CS4 Select all compound paths?

Hi all,
There was a fab plug in set by Rick Johnson/Graffix called Select Menu. It is not yet updated for CS4.
The only function from the set I truly need is the ability to select all compound paths. Just wondering if it is possible to do this with a script? I recently found a javascript to close all open paths, so that got me thinking there may be a way to select the compound paths with a script as well...
The nice thing about scripts is they still seem to work even after a program upgrade. All my little applescripts are still working fine but my plugins are DOA in CS4. So I am thinking it would be great to have functions I depend on every day in script form.
I also wondered if there is a way to call the script with a speakable items command, which I guess would mean creating an action to run the script that I could then assign to a function key...?
So far I have not found a way to call a script in Illustrator using a speakable item.
I have near zero scripting experience so apologies if this is an annoying stupid newbie question. I have RSI issues and need to do most of my work via voice commands... it can be challenging to figure out how to do these things since my expertise is in graphics, not programming.
Thanks for any swift kicks in the right direction!!

Hi,Thanks!!
This does work but on a complex document it is very slow as it seems to be redrawing all the compound paths? It worked fine on a simple file but when I tried it on the kind of complex file I would actually use it on it has Illustrator hung up with a spinning beach ball....
The Graphix plug in to select all compound paths worked instantaneously. Is there a different way to write this that would not be as processor intensive?
Ah, the beachball just stopped spinning and all the correct paths are indeed selected...

Similar Messages

Release all compound paths at the same time?

Platform: PC/Windows XP SP2
Adobe: Illustrator CS3 (13.0.2)
Is it possible to release all compound paths in an illustration at the same time (and if so - how)?
I receive drawings from engineering in either PDF or CGM format, which I edit in Illustrator and save as AI. I have to release compound paths in order to delete specific parts of the drawing.
This isn't difficult, but it is very time-consuming because the CGM(or PDF)-to-Illustrator conversion results in quite a few compound paths.
Thanks - I appreciate your help,
Dan

Are they all compound paths or are some of them compound shapes?
Try release/expand compound shape?

Calling all compound path and clipping mask experts...

I am attempting to get all the white areas in the attached "globe" artwork to knockout to the background color. I have tried making the entire thing a compound path, tried clipping mask and different combinations in pathfinder with no success. The image on the right is what happens when I make it a compound path. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The simplest way, I think, would be to set the white line work as an opacity mask on top of the tan circle. That is not a clipping mask, but does the same thing and it's much easier.
Otherwise, outline white strokes and "Unite" using pathfinder tool, then delete outside path (the circle), from the compound shape. That will leave the appropriate compound object to make the clipping mask:

"Release Compound Path" grayed out

I converted a single letter into an outline using the selection tool and "Create Oultines" in the "Type" menu. Now I want to manipulate a point in that outline. When I tried to select "Release Compound Paths" from the "Object" "Paths" menu, it was grayed out. The same thing happens when I use the same process but select the type with the Type tool instead of the Selection tool. What am I doing wrong?

Do you have the text box selected rather than the just the outlined text itself (this is the only way that I could reproduce the problem you are describing):
The text box seems to stay around the outlined text and this happens when you convert the text to outline while highlighting it. You need to create the outlines by selecting the text box as a whole (not just the text it contains) with the selection tool and then convert to outlines.

[AI CS4 Mac] How to create a Compound Path?

Hi Folks,
I'm trying to create a compound path in AI CS4 for Mac, but I have not been successful. One would think this would be easy, so maybe I'm missing the obvious solution...
What is best way to create a compound path using the SDK? I just need to make a compound path out of two non-overlapping rectangles so that I can create a clipping mask. Nothing tricky.
The SDK is not clear about the best way to go about creating a compound path, but I figured that programmitically selecting the two rectanlges and then using the built in "adobe_makeCompound" action would work, but it doesn't.
err = sAIActionManager->PlayActionEvent("adobe_makeCompound", kDialogNone, NULL);
When the above code is called while I'm debugging, I get a dialog box that reads: The object "Make Compound Path" is not currently available.
If I click the "Stop" button while debugging, the value of err is 1346458189 which is 'PARM'. So, maybe I need to set a parameter? The crazy thing is that there appears to be no parameters needed for the "adobe_makeCompound" action event. When I created the action manually, the resulting .aia file (see its contents below) has a parameterCount == 0. I've tried passing a parameter block without adding any parameters to it (instead of NULL), but still no joy.
/version 2
/name [ 5
          5365742031
/isOpen 1
/actionCount 1
/action-1 {
          /name [ 12
                    436f6d706f756e6450617468
          /keyIndex 0
          /colorIndex 0
          /isOpen 0
          /eventCount 1
          /event-1 {
                    /internalName (adobe_makeCompound)
                    /localizedName [ 18
                              4d616b6520436f6d706f756e642050617468
                    /isOpen 0
                    /isOn 1
                    /hasDialog 0
                    /parameterCount 0
Any help or suggestions on how to create a compound path would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
-- Jim

Actually, here's a more useful variation
// rectangle1 & rectangle2 are the AIArtHandles for your existing paths
AIArtHandle compound = 0;
sArt->NewArt(kCompoundPathArt, kPlaceAbove, rectangle1, &compound);
sArt->sReorderArt(rectangle1, kPlaceInsideOnTop, compound);
sArt->sReorderArt(rectangle2, kPlaceInsideOnTop, compound);
// this will create the compound right next to wherever rectangle1 is, much simpler and more likely what you want

Hello Creative Cloud Illustrator Community. Help Please! This is with regard to compound paths and transparencies. I have set some type on a circle and then created outlines. I then placed the outlined type on a black stroked ring which I then selected "o

Hello Creative Cloud Illustrator Community:
Help Please!
This is with regard to creating a compound path:
I have set some white type on a circle and then created outlines. I then placed the outlined type on a black stroked ring which I then selected "outlined stroke." I then put both "outlined" graphical elements on a separate solid bkg. (all 3 are on the same layer). Lastly, I then selected the top two elements and went to "make" a "compound path" (because I want the type to be the "holes" so I can see through to the background). However, the only effect I get is the white outlined type turning black (the same color as the black ring). What am i doing wrong? I can achieve the desired result with simple boxes but it won't work with a circular type path, a stroked ring and a solid bkg.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You!

Thanks for the response Jacob.
Unfortunately, I tried your suggestion with no success. BTW, minus front is now Subtract. Apparently, by clicking option>subtract, it works in the same way as minus front. I tried this to no avail.
Let me reiterate please.
I have 3 graphic elements-all on the same layer:
1. Background: Gold circle with a fill and no stroke.
2. Middle: Black ring (Stroked) inside gold background circle.
3. Top: White copy set on a circular type path and placed directly on top of middle black ring.
Both the middle black ring and top type path HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO OUTLINES.
LASTLY, I select the Middle and Top, go to Compound Paths and choose "Make" and my white copy turns to black. Wrong!
WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN: I want the white copy to become HOLES, so the GOLD background shows through.
Any solutions would be very much appreciated!

[CS4] AIPathSuite::SetPathSegments() selects all points

Hi,
I'm desparetly trying to adapt my Plug-in to AI CS4. It works fine under CS3 & older. But the same code recompiled under CS4 SDK, does nastly changes in the selection of points within paths. Indeed, calling AIPathSuite::SetPathSegments() does NOT retain the existing selection state as it did in CS3 & older, but will ALWAYS select ALL points of a partially selected path. This is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY for my plug-in to retain the existing selection state for partially selected paths. I tried without any success any ways I could imagine to turn around this bug, incl. saving the selection state before changing the points' ordinates and restoring it after; similarly for the path art attr... Apparently, this is out of control of the plus-in. AI seems to alter the selection after my plus-in routines exits.
FWIW, my plug-in does not use LiveEffet since it does not make sense for the plug-in. I'm developping under Mac OS X, but I guess it would give the same results under Windows.
Please help, I'm deperate.
Too many customers are angry because I cannot provide an update for CS4
TIA

I assume this is a filter? I believe AI auto-selects anything touched when a filter runs. I thought it had always done that frankly.
If you need to maintain selection, I'd try adding one step to your 'save & restore' strategy. Illustrator is going to beat on you selection, you can't win that fight. So you just have to let it change the selection and THEN restore your previous selection. I believe you can achieve that using a timer. Create a timer with a zero length and I think it will fire after Illustrator is finished. You can create this and turn it on when you finish your filter, then turn it off as soon as you catch it, effectively making it a one-shot timer. When you catch the timer, you restore you selection at that point and hopefully you've circumvented Illustrator's attempt to 'help' you. Why this isn't an option on the filter I'll never know.
I've used this technique before to solve simillar problems, so I think it will help here. At any rate, good luck

Select all paths of a specific color in one document

Hi,
I'm on Illy CS2, windows xp.
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?
Thanks in advance,
Stan

Unfortunatly there is no getByColor method - below is a clunky way to get an array of objects that match a provided CMYK color : // Color you want to match myColor = new CMYKColor(); myColor.black = 50; myColor.cyan = 0; myColor.magenta = 0; myColor.yellow = 0; foundObjects = getSameColor("ALL",myColor); function CMYKMatch(control,test) { if (test.black == control.black && test.cyan == control.cyan && test.magenta == control.magenta && test.yellow == control.yellow) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getSameColor(type,color) { var results = new Array(); if (type != "FILL" || type != "STROKE" || type != "ALL") { myArt = app.activeDocument.pageItems; for(var i = 0; i<myArt.length;i++) { if (myArt[i].typename != "TextFrame") { if (type == 'FILL' || type == 'ALL') { if (CMYKMatch(color, myArt[i].fillColor)) { results.push(myArt[i]); } } if(type == 'STROKE' || type == 'ALL') { if (CMYKMatch(color,myArt[i].strokeColor)) { results.push(myArt[i]); } } } } } return results; }

Compound path selection in Photoshop CC

Hi
I have a compound path (item silhouette together with inner hole). But for some reason am not able to make selection with the hole excluded from outer path selection any more as I was able to do in previous versions of Photoshop (photoshop selects outer path only). Please let me know if it's still possible to do.

Now it's OK. nvm

The selected objects cannot be joined as they are invalid objects,( Compound paths, closed paths, Text Objects, Graphs, Live Paint group). You can use Join command to connect two or more paths, paths in groups; ot to close an open path.

Hi I was trying to join two Ractangle Tool objects but getting this type of Error in illustrator cs6 :-
The selected objects cannot be joined as they are invalid objects,( Compound paths, closed paths, Text Objects, Graphs, Live Paint group).
You can use Join command to connect two or more paths, paths in groups; ot to close an open path.
Please assist me asap.

Yes, I know this is an old post, but I’m trying to clean them up. Did you solve this problem, if so what was the solution?
This sound like a firewall issue. I would start by disabling the firewall and seeing if you can connect. If this works then you know where the problem is,
Garth Jones | My blogs: Enhansoft and
Old Blog site | Twitter:
@GarthMJ

[Ai CS4] So I cannot convert compound path to regular paths?

I have some complicated shapes done with the pathfinder tools, and I need to use the gradient mesh on them. But I cannot, because they are compound paths. I cannot seem to find a way to convert them to regular paths. I am almost 100% sure that there must be a way, because Illustrator :hopefully: won't expect me to redraw those with a pen tool. Or hand-draw them, scan and trace.
Guidance please

Doh! I guess I found my answer, a minute after I post the question.
The problem was, I was punching holes using the "Minus Front" tool. Because there are no connection between two object's paths, Ai cannot make a single shape out of them.
Workaround:
Pick the line tool
start from the inside the hole
drag end point to outside of the shape
and make "Divide everything under"
Easy for the fill-only shapes, but will get a bit more complicated if I use strokes...
Other tips are also welcomed..

Calling actions and release compound path (CS4)

Is there any way to call an action using Illustrator script?
I can call actions in Photoshop so why is it not working for Illustrator?
Also, how to script 'release compound path' in Illustrator. Usual method not working...
Juz0

Can you NOT just move the compoundPathItem's pathItems to another location before/after? Kind of like this…
#target illustrator
var docRef = app.activeDocument;
with(docRef) {
     with(compoundPathItems[0]) {
          var x = pathItems.length;
          for (var i = x-1; i >= 0; i--) {
               pathItems[i].move(compoundPathItems[0], ElementPlacement.PLACEBEFORE);

How do you smooth from select all (CS4)?

Make a new ps file. Doesn't matter what size. Marquee the whole thing (Select All). Go to the main menu SELECT -> MODIFY -> SMOOTH. It's disabled. Why? I want simply to round the corners of the entire area. "Contract" is disabled also. Neither of those make sense. They should both be possible. I see why "Expand" is disabled. That make sense. Why are "Smooth" and "Contract". How do you get around this?

That's not feathering, it's anti-aliasing which isn't the same thing, feathering is a blurring function while anti-aliasing is an edge smoothing one. When working with Shape Layers there's no Anti-Alias option because you're working with vectors, not pixels.
To get rid of the anti-aliasing after you load the Vector Mask of a Shape Layer as a selection, press Q to enter Quick Mask and apply Image->Adjustments->Threshold. On the other hand, you can set the Rounded Rectangle tool to draw pixels and then disable the Anti-Alias checkbox from the Options bar.

How to cut a hole that is part of a compound path

I have spent many hours using all the tools available in Illustrator CS4 to reshape the hole that is part of a compound path with no success.
The compound path consists of a square with a round hole, I want to for example, cut the round hole in half. Erase, Knife, Pathfinder do not work. I can do it if first release the compound path, cut the round hole, then make compound path again. While this method is easy for this example but not good for very complex drawing, because it would be too time consuming to convert back and forth the compound paths and remembering which holes belong to which compound path. Please help. I am to the point where I am willing to spend money to get a good cutting tool plugin, any reccomendation?

Sure....
Place or Open raster image.
Live trace (whatever settings you like) I'm assuming it's a 1 color trace (line art) and not a photo or color image
Click the "Expand" button in the Control bar
Everything should be selected/highlighted
Click the Merge button on the Pathfinder Panel (3rd from left, bottom row)
*optional -- Choose Object > Ungroup from the menu (Using Pathfinder command creates Groups for some reason. These groups aren't always needed.)
Deselect all (Command-Shift-A or Ctrl-Shift-A or just click somewhere empty to deselect the artwork)
Select the Direct Selection Tool (the white arrow)
Click the center of a "hole" or counter. This will select one of the superfluous white shapes.
Choose Select > Same > Fill & Stroke from the menu. All the extra shapes should highlight.
Hit delete.
You should be left with just black compound paths with no superfluous shapes anywhere. In fact, after this if you Select All, the color panel shoudl show a simple black fill and no stroke. Of course, this somewhat depends upon your Live trace settings.
What this does is merge all black and white shapes into the simplest form and at the same time it cuts through bottom objects with top objects. So if you have a white shape sitting on top of a black shape, it cuts that white shape out of the black. This ensures all the black has the correct compound shape assignments. Sometimes with Live Trace you can get white fill areas and not get the corresponding compound hole below it. Or the compound hole will not be exactly the same shape as the white object sitting on top of it. Using Merge corrects that. Then deleting the white shapes just removes all the unnecessary objects. If you want a color for the compound holes, just draw a rectangle or shape below the black and fill it with any color. All you need to is alter the counters or compound holes now to correct anything. No more double paths.
All these steps are not always necessary. But it's sometimes good practice depending upon what you are tracing. Once you do it once or twice you'll see it's only about a 1-2 minute processes and most of that will be waiting for the Merge command to complete.

Can't release compound path

I drew some simple paths in Photoshop with the pen tool, then exported the paths to Illustrator. All the paths came into illustrator as compound paths, though they look like simple paths in illustrator. Because they are compound paths, I can't join the ends of the paths to the ends of other paths.
Whe I select one of these paths:
Object>Compound Path>Release is greyed out and unavailable.
"Release Compound Shape" in the Pathfinde palette menu is also greyed out and unavailable.
Is there any way to make these paths back into simple paths without redrawing them?
I'm using CS6 versions of both Photoshop and Illustrator.

Okay, here's the screen shot.

CS4 Select all compound paths?

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