"Outline stroke" command makes an unwanted rectange around shapes. Help

Hi,
I'm experiencing weird problem. I have an Art brush (scatter brush) which I sampled from a 5 tiny black circles to get the spray look. And it looks great as long as it stays as an art brush stroke. But when I select the path representing my stroke and doing "Outline stroke" it gives me desired shapes but along with empty bounding box-like rectangle around each of the sample. How to eliminate this problem? Thanks in advance.

Do you mean this is normal procedure in Illustrator? Create shapes from art brush, and then delete dull rectangles around samples? I'm asking because for example Corel never had such problems, everything is straightforward - you select an art brush, converting it to shapes, and you're done. No excessive junk, no strange bounding boxes around samples etc..

Similar Messages

Outline stroke command?

I'm making an extension panel, and I want to convert some fat roundendcapped lines to paths, but it seems there's no command for this in the SDK.
Object -> Path -> Outline stroke
Is it true?
If so, do you know a workaround for this?
I made an Action that calls Outline stroke from the menu, but then I got stuck again, because I can't find a way to call that action from my panel.
I see Photoshop has an ActionList stuff. I'm looking for something like that in Illustrator.

I think it's also possible to use the AIArtConverter suite to do this.
Something like:
AIErr error=kNoErr;
AIArtHandle MyPathToConvert;
error=sArtConverter->ArtConvertToOutline(&MyPathToConvert, kOutlineAddStrokes);

Outline Stroke in cs4 adds unwanted duplicate/overlapping point, why?

When I create an outline of a line, say a simple 2 point straight line, I get the result of a filled 4 point rectangle, or so it would seem. When I individually drag each point out using the direct selection tool I find that there are actually 5 points - 2 are sitting on top of each other. Does anyone else have or has had this problem.

This is fixed in CS 5.
Notice that the stroke panel's drop down now reads mm when you set strokes to mm
Notice that the stroke panel's drop down now reads mm when you set strokes to mm
So there are improvements in CS 5 that have never been resolved in the past.
Even in CS 10 I believe the drop down still reads as points and sets the width of the strokes as points and then converts it.
So there has been a lot of hard work.

Trying to knockout an outline stroke ONLY out of text...NEED HELP!!

Hi All,
First of all thank you very much in advance for any help on this. I run a screen printing business and I recently added some simple design services to my clients to bring in more business and help some people out.
Haven't run in to any major speed bumps until now...I'm thinking everyone is going to tell me what I'm trying to achieve is out and out EASY but I need some help for a run I'm doing this week.
I have attached the graphic which is a mock up of what I'm trying to do with the text.
Basically, I'm looking to have the white knockout to the background color (i.e. the shirt color)
I think I just set up incorrectly in Illustrator and that's what's giving me all the problems...if anyone could tell me how I should set this up so that I can achieve the look I'm going for it would be MUCH appreciated!!!
If you look at the image you should be able to see what I mean, it's a black text in the center, a (what should be) knockout outline of that black text and then another black outline outside of that...please let me know if you have any questions or if you can tell me how to set it up, order and arrage the text so I can simply keep the look of the white knocking out to the shirt color.
THANKS!
John

Pound,
Assuming…:
The black and green are defined as spot colors.
The white is just Illustrator's default white; not a spot color, and is not set to overprint.
…the you don't need to do anything. The white already knocks out the green. The white is not an ink. White means "no ink."
Simply print the job as color separations. The Black will be on one sep; the Green (assuming it's spot color) will be on the other. There will be no white separation, and the white areas will not appear on either the green or the black sep.
Remember: Yes, in screen printing you print separations as positives. But those positives are used to expose the screens; the screens themselves are the negatives. The negaitve screens in turn result in a positive on the substrate. What is white on a negative? Black.
JET

CS3 Outline Stroke not working?

Hi there,
I am using Illustrator CS3 on my mac, and when I use the outline stroke command, no matter what brush i've used for the stroke, it makes right angles. so if i use a round brush and make a line, so it looks like a skinny rounded rectangle - when i do the outline stroke command, i get a rectangle. i know this worked properly for me in cs2, but i'm not sure if it has worked right for me in cs3. any thoughts on what might be wrong? thanks!!

You shouldn't be using Outline Stroke on a live Brush path. Use Expand Appearance. (Often good to follow with the Merge Pathfinder.)
If you just want to outline a uniform-weight path with rounded caps and joins, you don't need the Brush. Just give the path a thick stroke, set its caps and joins to round and *then* use Outline Stroke. (Bugs in CS3 notwithstanding.)
JET

Outline stroke not working in CS6

so I just create a straight, uniform line and press Effect > Path > Outline Stroke... but nothing happens
not sure if I'm doing something wrong... or if there is a bug?
thanks,
Terrence.

thanks for your reply...
the line has a black, 10 pt, uniform stroke on it.... I click the outline stroke command and nothing happens... an fx does appear in the appearance palette, but when I click the Outline Stroke item there nothing opens... every other effect opens a dialog window...

CS3 Outline Stroke Problems

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this. But since upgrading to CS3, I've got a serious problem moving the points from a stroke I changed to an object with the Outline Stroke command. I use this quite often, since I like the control it gives me over the look of a line.
But with CS3, when I move some point at the end of the line, it turns out that there are sometimes even 3 overlapping points. This is very annoying. I could lasso select, but then, of course, I need to be in outline view or else I select the underlying object. The Clean Up command does not help. This is really not workable. It used to work so smoothly, and now there's overlapping points all over the objects.
I've been looking to see if there is any documentation about this. But I cannot find anything. Have there been any changes in how the outline is created? Are there points added when you move one? Are there new settings / options I have not found yet that can reset the behavior to CS2-and-before style?
Help wanted. Thanks.
Mark

> Also, I noticed that some hard corner points are very hard to move. Because when you try, it turns out you're pulling a bezier handle. It's impossible to move those points without just pulling the handle.
Are you referring to paths in general, or paths created by Outline Stroke?
If the former, I haven't noticed that happening at all. I see exactly the opposite. Due to the larger hit radius and the preference given to anchor point hits over direction point hits, as well as the highlighting of anchor points within the hit radius, it is
easier in CS3 to be sure of moving the anchor point instead of accidentally hitting the adjacent bezier edge or a direction handle that happens to be very short. (Of course if the mouse is outside the hit radius of any anchor point but within the hit radius of a bezier curve or direction control point, it will adjust direction handles instead, but that has always happened, and the anchor point hit radius is bigger now.)
But maybe you're making different kinds of paths than I do. I do not know what you mean by a "hard corner point" vs just a corner point. Do you noticed anything that distinguishes the anchor points that move as expected from the cases where the direction handle moves instead?

CS3 Outline Stroke Parallel Lines Bug

Hello everyone...
I'll try to explain my issue as best as possible. I am using Illy CS3 on Win XP Pro.
I am creating installation instructions for an electronic product and need to show wire routing.
I created an art brush of two parallel black lines two different ways (two black lines and two black lines with a white line between them) and am getting the same result when I apply the Object>Path>Outline Stroke command.
What is happening is instead of Outlining each of the strokes and individual paths, Illustrator is outlining the space between the two strokes as one filled, closed path.
Perhaps this is expected behavior. However, Illustrator CS4 (which I use at home on a Mac) outlines the stroke as I would expect it to with the two lines as individual paths.
Does anyone know of a workaround or any way for Illustrator CS3 to behave in a similar way to how CS4 handles the strokes?
Any help is truly appreciated.
Many Thanks!

I can't follow your description, and can't replicate the problem trying to follow it.
> I created an art brush of two parallel black lines two different ways (two black lines and two black lines with a white line between them) and am getting the same result when I apply the Object>Path>Outline Stroke command.
Explain "two black lines and two black lines with a white line between them".
Brush 1 built from:
Two parallel open paths, each with a black stroke?
Brush 2 built from:
Three parallel open paths, equally distributed, the two outermost ones having a black stroke, the middle one having a white stroke?
When you say "situated between them" are you talking about stacking order (paths with different weight strokes stacked in same location) or spacing (three parallel paths distributed vertically)?
You say you've created these two ArtBrushes and are then applying Object>Path>Outline Stroke. Are you in fact talking about outlining the strokes to the artwork
before converting it to an ArtBrush, or applying Outline Stroke to a path to which you already applied the ArtBrush?
Describe EXACTLY, step-by-step, command-by-command, the simplest steps necessary to replicate the problem. Don't use ambiguous terms like "line". Use the terms of the program.
JET

How can I "outline stroke" a dashed stroke?

Hi!
When you have a dashed stroke and you try to apply on it the „outline stroke” command the result is one single rectangle. But I need many small rectangle. Any Idea?
Sorry for the english.
BR
Joe.

Thank you Jesse it works but there is a little different. It works by "Object > Flatten Transparency" on CS1 Macintosh version and it works by "Object > Expand App.." on CS4 Windows version.
Thx a lot.
Best Regard.
Zeee.

What is the difference between Object Outline Stroke, Object Expand..., and Object Compound Path/Make?

Could anyone explain the differences between these three commands? I created a circle with a stroke, applied all three commands, and ended up with the same thing, a compound path. Are there situations where this is not the case, or situations where one of these commands is more appropriate?

Cleveland,
In the case of the straight stroke/nofill, object>outline stroke and object>expand seem to do the same thing.
In the Layers palette you can see the three different outcomes for Expand if you have both Fill and stroke ticked, only Fill ticked, and only Stroke ticked. Only the last one corresponds to Outline Stroke.
You should use Outline Stroke as the simplest one if that is what you need. Compound Path is for creating something with one or more holes from multiple paths, or for collecting paths to forrm the Clipping Path of a Clipping Mask. Expand is for the rest.

Stroke command not available

I am trying to add an outline to a dialog bubble. I can't figure out how to make the Stroke Command available. It is greyed out. I have tried to select the layer, tried everything. What am I missing? Thanks.
nancy

Another way...
1. Ctrl-click the dialog bubble layer to get the "marching ants".
2. Create a new empty layer beneath the bubble layer and apply the Stroke to this layer.
3. Merge the 2 layers.

Outline stroke with Illustrator scripting

Hello everybody!
I'm making a script. I need to do the outline stroke action. I can't find it in the extendscript anywhere.
I can do it from a applescript and call it from my extendscript in CS6 BUT I need my script to run CS5.5 and run on a windows machine:
tell application "System Events"
click menu item "All" of menu "Select" of menu bar item "Select" of menu bar 1 of process "Adobe Illustrator"
click menu item "Outline Stroke" of menu "Path" of menu item "Path" of menu "Object" of menu bar item "Object" of menu bar 1 of process "Adobe Illustrator"
I have also found a way to do this in CS6 (app.executeMenuCommand ('Live Outline Stroke')) but i havent got it working yet. And its for CS6+ so I can't really use it if I cant force my users to upgrade
Anyone out there with an answer? It would help me alot. As I understand it you can call functions withing extensionscript if you have the right "action code" for it. Using the ActionDescriptor.
var desc3 = new ActionDescriptor();
I have looked around and I cant find any documentation with a complete reference with the action codes. Do any one of you out there the action code for "Outline stroke"?
Thanks so much for your answer and effort.
Regards,
Ruy Ramos

Hello,
Thank you for this!! My question now is, is it possible to do this comand without the UI coming up?
I tried to set:
UserInteractionLevel.DONTDISPLAYALERTS
but nothing changes.
Do you know where there is a list of all the menucomands?
Thanks again
Regards,
Ruy Ramos

How to make a round border around my picture?

I am trying to design a logo that would fit into the center of a Frisbie, yet I cannot figure out how to make a round border around the picture. I have tried using the eliptical tool, and have also tried using the cookie cutter. The only option I can get to work with the eliptical tool, is the feather, yet I can't change the pixel number for some reason, so it just makes a thin circle around the picture. I thought I could cut and paste it, but the copy and cut options were grayed out and didn't work. When I used the cookie cutter, it made a nice border, and I pasted the picture into it, but, there are four sections that need to be filled in with the background color and the paintbucket didn't work in those spaces (they are the gray and white checked areas. (the picture ends up looking like a rectangle inside of a circle). So I made a new blank file and filled it in with the color of the picture's background, hoping to use the cookie cutter tool around the picture that was now pasted into the new blank file (I chose another color for the round border) and I used the cookie cutter around the picture, but when it was finished, the whole picture ended up being white. All I want to do is to make a border around a picture (a round border). Nothing I have done has worked though. What am I doing wrong, or what are some other options for trying to do this? Thanks.

Here is a simple way to add a border. Select the item, add a blank layer, choose the border size and color and the Outside option:
Here is the result:
Note that you don't even need to do the Stroke on a blank layer. You can Stroke directly on the picture layer. However having the blank layer preserves the picture in case you want to start again with different Stroke options.
If this is not what you are looking to do, please clarify.

Outline Stroke, Effects, and Appearances.

Dear Adobe Users, Please come to my aid, I am at my wit's end.
I am trying to recreate the effect described here (http://opentype.info/blog/2012/08/09/the-google-maps-effect-in-adobe-illustrator/) - to whit, a a non-destructive, merged series of paths with a complete outline, with paths that can be resized at will without affecting any other paths, and any overlap areas should merge.* I have only been able to replicate it once and I cannot seem to do it a second time. Every single time I go to Effect > Path > Outline Stroke, nothing happens: an ‘outline stroke’ effect tab is added on the appearance panel, but nothing at all happens to my lines, they don’t change in the slightest.
I can add all the outline stroke effects I want (in the appearance tab) - no effect. I can double click on the outline stroke - nothing happens. There's nothing to edit. I can move it around - no effect. I can get OBJECT > Path > Outline stroke to work, of course, but that is not non-destructive: it destroys my paths, and I can't add new paths or anything.
I cannot copy-paste the successful attempt into new layers. I cannot duplicate the layers into new files and have the effects still work. I cannot copy existing paths into the layer and use the eye-dropper to copy the effects.
Please, someone, come to my aid! What did I do right, and how can I do it again?
Copy of file:
upload files free
* I am aware that the article is from 2012 and was thus done on CS5, not CS6, but like I said, I did get it to work once in CS6 already.

I tried that, it didn't work. It just adds another stroke under the first - it doesn't work as an outline

Outline Stroke in Illustrator CS3 Broken?

It seems that Outline Stroke in Illustrator CS3 is broken in more ways than one. The bug I'm struggling with at the moment is that Outline Stroke seems to ignore the strokes alignment. For example, if I have the stroke of an object set to "outside" or "inside" (instead of center), outline stroke creates the outline of the stroke as if it were "center" aligned. I've checked that in CS4 this bug has been fixed, but I don't have access to CS4 at work. Does anyone know of a work around or patch that resolves this, or is an upgrade to CS4 the only option?
On a side note, Illustrator CS3 has to be the buggiest adobe application I've ever dealt with. It has so many little annoying bugs, most of which are fixed in CS4. I shouldn't have to pay for an upgrade to CS4 just to get bugs fixed though, that seems wrong.

TomWardrop wrote:
On a side note, Illustrator CS3 has to be the buggiest adobe application I've ever dealt with. It has so many little annoying bugs, most of which are fixed in CS4. I shouldn't have to pay for an upgrade to CS4 just to get bugs fixed though, that seems wrong.
You must not have used version 10.
As for the outline issue... try Object > Flatten Transparency

"Outline stroke" command makes an unwanted rectange around shapes. Help

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for