Illustrator :: Moving Individual Anchor Points And Not Whole Path
Oct 25, 2011
I'm used to working with the pen tool in Adobe Photoshop, so Illustrator is just different enough to be problematic, since my automatic keyboard shortcut uses don't quite work. My biggest problem when drawing paths in Illustrator is that I can't figure out how to move individual anchor points without moving the entire connected path. I'm not using the direct selection right, or I don't have the rest of the path deselected properly, or something? How to move only individual anchor points in a path. (I am very tired of trying to move anchor points and ending up scooting the entire path along with it.)
General Information:
Windows Vista (relevant only for keyboard shortcuts, I suppose)
Illustrator CS2
The direct selection and lasso tools keep selecting entire paths. I thought these tools were for selecting individual or small groups of anchor points so that they can be edited. I am using Illustrator CS6, and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if my program is being buggy.
I'm trying to move specific anchor points on a path a few pixels up from their current position, while keeping everything else where it is, so it'll transform the figure's shape. I'm trying to do it precise by changing it's dimensions, rather than clicking and dragging. does- work when I direct select the points I want and drag them. Problems with that:
1) I have very little control. If I want the point moved up by whole pixels, I pretty much have to get lucky because it's always in decimal points.
2) With shapes bordering each other (parts of a complex shape), if I want to move their location to scrunch something (Half circle in a larger half circle, wanting to flatten out the base), if I lift those points up, they leave a gap. As if the top border of the outer circle has another anchor point under the lower of the one above that, and I can't click on it to move everything while they're still touching. I can take screenshots if needed. I'm following a tutorial to get used to the program.
Alternately, I suppose if you have a shortcut for constraining the drag to whole pixels instead of fractions, that's great too. In Photoshop and the like, holding Shift would give me precision, but that's not the case in this tool or perhaps program.
In CS5, and in various documentation it doesn't appear possible to be a way to move multiple anchor points (as it is, in Photoshop). If this is the case... are you kidding me? Even Photoshop can do this.
Quite frankly, on my return to Illustrator, it's, as expected, Adobe has pulled a fast one with their suite of software. What was broken years ago is still broken today.
Photoshop needs the ability to add gradients to shapes, path brushing, symbols, ie the functionality of Illustrator needs to be placed into Photoshop.
I'm currently having troubles from having too many anchor points after "image trace" or "offset path tool".
1. I would like to know if there's a way of deleting useless points AT ONCE. (ex. multiple anchor points on a stait line, or duplicated points at one anchor point) - I've tried "Simplify" but it changed the picture too much. - I've tried "Remove redundant points" when using "image trace" but it came out as below:
2. Sometimes pathfinder seems to make duplicated paths. Is there any way of knowing that there are duplicated paths OR eraseing duplicated paths at ONCE?
In PS CS 6 it used to be possible to draw a shape, like a rectangle, and then use the direct selection tool to select and move one corne of the rectangle. However, in PS CC this does not work anymore. When I try to use the direct selection tool, all anchor points remain selected and so I can't move a single point, just all of them at once. What might I be doing wrong? Did something change in the CC version?!
I'm just wondering if there's some function to add an anchor point on a path between (exactly in the middle) two anchor points. Like Object > Path > Add Anchor Points, except only between two selected anchor points.
How to get count of path anchor points? I'm pathing right now pearl necklace with very diferent colors and some are almost transparent so i didn't know how to use any masking trick on it. So i'm pathing, pathing and pathing one more time. And after 1+ hour start to wondering is there any way to know how many path points i'd made?
I am creating a vector shape and I was wondering how to join points. Here is a sreenshot so that you understand my problem better: Or is this just not possible is photoshop and I have to use Adobe Illustrator ?
I have a shape in illustrator CS6 that I'm trying to edit. When I try to click on a point with the Delete Anchor Point Tool nothing happens however I am able to select the point using the Direct Selection Tool and then remove it using the "Remove selected anchor points" option in the Control palette. Same issue with trying to use the Convert Anchor Point Tool.
I draw with the pen tool a rectangle... When I click with the direct selection tool on the left side anchors, none of them have the corner widget... The right side anchors / both have corner widgets appearing.
I have tried clicking the left-side anchors and converting them to 'corners' both nothing happens..
I need to copy and paste path segments in order to create uniform serifs for letters. (For example, specific path curves).
So imagine I have a horizontal segment and a curve segment. I mouseover each one seperately and I can see they have anchor points where I want them to merge afterwards. I drag one towards the other to make them intersect. Then I try to select both anchor points and press CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + J, but it displays this error: "To join, you must select two open endpoints. (...)" Which makes me think I'm not really selecting both anchor points when they're overlapped.
I have the idea that they can't overlap, because my path segment won't detect the anchor point in the other path. They're just visually intersected but not connected.
If I try to join them when they aren't overlapped, they will join but distort the original shape of the path segments. I select them both with the Direct Selection tool, pressing Shift to add the second anchor point to the selection, which won't work when they're overlapped because Shift + Clicking will deselect the anchor that seems on top.
I also tried various shape modes in pathfinder and nothing works.
How can I properly overlap and join / merge them?
(I'm using a white fill so I can see the shape forming as I add more anchor points so I'm sure they aren't joined).
I want to move two opposite anchor points in opposite directions so that they are equally spaced. So if I have one anchor point I want to move right and the other left how can i make sure that they have equal spacing apart without having to resort to rulers. Is it possible to select both points and get them to move in opposite direction together?
In the above image, I have four symmetrical corners of an ellipse which I'm trying to join together into one ellipse that is perfectly symmetrical. I am trying to line up the anchors perfectly (one corner at time) and then do a join, yet the result is always slightly off. I've been selecting the two points I want to join and using Path -> Average, then Path -> Join to do this, yet as mentioned it's not coming out precise.
I have Illustrator CS6 for mac ox mountain lion. I was working with a vector image and everything was working fine. Now when i try to move any anchor point, it acts as if its not calabrated, for lack of better terms. If i try to move it one way it snaps twoards another, or if i try to adjust the hadles, they do the same. it doesn't follow my direction like it did befor. Its now impostible to use!
When using the pen tool in illustrator I see the handles as I create the object, but when I go to modify it sometimes some of my anchor points don't have handles to manipulate them. I went to show edges, bounding box, and clicked the little handles box but it still doesn't bring handles to certain points I want to curve or straighten.
I am working on a scanned black and white image that I image traced in Illustrator. I am now in the process of seperating certain parts of the image from each other for changing colors. I know how to do this, but my way is by using direct select and going in and picking out points and joining them which is going to take ages. Is there any way to say select a range of anchor points on a path (not the whole path, but not individual points either) like shift clicking a range of files in windows explorer? Are there any other ways I can go about this in a more time efficient manner? I am using the Creative Cloud.
Is there such a thing as a corner anchor point with handles? It's quite a common thing in other vector programs (i.e. Inkscape), but I can't change the direction (angle) of the curve leaving/entering a corner anchor point.
While using the pen tool, moving the current anchor point by hold down the spacebar, is a great time-saver and I use it frequently. But I find it a little frustrating that, when closing a path, the "spacebar" feature does not work. Instead, the apposing direction point goes whacko. Is there an alternate keyboard shortcut to overcome it? Even though I "know" it won't work, I seem unable to resist holding the spacebar to fine-tune the last anchor point.
I was playing around with the guides making margins ect. I typed some text & went to grab it to expand it & now it wont work? It seems the anchor points are locked or something? I cant drag out the corner of a box to make it bigger or smaller either?
I am working in Lesson 5 of Adobe Illustrator CS5 Classroom in a Book, and am having a problem selecting the 2 anchor points to distribute equal space based on the bottom center anchor point of the violin. The note said to reference chapter 2, which I have already been through, but even after reading the Illustrator Help dialog on pg 75, I am still at a loss. how to distribute this equal spacing of 2 anchors relative to one anchor point?
How do I change the position of anchor points on my line, at the moment the anchor points are in the middle of my line, I would like the anchor points on the inside edge of my line so I can make my cut cuides more accurate. I am using illustrator CS6 cloud.
How can I increase the display size of anchor points? i.e. the vertices.? they are too small to see clearly. i am used to vertice point size of coreldraw.
Using the pen tool and plotting anchor points, what is the difference between a straight and a curved anchor point, and how do you know which they are? I know you can drag out curves when drawing with the pen tool, though I am unclear on actual straight and curved anchors.
I know that I can delete anchor points but I was wondering if there is a shortcut to do it on a larger scale.
Can you automatically delete anchor points when a new image is placed on top - so that it 'replaces' the image, only on the parts obviously that you cover with the new one.
As I move the Selection tool over a path I see what looks like a white anchor point that moves along with the selection tool as I hover over the path, however, there are not anchors other than the beginning and ending of this path. Are these anchor points or something else?
