How to Lose a Blur When Sizing Up in Illustrator

Selectively apply or disable a blur effect in Adobe Illustrator.

Adobe Illustrator includes many functions and effects in addition to vector and raster tools. One of these is Blur, a filter that blends colors into background or adjacent objects. Because Illustrator is a vector editor, it must recalculate an object's properties each time it is moved or resized. When transforming an object larger smaller, this can take a long time, especially on complex objects. To save time when applying new edits, disable the rendering of the blur effect until you need to see it.

Instructions

1. Start Illustrator. Click "File" and "Open," then open the AI or EPS file you wish to modify.

2. Click the item you want to disable the bur on. Hold down "Ctrl" or "Cmd" to select multiple objects at once.

3. Find the "Blur" effect in the "Appearance" toolbox on the right-hand side of the window. Click the eye icon next to the effect to temporarily disable it.

4. Modify the objects however you wish. Expand or reduce them, move them to a different area or warp them with the transformation tool. When you're done, click the eye logo again to re-apply the blur effect.

5. Click "File" and "Save" to save your changes.