Opening a picture in Adobe Illustrator is straightforward. You can do it using the simple drag-and-drop method.
Drag and Drop Method
The easiest way to open a picture is by dragging the image file directly into the Illustrator workspace.
- Locate Your Image: Find the image file on your computer.
- Drag and Drop: Click on the image file and, while holding down the mouse button, drag it to the Illustrator window.
- Placement: You can drop the image in two places:
- Into an Existing Document: If you have an Illustrator file already open, you can drop the image onto the canvas. The image will be placed within that document.
- New Document: If you drop the image onto the dark grey background of Illustrator, it will open the image in a brand-new document. This approach opens the image in a new tab.
According to reference provided, using this method is a quick and efficient way to get images into Illustrator, as stated: "Drag the file from its folder and drop it right into the Illustrator window, either inside a composition that's already open or on the dark grey background to open your image in a new tab."
Additional methods
While the drag-and-drop method is very easy and efficient, there are other ways to open images in Illustrator:
- File > Open: You can also open an image file by going to the "File" menu at the top of the screen and selecting "Open." Then, navigate to the image file on your computer and select it to open it.
- File > Place: If you want to add a picture to an existing document, you can use "File > Place". Choose the image you would like to use, and then you can place it into the document.
In conclusion, the drag-and-drop method is the fastest way to open your pictures in Adobe Illustrator.