This article will walk you through the steps on how to automate tasks with Illustrator Actions. It will also show you how to edit actions; having to repeat the same task over and over again can get pretty boring. Repetitive simple or complex tasks can be automated in Illustrator. This is especially convenient when you need to do a lot of things in a short time. Illustrator Action records a set of steps and plays them back. This is similar to macros in Microsoft Word, the set of actions that make up a task is recorded and then played back when needed.

How to Automate Tasks with Illustrator Actions

Illustrator Action makes it much easier to complete repetitive tasks in a short amount of time. Illustrator comes with default actions that you can try out. You can make and save as many actions as you want for different tasks. You can save your actions in separate folders called sets to separate them from the default ones. Sets can also be used to separate your activities into groups. Before you get started, read our article on how to download and install Illustrator Actions.

To automate tasks with Illustrator actions, you need to do the following:

1. Plan Your Steps
2. Write down
3. Edit

1]Plan your steps

The first step to successfully recording an action is planning the steps. Think about what you want to do and think about the simplest steps to get it done. Write down the step and do trial runs until you find the best and easiest. It is better to spend a lot of time on careful planning and do it well.

2]Recording

In Illustrator, the default action bar is in the right pane.

If the action bar is missing, you can go to Windows at the top of the workspace and click action.

In the action bar, you will see some default actions that you can try.

To record your action, go to the action bar and click Create New Set. You don’t need to create a new set, however the new set will be a folder where your actions will be separated from the default actions. You can create different sets to organize different activities.

When you click “Create New Set”, a dialog box will appear where you can give a name to the set.

For this article, the set will be called My Set.

In the action bar, you will see a custom file called My Set set there, waiting for custom actions to be placed in it.

To record a new action, go to action panel and click on the set you created, then click Create New Action button.

A dialog box will appear and you will give a name to the new action. Use a name that will describe what the action does. It is so easy to choose the right action in the future. This window will also show the current set in which the new action will be saved. You can choose another set that you may have saved, or choose the default.

You can also install Function Key which will serve as a shortcut for the action. You can choose between F2 as well as F12. When you select one of the function keys, you can choose whether you want to use Shift or controll. in combination. Using the shortcut is optional, so you can leave it at None. When you’ve completed your selection, you’ll hit the record button.

When you’re done recording the activity, click Stop. Recording/Playing.

To play the action, open a new document, create the text or object you want to apply the action to, then go to the action bar, select the action and click Play Current Selection.

To delete an action, set, or any of the action steps, go to the action bar and click the action, set, or step, then click Delete Selection.

3]Edit

Actions can be edited after they have been recorded. Steps can be removed by selecting them and clicking the Remove Selection icon. Steps can also be changed by clicking on it, holding it and dragging it to a new position.

Why Actions Matter in Illustrator

Actions are important in Illustrator because they help make repetitive work much easier. Having to repeat the same tasks over and over again can make the task difficult and boring. Actions in Illustrator also help you save time because you can complete repetitive tasks faster.

Is it possible to edit Illustrator actions after recording them?

Actions can be edited after they have been recorded. Each action step creates another step, like a layer. These steps are named according to what was done and can be removed. They can also be rearranged in a different order, just press and hold and drag to another location.