Graphic design is a field characterized by creativity, but there are some aspects of the actual work of illustration that can be repetitious. In fact, you’ll probably notice that the time you spend placing and replacing images, correcting errors, and preparing files for printing and web display often reduces the time you have available for doing creative work.

Illustrator provides a variety of ways to automate many of the repetitive tasks you have to do, leaving more time to concentrate on the creative aspects of your work.

An action is a series of tasks that are recorded while using the Illustrator application—menu commands, tool options, object selection, and so on. When you play an action, Illustrator performs all of the recorded tasks for you.

Illustrator provides prerecorded actions to assist you in performing common tasks. These actions are installed as a default set in the Actions panel when you install the Illustrator application.

A script is a series of commands that tells your computer to perform a sequence of operations. These operations may involve only Illustrator, or they may involve other applications, such as word-processing, spreadsheet, and database-management programs. Illustrator provides default scripts to assist you in performing common tasks. You can access these scripts by choosing File > Scripts.

Data-driven graphics streamline how designers and developers work together in high-volume publishing environments.