This is a quick tip, but anything that helps productivity is worth mentioning. With the Pathfinder Panel you can create different compound shapes by pressing the desired button. You expand the shape by pressing the Expand button in the panel. Instead of pressing the expand button, hold Alt /Option when pressing the button to combine these two step!

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There are a number of great tutorials, freebies, and articles related to vectors coming out on the web daily. Starting each month, I’m is going to roundup some of the best posts that I have found useful.  I can’t include everything I’ve seen throughout the month, but you can follow my Twitter feed to get all the daily links. Post comments with links that I have missed so everyone can see them!

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It is easy to add metadata such as authors, descriptions, keywords, copyright info, and more to your Illustrator files. To add metadata, go File > File Info, to bring up the File Info dialog. You can save your metadata as a Metadata Template from the top right arrow button in the dialog. Moreover, Illustrator automatically adds certain information like fonts, swatches and color groups each time you save.

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I love working in Illustrator, but ever once and a while, I need to export a file to Photoshop. Illustrator gives you the ability to export to Photoshop while preserving important information. You can export Layers, Color Profiles, Resolution Specification, and Text Preservation. This is great for exporting website wireframes or sprucing up illustrations.

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I am a Keyboard Shortcut junkie because Keyboard Shortcuts save a tremendous amount of time! The great thing about Illustrator CS3 is you can customize your shortcuts. Some of you probably know this already, but it’s worth mentioning for you that don’t. Now you can create shortcuts for Illustrator’s Tools and Menu Commands and set multiple profiles!

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Creating type on a path is a great feature of Illustrator and is quite handy when sprucing up your typography or experimenting. Annoyingly, the Path Type object always seem to have inconsistent spacing and just doesn’t look right. Luckily, Illustrator has some Text On A Path Options! With these options, you can change the Effect, Alignment, Spacing, and Flip.

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If you are ever needed an object with a stroke to have exact dimensions, you probably got frustrated very quick. By default, Illustrator doesn’t take into account the dimensions of a stroke. You can easily change this by going Illustrator > Preferences > General and check the Use Preview Bound box. Now, Illustrator will take into account the dimensions of strokes, brushes, effects, and so on.

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