Create Graphs in Adobe Illustrator CS6

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Video: Create Graphs in Adobe Illustrator CS6

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You're watching VisiHow. In this tutorial, we're going to show you how to create a graph in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7.

1. 1
   To begin, you should open Illustrator either from your desktop or by coming down to the bottom-left corner of your screen and clicking once on the Windows icon

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   This will reveal a list of your recently used programs where you may find Illustrator. It has a brown-and-orange icon with the letters "Ai".

   

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2. 2
   If you still cannot see it, use your search bar along the bottom and start typing "Adobe Illustrator"

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3. 3
   Click "Adobe Illustrator CS6" to open it

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   The program will immediately start loading, taking you directly to your workspace.

   

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4. 4
   Click "File" in the top left-hand corner of the window

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5. 5
   Next, click "New..."

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   Alternatively, press "Ctrl"+"N" on the keyboard. A dialogue box will appear for you to specify settings for the document. For instructions on how to do this, please look for our other Adobe Illustrator tutorials.

   

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6. 6
   For now, "OK" is clicked

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   Now that you have the document, you can start creating your graph. It is recommended that you copy the information you need from an Excel spreadsheet.

   

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7. 7
   Click "Graph Tool" on the vertical toolbar on the left-side of the window

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   The "Graph Tool" icon looks like a bar chart. When you click the graph icon, you will see several different styles of graphs that you can select.

   

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8. 8
   For this tutorial, let's click "Column Graph Tool"

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   When you move your cursor back to the document, you will see that the cursor is now in a cross shape. The cross-shaped pointer lets you know that you can begin to draw a shape for your graph.

   

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9. 9
   Click and drag the cursor over the canvas to draw a rectangle

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   The shape tells Illustrator where the graph should be placed. Basic data will be automatically added to the future graph.

   

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10. 10
    You can add data by manually typing or pasting it into the top bar of the pop-up window

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11. 11
    When you have finished entering or pasting your data, click the checkmark on the top-right of the pop-up window

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    This will add the data to your graph.

    

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12. 12
    You can change the arrangement of the information by clicking "Transpose row/column" in the dialogue box

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    You can see the arrangement of the information changes.

    

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13. 13
    Changes won't be applied until you press the checkmark again

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14. 14
    You can also manually import your data by clicking the "Import data" icon in the pop-up window

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15. 15
    Ensure that your graph fits within the document

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    Click the "Selection Tool", which is the black arrow icon in the upper left corner of your vertical toolbar, and select the graph.

    

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16. 16
    Then, click "Scale Tool" or press "S"

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    This tool is in the vertical toolbar on the left side of the window.

    

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17. 17
    You can click and drag the selected object to scale it to fit in the document

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    If you simply click and drag, you will see that the proportion is not kept.

    

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18. 18
    Alternatively, press and hold down "Shift" on your keyboard while clicking and dragging the selected graph

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    This will keep the proportion of the object. Release the mouse button when you notice that the blue outline fits within your document.

    

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19. 19
    You will be able to click and drag the selected object to position it within your document

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    Other settings, such as color settings, depend on the format of your final document as well as the style of your graph. Choosing a print or a digital format will determine whether your color format should be CMYK or RGB, for example. You can use other graph options as well.

    

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20. 20
    Click "Graph Tool" and "Line Graph Tool"

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21. 21
    Click and drag the rectangle to place the graph

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22. 22
    Enter data in the pop-up window

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23. 23
    Click "Apply"

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    The line graph will be shown on the page.

    

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This concludes our tutorial showing you how to create a graph in Adobe Illustrator CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or queries regarding this tutorial, just add them to the comment section below. Thank you for choosing VisiHow!

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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