After loading of the program and representation of a firm picture on the screen the window of the program which it is accepted to name the interface of the user (User interface) appears. The interface is the intermediary between the person and the computer, it gives all necessary for operation: tools, palettes, dialog boxes and etc. All this arsenal of means is necessary for owning competently that quickly and effectively to carry out various creative tasks.

Operational environment Windows 98/2000 has an open principle of the organization of all applications working under its control, — the window interface. All sheathing elements of windows are fulfilled under the uniform standard.

The interface of the user (fig. 2.7) includes title, the principal command menu, working windows for display of documents, and also set of various palettes with which help editing of images is carried out.

The uppermost band of dark blue color — header row - displays a title and a program tag, in this case Adobe Illustrator, and also contains three buttons which allow to control in the sizes and a location of a program window.

Fig. 2.7. The General view of the user interface of the program of adobe Illustrator 9.0

Click on a program tag in the left part of a band displays the window menu (fig. 2.8). Commands of this menu are an accessory not programs, and operating system Windows 98/2000, therefore if is installed (as in this case) the localized version of an operating system, commands of this menu also are displayed in Russian even if the original program of adobe Illustrator is used.

Fig. 2.8. The System menu The interface of the user

The list of commands can change depending on specific application, More often the menu contains commands for operation with a program window. They allow to recover, move a window, to change its size, to close, and also to pass to other program loaded at the moment.

Left from three buttons allocated in the right part of a band, displaces a program window, leaving only the button in a band of tasks (Taskbar) interface Windows 98/2000 (fig. 2.9). The program passes in a passive state, releasing some resources (in particular, a random access memory) for other programs.

Fig. 2.9. To the program button in a band of tasks of interface Windows 98/2000

Click on the button in a band of tasks returns a window in the active state.

Right from three buttons closes a window (the program stops operation). If thus there are open not saved documents, for each of them the dialog box with request about saving will be deduced.

The type of the average button depends on a window state. If the window occupies a screen part (in this case it is possible to mix and change a window its sizes) click on the average button it is possible to increase it ("to tear a window") till the sizes of all screen. If the window occupies all screen, by means of the average button it is possible to recover its sizes which took place before "deployment".

Under a title band the band of the principal command menu (Menu Bar) which offers following groups of commands is allocated: File (File), Edit (Editing), Object (Object), Type (Text), Filter (Filter), Effect (Effect), View (Review), Window (Window), Help (Help). Each group is a set of the commands fulfilling functionally close actions. For example, menu Filter (Filter) includes the considerable number of the built in and additional commands fulfilling a role of filters for images, and menu Object (Object) offers commands for operation with the selected objects and etc.

The menu item can be opened two methods.

	To allocate the mouse pointer on a menu item title (for example, File (the File)) and to push the left mouse button. The list of commands of appropriate menu item as a result opens.
	There is purely keyboard variant: to push a key [Alt] and, without releasing it, to push a key of a letter which in a menu name is selected by underlining (for example, for point File (a file) — a key [F]). The result will be the same, as by operation with the mouse: the list of commands of appropriate menu item opens.

Performance of a specific command also can be set in several ways.

	It is necessary to allocate the mouse pointer on a line with a title of a command and to click the left mouse button.
	In the list of menu commands it is possible to move the highlit area by means of cursor control keys. At achievement of the necessary command it is necessary to push a key [Enter].
	After discovery of the list of commands it is possible to push the key corresponding to the underlined letter in a title of a command, for example, a key of a Latin<0> command for performance Open to (Open) on the keypad.

Nota Bene. It is necessary to pay attention that in a title of command Open to (Open) there are three points. It means that for performance of the given command additional convergence which the user should give are required. So "dialogue" of the user with the program is carried out.

If in a line of a title of a command, the triangular arrow is presented, it means that the given command has a nested menu (submenu) — the list of commands, each of which is an independent command (fig. 2.10).

Fig. 2.10. An example of the nested menu (submenu)

Value of current scale of the image on the screen is in left lower to a corner of a working window of each document. The range of magnification or image reduction is huge: from 3,13 to 6400 %. More in detail about methods of scaling of the image on the screen it is considered in chapter 3.

In the lower part of the working screen the state band (Status Bar) which is intended for display of the auxiliary information, for example, titles of the active tool (fig. 2.11) is allocated. At arrow pushing in the right part of a band of a state on the screen the list of modes (fig. 2.12) is deduced.

Modes of a band of a state:

	Current Tool
	Date and Time — leaking date and time;
	Free Memory — volume of the free operative and virtual (disk) storage;
	Number of Undos — number of accessible cancellings and repetitions of the fulfilled operations;
	Document Color Profile — a color document profile.

Fig. 2.11. Display in a band of a state of a title of the active tool

Fig. 2.12. The list of modes of a band of a state

In addition to those points of the main menu and menu items which offer various palettes, in Adobe Illustrator program shortcut menus which are caused by RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON pushing are provided. The content of these menus is in dependence from active at present the tool., type of the selected object or an open palette (fig. 2.13).

Fig. 2.13. An example of the shortcut menu of a palette

All commands of the shortcut menu double commands of the main menu or the menu of palettes, but advantage of its usage consists in speed of access to these commands and that is the most pleasant — in their correspondence of a current situation.