoid making errors: things may go a little awry or even get completely screwed up. The key thing here is to learn the power of the Undo command. For example, if you accidentally resize an object don’t try to manually change it back to the original size, simply go to the Edit menu and choose Undo or use the keyboard shortcut (Control-Z or Command-Z on Apple Mac). If you Undo too many times, you can always use Edit – Redo to move forward again. (The shortcut for the Redo command is Control-Shift-Z.)

If your whole drawing has gone seriously wrong, perhaps the easiest thing to do is to take it on the chin and choose the Revert command from the File menu. This is like saying “OK, I give up. This isn’t working!” File – Revert will discard every change you have made to the file since the last time you saved it and can be a very useful way of avoiding unnecessary frustration.

Another thing that phases new Illustrator users is when they find they are unable to carry out a certain operation because it can’t actually be done under the current set of circumstances or at that moment in time. For example, they might want to resize a shape and they end up rotating it or changing its position instead.

The best way of avoiding these types of mistakes is to keep an eye on the various signals that Illustrator provides, particularly those relating the appearance of the cursor. Thus, for example, if you are trying to resize a rectangle, you can only do so when the cursor changes to a diagonal line with an arrow at both ends (indicating that your cursor is in the correct position).

If you have just started using a program like Illustrator, it is to be expected that you will make mistakes: things may go a little wrong or even get completely screwed up. The main thing is develop the “Undo reflex”. For example, if you move an object by accident, don’t try to manually put it back where it was, just choose Undo from the Edit menu or use the keyboard shortcut Control-Z (Command-Z on a Macintosh). If you Undo too much, you can use the Redo command to take you forward again. (The keyboard shortcut for the Redo command is Control-Shift-Z.)

This problem is easy to avoid. Always make sure that you are on the right tool. Thus, if you wish to manipulate an existing object, you have to ensure that the Selection tool is highlighted. One of the first keyboard shortcuts that we teach delegates who attend our Illustrator training courses is that you can temporarily activate the Selection tool by just pressing the Control key (or the Command key if you are using a Mac).

New users to Adobe Illustrator often complain that they find the program “fiddly” and frustrating. When we run Adobe training courses, we recognise that part of our job is rid people of this perception of Illustrator as a difficult program to use. We have identified three main elements to making people aware that Illustrator is no more difficult or frustrating than any other program.

Firstly, we point out to people that they must be on the right tool in order to carry out a given operation. Secondly, we teach them to observe and interpret the rich visual feedback provided by the program as you carry out various operations. Thirdly, we always remind new users of the ease with which you can revert your drawing back to a state prior to the point where something has gone wrong.

Illustrator beginners will often hit a roadblock where they are unable to carry out a certain operation because Illustrator will not permit it at that point in time or under the current circumstances. For example, they might want to change the size of an object and they end up rotating or moving it around the page instead.

If your whole drawing has gone seriously wrong, perhaps the easiest thing to do is to take it on the chin and choose the Revert command from the File menu. This is like saying “OK, I give up. This isn’t working!” File – Revert will discard every change you have made to the file since the last time you saved it and can be a very useful way of avoiding unnecessary frustration.

Another thing that phases new Illustrator users is when they find they are unable to carry out a certain operation because it can’t actually be done under the current set of circumstances or at that moment in time. For example, they might want to resize a shape and they end up rotating it or changing its position instead.

The best way of avoiding these types of mistakes is to keep an eye on the various signals that Illustrator provides, particularly those relating the appearance of the cursor. Thus, for example, if you are trying to resize a rectangle, you can only do so when the cursor changes to a diagonal line with an arrow at both ends (indicating that your cursor is in the correct position).

If you a new user to a program like Illustrator, it is inevitable that you will make errors: things may go slightly wrong or even get completely messed up. The key thing here is to learn the Undo habit. For example, if you accidentally move an object don’t try to manually put it back where it was, simply choose Edit – Undo or use the shortcut Control-Z (Command-Z on a Mac). If you Undo too far back, you can use the Redo command to come forward again. (The shortcut for Redo is Control-Shift-Z.)

This problem is easy to avoid. Always make sure that you are on the right tool. Thus, if you wish to manipulate an existing object, you have to ensure that the Selection tool is highlighted. One of the first keyboard shortcuts that we teach delegates who attend our Illustrator training courses is that you can temporarily activate the Selection tool by just pressing the Control key (or the Command key if you are using a Mac).