Assorted frustrations with paths

Question

Please, if anyone has some suggestions, I'm about to throw my computer out the window.  Before we begin, I'm in CS2 (can't upgrade at the moment)
1.  Having great difficulty working with paths...particularly cutting and joining.  The cutting tool cursor is as close to being "on the path line" as I can get it (zoomed in at 2400 even), yet I keep getting the message that I must use the cutting tool "on a path segemnt or anchor point."  Last count was 32 attempts to cut a single path line.  Pulling my hair our.
2.  Similar issue grabbing the direction points.  I have the correct anchor point selected, the direction guides are visible and ready, but it takes multiple attempts to "grab" the direction point in order to move it.
(With both, is there a sensitivity or tolerance threshold setting for the tool cursors that I can adjust?)
3. Is there a better way to cut a serties of lines (no shape or fill, just lines)?  I'm trying to cut a complex "shape" into a series of lines, without turing the lines into shapes or outlining the stroke...as I need to do more with them.  I can't use any of the Pathfinder tools, and using the knife tool causins Illustrator to automatically join and close up the lines into shapes.  Very frustrating not to be able to do this seemingly simple task.
Thanks again for any hints.
G

Answer 1

1. ...The cutting tool cursor is as close to being "on the path line" as I can get it (zoomed in at 2400 even), yet I keep getting the message that I must use the cutting tool "on a path segemnt or anchor point."
Which cutting tool are you talking about? Always try to use the terms of the program you're discussing. Ilustrator CS2 has a Scissor tool and a Knife tool. Both are sub-standard. In other drawing programs, a single cutting tool is more capable than all of Illustrator's put together. (This is also true of other multi-tool interfaces in Illustrator.)
To use the Scissor tool, you have to click right on the path you want to cut. It can only make one cut at a time.
To use the Knife tool, you drag across one or multiple paths. To make a straight cut, press and hold Alt as you drag.
The use of the tools is explained in the online Help.
Stupidly, Illustrator's Knife tool cannot cut open unfilled paths. (Similar problems in handling open unfilled paths permeate Illustrator's feature set. Always have.)
2. ...it takes multiple attempts to "grab" the direction point in order to move it.... is there a sensitivity or tolerance threshold setting...?)
I don't recall exactly when Illustrator finally gained its very long overdue pick-distance "sensitivity" setting. CS3, as I recall. See if you have a Selection and AnchorPoint Display pane in the Preferences dialog. Failing that, see if you have a SmartGuides dialog. As I recall, SmartGuides appeared one version prior to Selection and AnchorPoint Display, and SmartGuides has a Snapping Tolerance setting. (You would have to have SmartGuides on to use it.)
3. Is there a better way to cut a serties of lines (no shape or fill, just lines)? ...Very frustrating not to be able to do this seemingly simple task.
It's just one of many bedrock basic tasks that Illustrator has been decades late in providing. Such is the entire history of this program. Newcommers to this program are continually frustrated and astonished at the omission and/or difficulty of capabilities they have long taken for granted in other programs. Those without proficiency in competing programs often dogmatically defend its sub-standard features. Truth is, Illustrator's predominance in the market segment is due to marketing success and recognition of the Adobe brand, not to its feature set or its useability. This has always been the case with this program.
CS3 added yet another cutting tool, the Eraser. The behavior of this feature is also sub-standard in that it cannot make zero-width cuts, and it unpredictably disturbs the shapes of the remaining portions. CS5 added a Shape Builder tool, which can be used much like Corel Draw's Virtual Segment tool to sense path intersections and delete path portions on one side or the other of the intersection.
These new features, combined with the anemic pre-existing features have improved the overall path-cutting capabilities; but add to one of Illustrator's most problematic and pandemic problems: basic functionality being scattered across multiple unintuitive and poorly-integrated tools and commands.
Overall, it's the worst-of-class vector drawing interface. It's just the way it is, and always has been.
One of the best features that could be added to this program would be the ability to draw a path and then use it as either an accurate cutting path or as a selection marquee (with a contact-sensitive option). That would actually be competitively innovative. But don't hold your breath.
JET