If you want libraries to be quickly accessible, but not necessarily permanently on-screen, they can be accessed via the Window menu if they are stored in specific locations. There’s a simple tick box marked ‘Persistent’ in the menu for library panels that solves this, assuming there are libraries you will always want open. If you’ve used libraries in this way, you might have noticed that the panels disappear when you close and reopen Illustrator. If you select a swatch from that library, it will add itself to your open document, but until you do that the swatch doesn’t exist for the purposes of things like Recolor Artwork or setting up actions. This works the same for opening brush libraries, graphic styles, and symbols.īut opening a library file doesn’t affect the swatches, styles, or brushes in the document you’re working on: all you’ve done is open a small portion of another AI file in a separate panel. If you pay a visit to the menu of your document swatches panel and open any random AI file from the ‘Open Swatch Library’ option, a library will open containing the swatches from that document. A library file is simply an Illustrator file (apart from ASE files which are transferrable between Illustrator, InDesign, and PhotoShop, but that’s another story). Most probably already know you can make libraries, but I’ll quickly go over those to start us off. But if you want some background and a more complete understanding of the processes involved, just read on. If you just want the answer, scroll all the way to the bottom (or click here) and follow the steps. One of the most common questions people ask about Illustrator is: how do I make my custom swatches and styles available in all my documents?

Doc adobe illustrator 2015