Adobe Illustrator/Flattening Images

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Expert: - 12/22/2011


Question
I know this may sound dumb, but how can I flatten a large existing image so I can make small changes faster?  The artwork would remain the same so we won't need editing capabilities, but right now every time I change something small on top of it I'm having to wait for it to re-save.

Answer
Hi Tim,

In the layers panel, go to Flatten Image. The issue however, sounds like you have a lot of effects running in the image (shadows, etc). For that you can either switch to Outline Mode (View>Outline) or go to Effects>Document Raster Effects Setting and change it to low-res (72 ppi).

Thanks and happy holidays!


Kevin

Adobe Illustrator

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Kevin Stohlmeyer

Expertise

I am an Adobe Certified Instructor. I can answer all your questions about Adobe Illustrator version 8 through the new Adobe CS5 versions.

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I am an Adobe Certified Instructor for Adobe Illustrator and have been teaching this application to college students for the past 6 years. I now teach this as a corporate instructor.

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Milwaukee Adobe Users Group National Association of Photoshop Professionals C2 Graphics Productivity Solutions

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BA - Graphic Design Adobe Certified Instructor - Illustrator Adobe Community Professional

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