Creating symbols

You can create symbols from any Illustrator art object, including paths, compound paths, text, raster images, mesh objects, and groups of objects. (However, you cannot use nonembedded placed art as a symbol, nor can you use some groups, such as groups of graphs.) Symbols may also include active objects, such as brush strokes, blends, effects, or other symbol instances in a symbol. You can use the Symbols palette as a database for your artwork--to recover the original definition with all of its active elements, simply expand a symbol instance.

You can modify the symbol instances and automatically update the original symbol art with your edits. To create new symbols from existing symbols, duplicate a symbol and edit it.

To create a symbol:

1. Select the artwork you want to use as a symbol.
2. Do one of the following:
• Drag the artwork to the Symbols palette. Press Shift as you drag if you want the selected artwork to become an instance of the newly created symbol.
• Click the New Symbol button  in the Symbols palette.
• Choose New Symbol from the Symbols palette menu.

To duplicate a symbol in the Symbols palette:

In the Symbols palette, do one of the following:

• Drag a symbol to the New Symbol button.
• Select a symbol, and choose Duplicate Symbol from the Symbols palette menu.