Illustrator CS6 Highlights

• Work fast and with rock-solid stability—Handle the most complex artwork with speed and stability. The new Mercury Performance System includes native 64-bit support for Mac OS and Windows to power tasks that were often impossible previously, such as opening, saving, and exporting large files and previewing elaborate designs.
• Efficiently drive daily tasks and favorite features—Work more efficiently and intuitively with a modern user interface. Familiar tasks are now streamlined, from inline editing of layer names to precise color sampling from the Color panel. User interface brightness is smoothly adjustable to match other Adobe applications or your personal preference.
• Design intuitively and with precise control—Express your vision fully and more easily with refined creative features. Designing and editing seamless patterns, once difficult, is now direct and intuitive. A new image-tracing engine delivers clean, accurate vectors with easy-to-use controls. You can even apply gradients to strokes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Illustrator CS6 and who is it for?

A: Adobe Illustrator CS6 is the industry-standard vector graphics software, used worldwide by designers of all types who want to create digital graphics, illustrations, and typography for all kinds of media: print, web, interactive, video, and mobile.

Q: What are vector graphics and why are they important?

A: Vector graphics are one of the two most commonly used graphic formats in design, the other being bitmap (or raster) graphics. Vector graphics, like those created with Illustrator CS6, are resolution independent, which means they can be resized infinitely with no loss of quality. For example, the same logo design created with Illustrator can be used on a business card or an outdoor billboard, always maintaining the accuracy and detail of the original design.

Q:Does Illustrator CS6 still support 32-bit operating systems?

A: Illustrator CS6 supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems, but only supports 64-bit operating systems for Mac OS. The lack of 32-bit support does not affect the majority of Mac computers that use Intel processors. The only Mac users affected by the lack of 32-bit support are those using Intel based Mac computers with Intel Core Duo (single-core) processors.