How do you crop part of an image (raster) then copy it, and paste into another open document in Illustrator?
I often have 2 to 4 documents open at the same time, text, images, vector, raster, etc. Part of one of the rasterized images in an Illustrator-editable PDF contains a logo I need to cut out (normally, if I was working in an older photoshop or other application, I would just use a rectangular or oval shaped tool to select or crop it out, then directly drag or CTL-X / CTL-V it over into my target document). Once in the windows clipboard, or somehow selected, I want to drag it over, or (in Windows) CTL-V it over into another document (a PDF which is Illustrator editable).
Obviously, I'm missing something because I can't even figure out how to get Illustrator to just crop the selected area down to my "crop settings" area and not show the rest of the artboard. Apparently, CROP is a completely and radically DIFFERENT concept inside Adobe Illlustrator CS3, relative to the rest of the entire world, and all other programs I've ever used, in which case you select the area with a tool (or crop it and hit enter) and then just copy and paste or drag it over to your target doc.
I've looked at several cropping tutorials for CS3, so I know how to set and edit crop areas in Illustrator, and it looks like the extra long and winding way of acheiving my end result. That is, it seems I have to just crop the raster parts inside Illustrator, then export to a PNG, GIF, or some other format, then reopen that exported crop as yet another open document and then FINALLY to copy/paste that PNG over into my target document. To me, that is absolutelly inefficient. If I'm going to be constantly having to actually export and then reopen and then copy/paste, that's like 10 or 15 extra clicks for perhaps 50 operations in a day, which adds alot of wasted time and inefficiency to my process.
PLEASE HELP.
Desperately frustrated,
~k
Obviously, I'm missing something because I can't even figure out how to get Illustrator to just crop the selected area down to my "crop settings" area and not show the rest of the artboard. Apparently, CROP is a completely and radically DIFFERENT concept inside Adobe Illlustrator CS3, relative to the rest of the entire world, and all other programs I've ever used, in which case you select the area with a tool (or crop it and hit enter) and then just copy and paste or drag it over to your target doc.
I've looked at several cropping tutorials for CS3, so I know how to set and edit crop areas in Illustrator, and it looks like the extra long and winding way of acheiving my end result. That is, it seems I have to just crop the raster parts inside Illustrator, then export to a PNG, GIF, or some other format, then reopen that exported crop as yet another open document and then FINALLY to copy/paste that PNG over into my target document. To me, that is absolutelly inefficient. If I'm going to be constantly having to actually export and then reopen and then copy/paste, that's like 10 or 15 extra clicks for perhaps 50 operations in a day, which adds alot of wasted time and inefficiency to my process.
PLEASE HELP.
Desperately frustrated,
~k
You can drag the image from illustrator into photoshop..so long as both apps are open...and simpley auto crop it...or use any of photoshops cropping tools...then bring the image back into that layer in Illustrator.
How are you wanting to bring the image into your PDF? ARe you using Acrobat or FrameMaker..ect for this?
ASKER
Please read my original post above. I'm trying to AVOID senseless additional clicks of the mouse. I don't want to have to reopen additional programs, move over into other programs, export etc. There must be a way to just select part of a rasterized image (or crop it), and then copy and paste it over into another/target document also open inside Illustrator.
I'm looking at making this as efficient as possible, because it's something I'll be doing constantly, for the next few years.
I'm looking at making this as efficient as possible, because it's something I'll be doing constantly, for the next few years.
ASKER
I ONLY have Illustrator open. I guess if I really must, I could go ahead and open Acrobat or Photoshop, but again, that would just add more wasted time and mouse clicks, which I want to avoid.
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Excellent information Robbhill!!!
Very good, this helps ALOT. I will definitely consider keeping all 3 open at the same time and just drag the whole thing between them, crop what I need etc. them move back.
Currently there is only one layer in the test doc I'm working with, but there is a mixture of text boxes, vector, and raster all in one big messy layer. I guess I could just convert the whole thing to one big raster/flat image and then try it? I'll try some more experimentation tommorrow.
thanks again! :-)
~k
Very good, this helps ALOT. I will definitely consider keeping all 3 open at the same time and just drag the whole thing between them, crop what I need etc. them move back.
Currently there is only one layer in the test doc I'm working with, but there is a mixture of text boxes, vector, and raster all in one big messy layer. I guess I could just convert the whole thing to one big raster/flat image and then try it? I'll try some more experimentation tommorrow.
thanks again! :-)
~k
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Hi Camel,
Wow, you guys really rock. I am so glad I posted this question.
You wrote: "Or select what you want with the pen tool or other selection tool and create layer mask to mask away what you do not want."
Is there a web tutorial with images, or a video on how to do this? I'm a very visual learner.
thanks,
~k
Wow, you guys really rock. I am so glad I posted this question.
You wrote: "Or select what you want with the pen tool or other selection tool and create layer mask to mask away what you do not want."
Is there a web tutorial with images, or a video on how to do this? I'm a very visual learner.
thanks,
~k
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thanks for all the help, I'm onto the next challenge now!!
Crop it in Photoshop