Skip to main content
jaggedpeak
jaggedpeak
Inspiring
September 27, 2011
Answered

Use Illustrator for multi-page document?

  • September 27, 2011
  • 2 replies
  • 47671 views

I'm usually in the FrameMaker and, to some extent, InDesign areas, but a potential client asked me to work on a document for them.

They are doing a quick reference guide (I would assume either a single sheet folded into six panels, or several sheets folded and stapled into a booklet), and are planning to do it in Illustrator.

I've done these before in InDesign, but wanted to know if there is some capacity in Illustrator for doing the document there, for either of the formats mentioned above.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

      This topic has been closed for replies.
      Correct answer dunaz

      Jagged:

      Yes!

      For that you use the artboard feature in Illustrator. When you create a new document, specify the number of artboards (aka pages) you need, and the amount of space between, etc. Once you have your document set up, zoom out and you'll see all the artboards laid out in the grid you specified. If you don't see them, make sure "show artboards" is checked in the view menu.

      You won't be able to create a master page like you can in InDe, but you can paste in the same place on all the artboards--I believe the command (mac) is command+shift+option+V. You cut the original item (command+x) and then paste in place on all pages.

      Interesting tidbits:

      • If you open the artboard palette, you can name the artboards. When you export, say to outlined EPS, you can choose to "use artboards" and you'll get a separate eps file for each artboard WITH THE NAME from the artboard palette, plus a file with all the artboards together. Saving as PDF makes a multi-page PDF as you would expect. You can choose to output just one artboard.
      • Also, with the artboard palette open, you can double-click on an artboard name and Illustrator will jump to that artboard at full screen size. Quite handy when you have a lot of artboards.
      • You can change the layout of your artboards by clicking in the upper right corner of the artboard palette and choosing rearrange artboards (or something close to that). Make sure everything is unlocked, otherwise they won't move with the re-jigger.
      • And finally, you can change the size of an artboard by using the artboard tool from the tool palette or by double-clicking on the artboard's icon in the palette, which will bring up a dialog box...

      I am an InDesign lover, so I feel your pain. One of my clients is a manufacturer of retail items for which we design and prepare for print many packages/backer cards/etc. Before the artboard feature existed, we had a separate Illy file for each SKU. It has allowed us to be a lot more organized, and you don't get hit with seven gazillion files when you open up a folder. (I tried to get them to convert to InDe, but really, it's not set up for this kind of use, so I've had to learn the ins and outs of Illustrator and have come to appreciate it for many things. Alas, type manipulation isn't one of them, but it's designed to draw pictures, not set type.)

      Good luck and best regards--D

      2 replies

      dunaz
      dunazCorrect answer
      Inspiring
      September 27, 2011

      Jagged:

      Yes!

      For that you use the artboard feature in Illustrator. When you create a new document, specify the number of artboards (aka pages) you need, and the amount of space between, etc. Once you have your document set up, zoom out and you'll see all the artboards laid out in the grid you specified. If you don't see them, make sure "show artboards" is checked in the view menu.

      You won't be able to create a master page like you can in InDe, but you can paste in the same place on all the artboards--I believe the command (mac) is command+shift+option+V. You cut the original item (command+x) and then paste in place on all pages.

      Interesting tidbits:

      • If you open the artboard palette, you can name the artboards. When you export, say to outlined EPS, you can choose to "use artboards" and you'll get a separate eps file for each artboard WITH THE NAME from the artboard palette, plus a file with all the artboards together. Saving as PDF makes a multi-page PDF as you would expect. You can choose to output just one artboard.
      • Also, with the artboard palette open, you can double-click on an artboard name and Illustrator will jump to that artboard at full screen size. Quite handy when you have a lot of artboards.
      • You can change the layout of your artboards by clicking in the upper right corner of the artboard palette and choosing rearrange artboards (or something close to that). Make sure everything is unlocked, otherwise they won't move with the re-jigger.
      • And finally, you can change the size of an artboard by using the artboard tool from the tool palette or by double-clicking on the artboard's icon in the palette, which will bring up a dialog box...

      I am an InDesign lover, so I feel your pain. One of my clients is a manufacturer of retail items for which we design and prepare for print many packages/backer cards/etc. Before the artboard feature existed, we had a separate Illy file for each SKU. It has allowed us to be a lot more organized, and you don't get hit with seven gazillion files when you open up a folder. (I tried to get them to convert to InDe, but really, it's not set up for this kind of use, so I've had to learn the ins and outs of Illustrator and have come to appreciate it for many things. Alas, type manipulation isn't one of them, but it's designed to draw pictures, not set type.)

      Good luck and best regards--D

      _scott__
      _scott__
      Legend
      September 27, 2011

      Sure you can. It's not the most efficient method for text-heavy documents, but it can be done.

      Illustrator's Character and Paragraph styles pale when comparied to Indeisgn and Framemaker. However, you can set up multiple-artboards and use symbols for reoccurring items.

      A
      Anonymous
      September 27, 2011

      Scott, a bit of a hijack here, but…

      I don't use InDesign. Can you say (generally if need be) in what ways InDesign surpasses Illustrator in text handling? (If that's too much of a bite to chew in this forum, I'll understand.)

      chazdesimone
      chazdesimone
      Participant
      October 3, 2015

      Thanks, Scott. I have InDesign on my machine as part of the Suite. Opened it maybe 10 times in all these years, through all the versions. You do stir my interest though….


      Doug, did you ever jump into InDesign? I'm a typographer, so I love everything about Indy. It's very easy to master--once you realize a container must be created before you can set a single character of type! (I'm self-taught and that was the most frustrating lesson.) If you need any free "lessons" on InDesign feel free to contact me at chaz@desimonedesign.com. What do you specialize in?

      (BTW I landed here because I too needed to turn several .ai docs into a multi-page piece. This forum is superb.)

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices