Illustrator ????

I am using some tiff images in illustrator and was curious if you could convert them to vector graphic like you can change bitmaps to vector in Flash? ....

Flash doesn't "change" raster images to vector. What it does is create vector paths as a function of edge detection, something that Macromedia's Freehand also does quite well. Illustrator also has an AutoTrace feature (just OK in v. 8.x...haven't used v.9 or v.10), and Adobe has a much-ignored application called Streamline that is very good at doing the same thing.

If you're intersted in doing this you might want to try the "Posterise" effect in Photoshop, then do AutoTrace in Streamline, Freehand, Illustrator or Flash.

Thanks.... That is what I was looking for. Yeah I forgot it was a trace bitmap feature (oops!).... But I needed to use some photos as backgrounds (basically, filled in and one or two colors) but I suck at drawing on a computer using a mouse. I just couldnt find that feature anywhere in my books....

About this...

While it may work this can have two major bad effect...

Huge files (depending on the details of your bitmap you will have to chose betwen keeping details or creating a big file...

automatic funtion as this can often produce something strange (circle will not be cricle but a big series of points)

One strategis wouls be to import it in Illustrator then put it the the back layer lock the layer then use the pen and the hother tool to recreate the images (Time consuming but it will often give better results)