Cannot move object unless it's selected (Illustrator CS4)

Hi
Well, my setup is Mac OS X 10.6.3 and Illustrator CS4 and I have this feature which I really dislike. I can't move any objects unless I select them first, and it sucks big time.
Is there a secret setting I've missed? Or is this »new» feature simply one of Adobes »enhancements»?
Thanks for any help

Wade_Zimmerman wrote:
mrmille is a good team player i won't you ay and I am glad you did that update.
Not something you would remember.
BTW do you mind if others point users to your trouble shooting page?
I wonder if this problem has also popped up on Windows as well?
All the Illustrator hints were created as a common source for help, meant as a supplement to the FAQs which died with the fair forums. It started with the hints about the preference file, both working with it and getting rid of it, and the hidden Edges/Bounding Box issues; the whole folder came in later.
I try to keep things updated. One ongoing challenge since the merge of the Windows and Mac forums has been to include specifics for both sides; I still make corrections when I stumble upon, or realize, inadequacies.
And of course everyone is most welcome to point to them. It is a pleasure every time they serve their purpose.
I have not seen this issue at all before, but some of the possibly offending applications are Windows (I think: the list is pure hearsay, as is everything about getting rid of corrupt preferences (Once I did succeed in deliberately corrupting the preference file by typing some obvious errors into it in a text editor, and then changed back to a viable one)).

Similar Messages

Cannot Move Objects with Arrows - Ai CS5

For some reason I cannot move objects with my arrow keys in Illustrator cs5. I can drag them and transform-move them but the arrow keys don't work. very annoying.
Any clues as to what I can do to fix this?
Thanks!

Could happen if your keyboard increment value is zero or a very low number.

Cannot move objects with Selection Tool

Having problems moving a selcected with Selection Tool: the selection does not move.
Also cannot isolate imported picture as it always seems to be selected, even when deselected: Selection Tool always activates first layer even though I'm on another layer
Any new imported burshes i make up are not saved, even though file names shows up: only managed to save one brush
I nearly awlays have to re select stroke width everytime I use selection tools or re open file.
Are the problems due to compatibility issues with Mac OS and Illustrator CS4, as this new version is know to be very buggy in the industry.

bottchichellee,
Illy is Illustrator.
I apologize for the unavailability of the site, owing to some mess by the webhost. This is an extract:
Up to Illustrator 10, almost all the preference settings were included in the AIPrefs/Adobe Illustrator Prefs file, and almost all issues with corrupted settings could be solved by deleting or moving it; in some rare cases, moving or deleting the folder holding the settings was required.
From Illustrator CS on, the preference settings have been spread over a number of files/subfolders so in many cases deleting the AIPrefs/Adobe Illustrator Prefs file is not enough: the easy solution is to move the whole folder rather than trying to figure out which file(s) may be corrupted; just deleting the folder without moving it first has proved fruitless in some cases.
Therefore, the cure all consists of the following steps:
1. Close Illustrator.
2. Make a search including hidden files and folders and including subfolders for the folder holding the preference files; the name of the folder depends on the Illustrator version, and the position of the folder depends on the OS version. There is one folder for each version and for each user so it is important to find the relevant one.
Up to version 10, the name of the folder is Adobe Illustrator [X],
From version CS on, the name of the folder is Adobe Illustrator [X] Settings.
[X] is the version number; up to 10, it is just a number, and above that the Creative Suite version number, CS, CS2, CS3, CS4, and so on, is used (the corresponding standalone versions still have simple numbers, CS is called 11, CS2 is called 12, CS3 is called 13, and CS4 is called 14, but the version numbers with CS are used in the folder name).
3. Either:
a) Create a subfolder and move all the contents into it; or
b) Move the whole folder to a place where you can find it again, such as the Desktop.
With both you may recover the contents of the folder by moving it back if the issue is not solved and get your preference settings back.
a) requires creation of the subfolder, but it makes recovery easier, especially if you create a shortcut to the preference settings folder, and you can skip the search if/when corruption occurs again.
You may delete the folder/contents subsequently.
4. If you have Windows Vista, restart Windows. If not, continue to 5 without delay.
5. Restart Illustrator, and see whether the issue is solved.
If the issue is solved, and you wish to keep as many of your preference settings as possible, you may move the folder back and repeat 3) - 5) for groups/individual files/subfolders until you have found the corrupted one(s). You may also start by only moving the AIPrefs/Adobe Illustrator Prefs file.
You may also see a terse version from ADOBE: Adobe Illustrator CS4 * About preferences.
Scripts for cleaning out everything between uninstallation and reinstallation for versions CS4 and CS3:
CS4 Clean Script, http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cs4clean.html
CS3 Clean Script
I believe it is possible to get a refund, but there are some options still.

Cannot move object in InDesign

It just started, and now every document I open I can select and rotate any object, but I can't drag it or move it! I looked and checked my layers and there's nothing on, it's not locked. I can't move anything on the page.

See InDesign tools and panels don't respond to mouse clicks (Windows 7/Vista)

Cannot open files in Windows XP with Illustrator CS4

Hey
I have installed the CS4 package on my PC with Windows XP sytem. Photoshop, Indesign and Acrobat works without problems. ´
But Illustrator won't open any file. I have tried to change the parameters when saving the dokuments in Illutrator CS2, but it won't work.

Poul,
What happens if you DoubleClick the file(s), or use Open With, without getting Illy started first?

Beginners Q: Motion tracking - Cannot move trackpoint

Hi all,
this seems to be simple: start motion tracking, move your trackpoint to the correct place that needs to be tracked.
Problem: I see the trackpoint, but cannot move it to its place.
The only way to do that, is to close AE, reopen AE & reopen the project, and continu moving the trackpoint.
This is only possible to do so for a few frames, then the trackpoint is fixed again, and moving is not possible anymore.
This topic seems not to be found on the internet, so I suspect a bug maybe.
Please help, it's driving me nuts...
any help is welcome...
-Edit1-
And as I saw an OpenGL error I'm providing also system info below.
SW:
AE CS6, trial version, no extra's installed. ver. 11.0.0.378
Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1, build 7601, 64bit
Driver pack ver. 8.98-120611a-141402C-ATI
2D driver ver. 8.01.01.1253
OpenGL ver. 6.14.10.11733
Direct3D ver. 9.14.10.0920
Catalyst Control Center Ver: 2012.0611.1251.21046
Used Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing: With & Without.
HW:
16Gb Ram
i7-3770K CPU @3.5MHz, 64Bit
Graph Chipset: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
-Edit2-
The more I mess around with it, the more I see the proof I need to restart AE to continue follow the same actions as in tutors over the net.
VERY often, I cannot move object with the mouse cursor like text objects for instance.
Is there anything I can do??

Hi thx for replying,
If I remember well, the error message was a general OpenGl one.
I did have the error message not that often unfortunately.
Graphic card is updated to latest version.
It's very annoying I cannot drag&drop after a while...

Yosemite place psd or tif images in Illustrator CS4.

I have just upgraded to Yosemite and cannot place psd or tif images to Illustrator CS4. I need a high resolution image with a transparent background for print. Surely there is a fix for this.

In Illustrator CS2, the individual Spot Channels from Photoshop used to become Opacity masks when imported.
In Illustrator CS4, they are not converted to Opacity masks. Your spot colors are still there - look in the Swatches panel. There is a Spot channels image in the layers panel with 100% Multiply blend mode applied to it.
So it is not correct to say that it is no longer possible to bring spot channels from Photoshop into the Illustrator CS4. See the comparison snapshots below.
Hope this helps.

Cannot move selected objects in Illustrator

I'm using Illustrator CS5.5.
I cannot move anything I select. I try to drag it and it makes the "bump" noise.
-I made sure that my preferences are not set to "object selection by path only".
-I've restarted my computer several times
-I tried to open a previous Illustrator file and I have the same problem
-I even uninstalled and reinstalled my entire Abode Suite beacuse I've been having several issues
I'm not sure if this is related but I also can't create a new document unless I use picas and CMYK coloring. It refuses to adjust to anything other than the default settings. Also, I can't increase the stroke of an object unless I type in the number, meaning I can't use the arrows for adjustment.
So basically I am having a ton of problems and even reinstalling the program didn't fix them.
Help please.

Hi everyone.
I've also had the same problem recently. To sum it up:
- Sometimes (randomly) Illy won't move objects. I click and drag them, it results on a bumpy sound and the object comes back to its initial place. Note that the object is visually being moved during the drag
- Trying it again, with the same object, same conditions, may results in more failures, but at some point it works (sometimes 2 tries, sometimes 20)
- It doesn't seem to be affected by the direction, distance, "drag time" of the Move action.
- It is also not affected by the type of object being moved (simple or complicated shape, pixel image, etc)
- Keyboard input works flawlessly
- Only the move action via Selection or Direct Selection tool is affected.
What i've tried:
- Looking at obvious errors (layer locked, wrong tool selected, etc)
- Checking the outlines using Ctrl-Y or any other shape that would be in the way
- Unchecking "Object selection by path only" (was already, tried both)
- Opening other files, older or newer.
- Restarting Illustrator
- Restarting Computer
- Resetting my preferences
- Putting all kind of drivers up to date (Graphics, Motherboard, mouse, etc)
- Completely uninstalling/reinstalling Adobe CC 2014 Creative Suite, with a Cleaner Tool in between
- Trying with an older Illustrator version (CC) which does not seems to be affected (then again, the bug is pretty random, and danielv82539074 is having it with CS6)
Now my guess would be some kind of issue with mouse recognition since keyboard works. Restarting Illy sometimes give me a 10-15 minutes relapse before the bug occurs again.
Gear:
- Illustrator 18.1.1 64 bits
- Intel Core I6-2600K 3.4 GHz
- Nvidia Geforce GTX 660 Ti (drivers up to date)
- Mouse Steelseries XAI
- Windows 8
Anyway, this is really really annoying, i hate everyone, my life is in limbo, why is this happening to meee?!
Just kidding, i still love you Illy, just, you know, let me work !
Thanks everyone <3

Adobe Creative Suite CS5 is acting up. In Illustrator i was unable to move objects with my mouse, so

Adobe Creative Suite CS5 is acting up. In Illustrator i was unable to move objects with my mouse and tried solving the problem in different ways - it still didnt work. So i opened up photoshop. I was unable to open a file in photoshop (new or old) and when i finally did manage to open something, I am unable to do many things.
1) i cannot crop canvas
2) i cannot resize canvas
3) text dissapears after i type it
4) brush strokes dissapear after i release mouse
etc
What should i do??
Thank you!

Nobody can help you without system info or otehr details. From your description this could be driver issues with a tablet if you use one or similar issues with a programmable custom mouse... Most definitely not an issue within the programs. Unplug your mouse and tablet, uninstall and reinstall the drivers, try another input device...
Mylenium

Trouble selecting and moving objects near text in Adobe Illustrator? Try this.

It's been 4 years since I left Corel DRAW for Adobe Illustrator. One thing I could never get used to is the crazy way text has an impenetrable invisible sheet over it making it hard to select objects near or behind it.
With Corel DRAW I was used to be able to select text by simply clicking on the visible area of the text. Selecting stuff behind the text by clicking between letters or right next to a decender was never a problem. But Illustrator is a different story.
Tonight I finally found a way to make selecting text in Illustrator behave more like Corel DRAW.
I wrote it up here: http://www.johnstanowski.com/blog/trouble-selecting-and-moving-objects-near-text-in-adobe- illustrator-try-this/
Just thought I'd share!

It's not spam, but thanks for assuming.
I was up really late writing that blog post. Posting a link was the quickest way to share and be able to go to bed.
Plus it's rather lengthy. I thought that would be rude to use an Adobe forum for my articles.
If you saw my blog you will have seen there's not much going on there at all, and no calls to action to hire me. I don't have anything to gain by getting traffic.
And, yeah, layers work for selecting, but that slows you down. Who would want to look away from their work to find and select a layer when they're trying to tweak positions of objects? Layers suck for selecting quickly.
And there must be something wrong with me but I find using Type Object Selection by Path Only by itself hard to use. I'd really just like to click on the text itself rather than an invisible hairline you have to probe to find.
Here's the post. I hope people who had trouble like me find it helpful.
Do you have trouble selecting objects near Point Type in Adobe Illustrator? You’ve been there. You want to select an object. Problem is, it’s really close to piece of Point Type. All too often we try to select objects that wind up being unreachable because they lie too close to a piece of Point Type, which we wind up selecting instead. Luckily, after years of angst, I discovered a solution.
Point Type in Adobe Illustrator is funny. There’s this invisible “shield” around it. This shield is much larger (at least it seems that way) than the text itself. It prevents you from selecting objects behind text by clicking between letter and words. This shield is particularly meddlesome with lowercase letters and decenders because we think surely we can click on that blue box (or whatever) because it seems far enough away from that Point Type. But the lowercase “g” in the Point Type’s territory.
Okay, now that we know we’re talking about the same thing, let’s move on to the solutions.
Step 1. Check ‘Type Object Selection by Path Only’ in Preferences
You’ll find this option in Preferences/Type. Click it and that nasty text shield goes away. But there’s a price to pay. With this option activated, the only way you can select your text is by clicking on the text path, a super, tiny, thin baseline thingy under all the letters, but above decenders. It’s really hard to grab. To do it right you need to slowly approach the text path with your cursor. When you’re right over it, Illustrator will let you know by adding a small black square to your cursor. Now, you can click, hold and move your text. But this workflow can really slow you down and break your rhythm, maybe even more so with it turned off.
Step 2. Add the ‘Outline Object’ Effect
Select your Point Type and, from under the Effects Menu/Path/, select Outline Object. This effect does something really sweet to text in Illustrator: it lets your Point Type objects be treated as if their were converted to Outlines. You can still edit the text, but as far as selecting it, Illustrator now considers it outlines and shapes instead of a text object. Basically, it now considers the Path of the text to be the text itself! Now, since we’ve already checked ‘Type Object Selection by Path Only’ we can now click on the text to select it. Just the text. Not the baseline, not the wacky invisible shield surrounding it.
And now… you can select things behind the text by clicking between words and letters. And the ONLY way to select Point Type is to click on the visible parts of the text itself! Problem solved.
Potential Problem:
Too much of a good thing could be a bad thing. Let’s say you have some Point Type set in a very light face and it’s pretty small or you’re zoomed way out. Selecting that text could be a problem since you have to actually click on the text itself. Actually it isn’t that hard, it may just require an extra click to grab it. If you have a set of smaller, light-faced bits of text, you can elect to just not apply the Outline Object effect to these. They’ll get their ‘shield’ back and be easier to click on. And since they’re so small, they don’t pose a problem with selecting things behind them anyway.
Applying this technique to your old files
Now that you’ve learned this awesome new way to work around type in Illustrator, you may be anxious to open yesterday’s project and get back to work. But you may be not be looking forward to applying the Outline Object effect to each and every piece of type. For this you can use Illustrator’s “Select Same” feature. Select one piece of text. Then from the Select Menu click on Object/Text Objects. Now ALL of your text objects will be selected, and you can apply the Outline Object effect to all of them at once!
That’s it. If you build ads or work with a lot of type in Illustrator, you’re about to be able to work a lot faster… and happier.

P6 Professional R8.3 - (Cannot move selected items because the result will exceed the limit of WBS tree maximum levels)

Hi,
Has anyone encountered this error "Cannot move selected items because the result will exceed the limit of WBS tree maximum levels"?
Please advise if there's any way around / solution to this. http://s8.postimg.org/bj900spcl/1_error.jpg
Thanks.

Thank you so much MichaelRidino!

Cannot drag or move object into mainstoryboard in Xcode 6

Today when I was using Xcode 6, I found that I cannot drag or move any object into my mainstory board. Also, if I click label, there will be a label stick to the center left and I cannot move it. I don't know why, Please help me!

I've having the same issue. Very frustrating. FFS Apple!

User control ActiveX cannot move between objects using TAB

I created a simple ActiveX control with 3 text boxes.
I added it as an ActiveX object to a SAP form.
It apears good on the screen but it seems like SAP is "stealing" the TAB keypress and therefore I cannot move between the ActiveX controls accrdinf to their Tabindex property
It happed both in VB6 and VB.NET user control
How it can be solved ?
Tx Yaron

I'm assuming you're not using a BusinessObjects reporting solution, which would mean you're posting to the wrong forum.
Sincerely,
Ted Ueda

Cannot use double tap and move with one finger to select text in Mountain Lion

I've been using OS X in my Macbook Pro since Snow Leopard, and if I choose "tap with one finger to click", I can use double tap and move with one finger to select text if the cursor is between text.
It works in Snow Leopard,and Lion However, in Mountain Lion, this doesn't work!! I have to click in the bottom right corner of my trackpad in order to select the text.
Can anyone get this fixed ?
Thanks.

Caolei,
I don't know if you'll ever see this, but thank you! I hope this helps somebody else down the line, too.
re. "I can use double tap and move with one finger to select text if the cursor is between text."
I've been trying to figure out how to select text with tapping and without clicking.
This did the trick.
It's quite finicky to not select a space in between words.
Zooming in does seem to help (two finger double tapping in a body of text may trigger a SmartZoom and zoom the current frame of text to fill the screen, if anybody doesn't know this.)
((There's a smartMagnifyWithEvent Cocoa NSEvent that's not universally supported across all applications for noob OS X developers like me.))
I haven't been able to find the part about double tapping between text to begin a selection (which seems to work best when double tapping directly next to a letter) anywhere in the help system on or online. I probably just missed it, though.
Clicking with the built-in trackpad on my MacBook Pro w/ Retina or Magic Mouse just takes too much pressure for an old-time touch typist like me.
As an aside, I've been trying BetterTouchTool and MagicPrefs to enable one finger tap on the Magic Mouse. BetterTouchTool seems to trigger text selection unwantedly and randomly, though.
The whole mystique of Mac / Apple being intuitive and user-friendly seems to be one of the greatest marketing coups / unbelievable con jobs of the last century.
I'm actually somewhat qualified to express an opinion as a software engineer with a degree in Computer Science and programming and user interface design experience in Windows, UNIX, web, Android and other systems, and now OS X and iOS. I could go on and on and on but I won't other to say that I still find Macs buggy and hard to use. I'm now finding that my new iPhone 5 is just as big of a pain (i.e. big thumbs missing landscape keyboard in Contacts.) Of course, I like flexibility and options and custom workflows and more than one way to do things and simply being able to do things at all, so I'm also actually somewhat biased. Sorry for the rant...
Cheers,
Hal

I opened a high density .tiff file in photoshop but I cannot move the object

I opened a high density .tiff file in photoshop but I cannot move the object

Odds are the image is the same size as the document. You can either add canvas Image>Canvas Size... , use the crop tool and drag outwards to create more space, or reduce the size of the image ctrl-t or command-t then scale the image inward.

Cannot move object unless it's selected (Illustrator CS4)

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for