Illustrator Scripting :: How To Split Paths Without Outlining
May 2, 2009
I have hundreds of shapes filled with a pattern of lines. I am trying to figure out a way to clip the lines without ending up with the lines that have been converted to (outlines) closed shapes. It seems like a simple proceedure but Illustrator keeps converting them to closed shapes whenever I try any type of clipping or cropping technique.
I have attached a screen shot showing an example of the shape with tthe line.
After doing a live trace and expand on an object I now need to separate one object into two. I tried using both the scissors and the knife tool and neither tool work. When I select two anchor points on opposite side of each other to split the object it just adds a line in the middle with the object as a whole still in tact.
Is it possible to have a script that would split up an Illustrator file that contains a number of groups of elements into individual files... for example, here is a download link for a file that has different types of moustaches and I want each moustache as an individual file... I have hundreds of Illustrator files like this that have 4, 8, 15, 20 or more illustrations all bunched onto the one file that I need to split up. I'm using CS4 [URL]....
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.
I have created this script for selecting open paths in illustrator cs6 as the graffix plugin is not working under CS6.
Just save the following text in /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS6/Presets/en_US/Scripts/Select Open Paths.js
if (documents.length > 0 && activeDocument.pathItems.length > 0){ var allPaths = activeDocument.pathItems; var allPathsCount = allPaths.length; var openPathsAreLocked = false;
I need to create an action. A simple one. The idea: One path is selected, a user runs the action, it makes a copy of that path, moves the copy, select both the path and its copy and makes a blend.
I tried to record that action, but Illustrator does not record the paths selection/selecting.
Even a simplier task: How, in general, having one path selected, select an item/path above or below it? And how to select them both?
I can make a script for that, but the requirement is to keep it as simple as possible: have an Action only without any scripts, if possible.
I use my script to embeding a placed graphic (MyImage.embed();). Then I always get a group with the correct paths and two clipping paths in a grouped grouped groupItem.
My question is: I want to delete the two clipping paths to get only the correct paths of the graphic.
Is there a method to return an array of paths in the order they were selected, instead of their descending z-index (default behaviour)?
I'm writing a script that "connects" the centers of currently selected objects through a stroked path, and I want it to follow the order in which I select the objects, regardless of the stacking order.
I want to open a doc, run a script that selects all paths of a color, say 255,0,0 or 50,0,20,4 and changes that color to black or another color I specify and also changes the stroke. Is this possible? I can't see how i would do it?
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 a problem that consistently occurs in Illustrator CS4 on Leopard that only presents itself when I try to outline paths in dxf files opened in Illustrator that I think have been supplied from and Autocad type software.
I get the unknown Error: OSEG and only some paths outline.
The only way I have found to fix it is to outline paths individually till I find the culprit path or paths and and either find the point in the path that is causing the error and remove it (which can be time consuming), or just delete the path all together and re-create a replacement. It seems to me there is a problem with Illustrator being able to handle certain path information it encounters that is causing the error.
I have been doing the same thing in all versions of Illustrator since the very first version that supported opening dxf files (so quite a few generations of Illustrator, pre CS I think) and this is the first time Illustrator has presented the problem with these types of files specifically.
I would like to outline a grouped object with a single stroke line and not have each object outlined individually. It is a complex image with some clipping masks and effects applied.
I'm working in an Illustrator file that needs to use artwork that is in PDF form. I've been either placing the PDFs into the Illustrator file or opening the PDFs as Illustrator files. Either way, I'm getting a message that says "The document contains PDF objects that have been reinterpreted: To preserve appearance, some text has been outlined."
As you'll see in the attached, what ends up happening are these strange looking white lines that occur around the artwork (you'll notice them most around the CD in the center.) Is there anyway around bringing the PDFs in without having them reinterpreted? I do not want to make them jpegs and then bring them in.
If I have an object that has a large stroke set to align to inside and I outline that stroke, the resulting inner shape isn't a closed path. While this is easy enough to fix, I was wondering if there was a way to avoid it alltohether?
My basic goal is to fill this overall flower shape with a colour - its made up of individual outlines. Is there a way I can either fill the whole object with a colour, or somehow make a singular outline of the overall shape of the flower. Dont want to use the pen tool t9o make a quiock outline because I want it to be exact to the lines i've already got. I know I could go and delete sections out and join parts together but I was wondering if there is a quicker trick to this that I'm just not aware of?
I'm making a book with large full bleed illustrations on each page.For ease of use I would like to use regular photoshop fonts. If I flatten and save my pages as Tiff files will it be the same as outlining fonts in Illustrator? In other words I won't have to include fonts. I am then going to drop the pages in InDesign in correctly paginated spreads to staple in the middle.
I'm try to automate the importing of the Varaible and datasets into my graphs via Scripting, but the ImportVaraibles() function doesn't seem to work. Here is my Script, mostly copied from the example script provided with Illustrator (CS5). And, this works manually, using the file names in the script, via Load Variable Library
Set appRef = CreateObject(strIllistratorVersion)
'Open the file and import the datasets Set docRef = appRef.Open(strTemplate & "200-500.ai") 'docRef.Datasets.RemoveAll docRef.Variables("Yearbook").Delete
Here is the problem, after I delete the previous library, then this next line, right from the example, does nothing The script then exits with 'No Datasets in this document'
docRef.ImportVariables (strXMLFolder & "Lumber_200-500.xml") 'appRef.DoJavaScript "alert('Template:" & strTemplate & strRange & ".ai | XML file:" & strXMLFolder & "" & objFile.Name & "^')" If (appRef.Documents.Count > 0) Then Set docRef = appRef.Documents(1)
[Code]....
If I remove that delete line, the script runs, but just uses whatever Variables I had last loaded, not the XML file.
It's simply not loading. What do I need to do to get it to load?
I made all my polygons with the same technique but somehow interactive polygon split tool does not split all polygons... I attached a file with which I have problem. Split tool just "disappears" after submitting changes...
I'm trying to achieve simple task, but can't do that. I have a guilloche background made of strokes. I need to cut them by a shape. The visual result i'm tring to achieve is the same as using the clipping mask. However i need to apply the mask to the strokes, and remove everything that is outside the shape. So is there a way of doing that?
Scirssors tool is not an option cos it'll take entire life to cut all the strokes manually. Outline opption in pathfinder is somewhat close, but then it's barely impossible to delete the cutting shape as it gets segmented as well.
I'm trying to split an existing object into two or three separate shapes (please take a look at the attachment) with CS6. Want to cut it along those white pathes.
I've got a large file that is about 72x54. I want to cut it up into pieces that are about 24x18 and print it pieces that I will tile together as a whole image after I print them. Is there a way to save out my file as 24x18 pieces?
I created some paths in illustrator, and I want to paste them in photoshop. I tried cut n' paste, but it doesn't work. I tried exporting to PSD, still doesn't work.