The best way I can describe what I want to do is, how do I use shapes like cookie cutters? I already know how to use clipping masks in order to achieve the visual equivalent of this, but I want to take the resulting viewable area and turn it into its own object/path. The problem is, when I, let's say, create a circle clipping mask over an image, the visual effect is a circular cutout of the image, but in Illustrator terms, what I'm actually left with is a group made up of the clipping mask and the image behind the mask. All I want is the cutout, and I want to me able to turn that into a (compound) path.
I've read a hundred different blogs/posts/tutorials, but they only teach you how to create a clipping mask, which is only half of what I want to do.
I have applied simple gradients to shapes. When I try to select the object with the direct selection tool, it selects paths made from the gradient, not the object itself.
I'm a novice here so here's my script. It works really well like it sits. It basically takes two objects in a large group and aligns them. I want to make each two objects combined into a single compound path. I have tried multiple things and they all just kick out errors and what not. I can't seem to get my head around the vocabulary for the scripting but the darkness is starting to fade the more I do.
#target Illustrator var idoc = app.activeDocument; var pi =idoc.compoundPathItems; var numn = prompt ("How Many Names?", "Enter Number of Names"); var dd = prompt ("How far below name is the number?", "Enter Drop Distance"); var nH = prompt ("How tall are the names?", "Enter Name Height in Inches"); dd = parseFloat (dd); numn = parseInt (numn); nH = parseFloat (nH); [code]...
Would Like to combine the aligned items into a single compound item.
Platform: PC/Windows XP SP2Adobe: Illustrator CS3 (13.0.2)
Is it possible to release all compound paths in an illustration at the same time (and if so - how)?
I receive drawings from engineering in either PDF or CGM format, which I edit in Illustrator and save as AI. I have to release compound paths in order to delete specific parts of the drawing.
This isn't difficult, but it is very time-consuming because the CGM(or PDF)-to-Illustrator conversion results in quite a few compound paths.
How do I use compound paths after image trace? Vector seems locked up after I create it. I have tried unlocking, ungrouping, etc. I want to knockout portions of the art. I only created part of the vector in image trace, and the knockouts are self-created.
I'd like to be able to make Clipping Paths out of (unexpanded) Compound Shapes. We can't do that already.I'd also like the Expand button to work like it did in CS4 again.
Does the scissor tool NOT work on compound paths? I am guessing it does not being it does not work when I use it on them, but the Adobe help section didn't specify.
Also, sometimes when I am using the pen tool, I will place an anchor point but it shifts away from where I want to place it. For example, I will put it at x = 72 & y = 1000 and it will place it at x = 95 & y = 1050.
I thought maybe it was from something I accidentally selected like snap to grid or point, but changing the settings does not correct the issue. I have to close out of the program and restart to fix it.
I am relatively new to Illustrator. I am using CS6.
I am trying to punch holes in a circle using compound paths, as you can see here :
The tadpole shape and the human shape are the holes I need created in the large circle behind them. Both the tadpole and the human are at the front and all objects are on the same layer. When I select everything and choose CRTL+8, only the tadpole gets cut into the circle. the other shape just stays white.
I have some negative space I created(black area, see first image) that I want to fill with type, not just a simple fill.
Basically I want to create the negative space from a bunch of small minus signs(-) that need to line up as they go across. If I type on each path one at a time as the text doesn't line up that way. This needs to be one continuous path. (see second image)
Unfortunately if I add them together, it creates a compound path, which you cannot type on, unless I am mistaken? So I need them to be a path, not a compound object.
I'm clipping out a bike wheel in photoshop with path. So after 1 hour of painstaking clipping, I have a nice compound path, a large circle path with about 20 smaller closed paths to take out each spoke. Alll paths are on one path layer. In previous Photoshop versions, I can control click(PC) this path to load a compound selection which will let me to mask out the background. But in CS, after I control click(PC), it only loads the outer circular path but not the entire compound paths.
Imported some type from Illustrator as a path and trying to use Repousse to make a 3D layer from it. However, the letters that are usuallu "punched out" (a,o,r,p,etc) are solid. How do you convert so that they look correct?
I am trying to create a compound shape from a compound shape I have prepared.
The first part works okay. I can combine the hexagon-compound-shape I have created from multiple hexagon shapes.
I then want to cut away the edges on a part of the compound shape (using a box of 4 rectangles), which is supposed to give me a rectangle with only the lines from the compund-shape inside this rectangle (image 1).
But when I cut away the box around my hexagon-compound-shape (using the Pathfinder window), the hexagon-compound shape inside behaves strangely, with only some of the lines showing and other lines missing (image 2).
I would like the rectangles to simply just cut away the lines that the rectangles are covering, and leave behind the lines in my hexagon-compound-shape, as they appeared in image 1, and not having hexagon-compound-shape changing which lines appear and disappear.
I want to join two paths to create a shape that I can fill but at the same time retain one of the original paths (the red one in the image below). I can copy the path I want to retain but surely there is a more elegant solution. See below for for an illustration:
I have an illustrator file which contains linked images. I want the images to link to images in a different folder on a different hard drive. They are the same images, but just in a different location.
I am thinking of temporarily changing the name of the first hard drive (which the images are currently linked to), in order to break the original image links. That way, I can re-open the illustrator file, and when it asks me to find the links, at that point I can direct illustrator towards the links on my other hard drive.
I will then save the file with the images linking to the images on the new hard drive.
At that point I will re-name the first hard drive back to it's original name.Will all of my other illustrator files loose their links if I temporarily change the name of my hard drive, and then change it back to it's original name?
(I have used this technique by changing folder names, and it has worked. But I was afraid to change the name of my Hard Drive because there are a guzillion files on it, and I can't afford for my illustrator files to lose any of their links.)
I'm redrawing the Realtor Logo which is a simple square, and inside that are a rectangle, triangle and a semi-circle with a flat edge on the left. When combined, look like the letter R reversed out of a black box. When I select the all the elements and tell it to make a compound path, only the rectangle knocks out the background square and the semi circle and triangle just appear to be grouped with the square instead of knocked out!!! I've tried everything including moving the square to the front and the back, etc. How do you find out if the semi circle I drew is a closed path? I made the semi circle by drawing a circle and a square and then using pathfinder to edit them into a the left flat edged circle. The triangle I simply drew with the pen tool.
I'm trying to create a compound path in AI CS4 for Mac, but I have not been successful. What is best way to create a compound path using the SDK? I just need to make a compound path out of two non-overlapping rectangles so that I can create a clipping mask. Nothing tricky.
The SDK is not clear about the best way to go about creating a compound path, but I figured that programmitically selecting the two rectanlges and then using the built in "adobe_makeCompound" action would work, but it doesn't.
When the above code is called while I'm debugging, I get a dialog box that reads: The object "Make Compound Path" is not currently available.
If I click the "Stop" button while debugging, the value of err is 1346458189 which is 'PARM'. So, maybe I need to set a parameter? The crazy thing is that there appears to be no parameters needed for the "adobe_makeCompound" action event. When I created the action manually, the resulting .aia file (see its contents below) has a parameterCount == 0. I've tried passing a parameter block without adding any parameters to it (instead of NULL), but still no joy.
I need to convert an autotrace shape into a pattern i can use in cad. The problem is part of it is a compound path which will not work.
In cs3 i would have just used pathfinder used minus front expanded and had a final path, but now i just get another compound path. Saw the tip on pressing the alt key but still get a compound path.
I am a complete novice with Illustrator. Ok now that we have that out of the way I have a logo that I had created for me that I would like to edit one small portion of. Basically in the middle of the logo is the word/text "EDCpen" (I believe the text is made up from compund paths).
I would like to edit it FROM "EDCpen" TO "EDCpin" however cannot get it to work. I am sure that I am doing everything wrong, however cannot seem to make this what I belive to be simple change.
Attached is a sample of the logo in jpg format. I have the file in both .ai and .eps formats.
I drew some simple paths in Photoshop with the pen tool, then exported the paths to Illustrator. All the paths came into illustrator as compound paths, though they look like simple paths in illustrator. Because they are compound paths, I can't join the ends of the paths to the ends of other paths.
Whe I select one of these paths:
Object>Compound Path>Release is greyed out and unavailable. "Release Compound Shape" in the Pathfinde palette menu is also greyed out and unavailable.
Is there any way to make these paths back into simple paths without redrawing them? I'm using CS6 versions of both Photoshop and Illustrator.
Cs6 here.... I am trying to cut out a simple shape to allow the area under the shape to be trasnparent or Alpha. Like a Mask. Except when I use the Mask it does at it should do and mask the area where the shape is and MASKING or removing the areas not under the mask. I tried Compound path but I am not getting any result from it. My shape stays right on top of my work and does not "cut it out" to allow the Background to shine through as an alpha channel. See pics for clarity. I want to reverse this where the circle is cut out and the rest stays visible...
I am working on a file where there are kangaroos that are compound paths. I need to stroke only parts of them. Is there a way to do that? Should I just manually be drawing paths that go right up to the edge of the compund path (drawing my own stroke)?
I'm having trouble making adjustments to my compound path/shape, as I'd like to outline the inside of the shape with a stroke - but this doesn't seem possible as the stroke always surrounds the outside too.
So: I've got a simple rectangle with white fill, with a rectangle-window hole cut out of it using the compound path action so you can see the layers beneath. Now I want to stroke the window hole, but NOT the outside of the entire rectangle. I'd be happy to split the shape up and tried various options like divide, edit in isolation mode, expand (button is greyed out), all the pathfinders - but none of them allow me to do this only to the inside part of the path.
How I can perform this action? I'm working in CS5 and CS6.
I have a detailed graph that is created in Excel that I want to paste into Illustrator so that I can save it as a high resolution TIFF file for submission to a journal.
In Excel the graph looks like this:
But when I select it (using Select Objects and then Copy OR Copy as picture) and paste it into Illustrator, it looks like this:
I have used different line formats in Excel for the different curves that are plotted and these obviously don't come through correctly when pasting into Illustrator. The lines are there but the scaling for the dashes or dots seems to be changed (increased). I'm good with Excel but a bit of an Illustrator newbie, why this is happening and can it be corrected.
I am on Win 7 64 bit system using Office 2010 and AI CS6
I've created a series of images utilizing symbols.
Basically the images are of a box. Each side of the box has different content.
I create the side content flat with an encompassing rectangle. Drag all this to the Symbol Panel to create a symbol (no 9-slice no align to grid set). I then take a symbol instance and use Object > Envelope Distort > Apply with Mesh - 1 row, 1 column and proceed to transform the symbol into position on the packaging.
This works.
I can easily double-click the symbol and edit the side of the package with no problem. Exit symbol editing mode and the symbol instance(s) update. Perfect.
Until.....
I close the file. Return to it 12-18 hours later and open it to see that visually my symbols are no longer positioned correctly. I click, the symbol/emvelope is still in the correct position, but the preview on screen shows no transformation. This incorrect visual appearnce translates to print and save for web as well. So it's more than simply an inaccurate preview. The symbol has actually broken out of its container incorrectly.
To explain further.
When I save the file it looks like this:
The grey box indicates the symbol/envelope bounding area.
When I reopen the file the next day it looks like this:
The symbol/envelope is still in the correct position but the symbol contents are completely incorrect. There seems no way to reset the symbol other than to delete what's there and redo the transformations.
There is nothing overly complicated about the artwork within the symbol. It's all text or line art, no effects or transformations within the symbol itself.
