Using effects

The commands listed under the Effect menu alter the appearance of an object without changing the underlying object itself. For example, you can apply the Roughen command, transform the object with the rotate tool, scale it, and fill it with a 50% opaque red. You can then edit the roughen amount or remove it entirely, change the rotation, or adjust the opacity with no need to redraw the original object.


Editing object with effect applied

Most commands in the Effect menu have the same function and name as commands found elsewhere in the application. For more information on a specific command, see the Index.

Note: Many effects are available only for RGB documents. If you apply an effect, and then change the document's color mode to CMYK, Illustrator will not be able to preserve the effect.

To apply an effect:

1. Do one of the following:
• Select artwork on the artboard.
• Target an item in the Layers palette. (See Changing the appearance of artwork using the Layers palette.)
• Select a stroke or fill in the Appearance palette. (See Working with appearance attributes.)
• Select a style in the Styles palette. (See Using styles.)
2. Choose a command from the Effect menu.
3. Specify settings, and apply the effect.
4. If you selected a style, the appearance attributes are unlinked from that style. In this case, you can do any of the following:
• Create a new style.(See Using the Styles palette.)
• Leave the appearance attributes unlinked.

Note: You can apply effects to type objects, but not to selected characters within the type objects.

To edit or remove an effect:

Edit or remove the effect as described in Modifying and removing appearance attributes.