# Need some newbie Illustrator help **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881 "2009-10-07T02:39:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/1 "2009-10-07T02:39:48Z")
Let’s say you are drawing a deck of cards. The four sevens all have seven widgets laid out in a particular pattern. Is there a way that I can create this layout once (say with spades), then save it as a template of some sort, then use it to automatically create the identical cards for hearts, diamonds, and clubs? I’m using Illustrator CS2. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/2 "2009-10-07T03:18:21Z")
You can certainly put guides at the correct positions (X & Y) for each object, and then snap your symbols to the guideline intersections. You could also put all of your numbers on a different layer, and just drop the different suits on top of it. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/3 "2009-10-07T03:51:22Z")
Ah, custom guide lines. Good idea. I had been working with the default grid lines. Hmmm…how do I make custom guides? I see the Guides submenu under View, but the “Make Guides” option is grayed out. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/4 "2009-10-07T03:56:38Z")
Just click in the ruler and drag a guide onto the page. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/5 "2009-10-07T06:08:08Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Just click in the ruler and drag a guide onto the page. Rad. You are my hero. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/6 "2009-10-07T19:29:41Z")
While you can do this with guides and illustrated versions of the suit symbols, if you use the suit symbols that are part of a font, you can just find and replace them as text instead… ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/7 "2009-10-07T19:58:50Z")
The question has been well-answered, but I thought I’d add a little lagniappe info for an implied question above: Make Guides will be greyed out unless you have a drawing element selected. What it does is turn the element into a guide. This allows you to have a guide that is a circle, or a triangle, or a stick-figure, or a line portrait of your mom. Whatever you need. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-some-newbie-illustrator-help/512881/8 "2009-10-07T20:22:07Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > While you can do this with guides and illustrated versions of the suit symbols, if you use the suit symbols that are part of a font, you can just find and replace them as text instead… I’m actually making my own suit symbols, otherwise I would have done that.