Edit compound path question

Good afternoon everyone,
First of all let me state that I am a complete novice with Illustrator. Ok now that we have that out of the way I have a logo that I had created for me that I would like to edit one small portion of. Basically in the middle of the logo is the word/text "EDCpen" (I belive the text is made up from compund paths).
I would like to edit it FROM "EDCpen" TO "EDCpin" however cannot get it to work. I am sure that I am doing everything wrong, however cannot seem to make this what I belive to be simple change. No doubt it is more difficult to do in reality than I think it is in my mind.
Attached is a sample of the logo in jpg format. I have the file in both .ai and .eps formats.
Any help would be appreciated. If it matters I am using AI CC.
Cheers.
-Kris

Here's an example
1. with the Type tool, Serpentine font selected, and an easy to distinguish color, click at the bottom left corner as marked with the yellow and type EDCpin. Then select the text as object (Esc key will do this when using the type tool) and either press Shift + Ctrl +> keys or drag the bounding box manipulator holding Shift until the height of the new text matches the old.
2. Then hold Alt and press the right arrow on your keyboard to increase the letter spacing until it fills the space nicely. You can click with the type tool between letters and use this hotkey combination to change the letter spacing (kerning) only between two letters.
3. Remove or hide the objects behind
4. Using the appearance and stroke panels add two strokes and a white fill as shown to get a white outline around the text that will be used for replacing the original white line above.
5. On a copy behind the text, outline the font, expand the appearance, from the objects produced from the expanding delete the others but keep only the two outer paths, and use the pathfinder minus front to get a path for the white line. Then you can use the Eraser tool while holding Alt to make it with rectangular selection to cut the unwanted portions from the line.
click the image to see it larger
For the colored logo, as I suggested earlier, you can replace the old objects with the new, but first drag the gradient object in the style panel to save its appearance. Then you can create a new gradient object using the same style with the help of the Shape Builder tool when the line and the frame are selected.

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Compound Path Question

Aside from using them to cut holes in shapes, are there any other reasons to create a compound path? They seem to be similar to a grouping paths so I just wondered.

Thanks for the reference to the manual. Made things much clearer.
I saw in the manual that you can move items inside a compound path so I tried it and found something interesting: I drew 2 rectangles, one inside the other. If you use the Group Selection tool, you can move the inner rectangle around by grabbing it by it's side or corner anchor point. If you use the Direct Selection tool, you can move it by clicking in the exact center and after that (as long as it's still selected) you can click by it's side or corner anchor point and move it. If you don't click the center first, then the Direct Selection tool will just move a side or an anchor point but not the rectangle. If that isn't interesting enough, if you are using the Direct Selection tool and hold down the Option key, the cursor changes to the Group Selection tool but if you try to grab the inner rectangle and move it, you will duplicate it instead??

Compound path with multiple shapes question

Sorry, I have read the answers on this board but its just not working for me.
If you can imagine a film reel. I have a large circle with 5 circles within. I simply cannot get it to do what I want, which is the five circles within to 'punch through' the base circle.
I have the base circle at the back, and selected all to creat compound path, this just causes the fronter most circle to punch through, turning the other four circles the same colour as the back ground circles.
Have played with the path finders etc and not getting to a resolution. I gave up and purchased the vector on vectorstock, this one works perfectly and as far as I can work out mine is give or take identical, so why is the compound path not taking?
Illustrator CC latest and macbook retina with 10.10

just to be clear, you start off with this (orange circle behind, all objects separate):
and then you select all, hit ctrl+8 or Make Compound path or whatever, and you end up with something other than this?

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Help with linked files/ compound paths please

Hi - I am working with an illustrator file from another designer which has a compound path with linked files - when you link a new file the image is automatically resized and clipped to the path. I am able to edit it but i want to make my own from scratch and can't figure it out. I'm working with Illustrator CS6. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi Steve - thanks for the reply - my question was a bit vague as I wasn't entirely sure what I was working with but I think your point about the new linked image scaling to the same size as the existing file has helped me understand it a bit more. What I want to know how to do is to make an entirely new file with a clipping mask that I then link an image to. I made a file with a clipping mask on the page and then chose file>place but the image I import is not being clipped (I ticked the link option when importing it) I see it working with the existing file I'm working with but I need to know how to make a new one myself.
If this makes it clearer here's what I want to do ...
I am making a banner, I have 3 flat jpegs of t-shirts that I want to place on the banner without their white background. I made a clipping mask the same shape as the outline of the t-shirt and now I want to import the jpeg so it is a linked file and is clipped by the clipping mask and so I can use it in future to import different t-shirt image in without scaling and clipping them each time.
REally appreciate your help, thanks.

Making a clipping group with a compound path

So, as of today I'm new to scripting for Illustrator, I'm using the ExtendScript Toolkit. However I'm not new to scripting my own solutions and I do have some experience with JavaScript already.
What I'm trying to do is this: For all selected Items->Duplicate selected item and make a simple clipping group with it
What I end up with visually doesn't change the picture, but gives me a lot of clipped colored areas which I then can edit in the isolated mode, allowing me far faster and better shading. Doing that by hand takes hours on some pictures, it'd take a second with a script.
The script itself already perfectly works for normal PathItems. As obvious in the title, as soon as I have to apply the same to CompundPathItems things stop working. My issue is somewhat similar to this old thread [Problem with compound path clipping], but I couldn't find a solution there because I get different behavior.
When I run the very same script that perfectly works with the normal PathItems with CompoundPathItems I get this: Error 9046: The top item in the group must be a path item to create a mask
Well that's a problem. In the GUI there is absolutely no difference between making a clipping mask with a simple path and a compound path. The reference guide has frankly not helped me with this issue at all, the only thing I learned from that is that the CompoundPathItem object doesn't have a clipping attribute, but those included PathItems do.
Here's what I have so far:
if ( selected[i].typename == "PathItem" ) {
var newGroup = doc.groupItems.add();
copy = selected[i].duplicate(newGroup,ElementPlacement.PLACEATEND);
selected[i].moveToBeginning(newGroup);
newGroup.clipped = true;
As I said, this part perfectly does what it's supposed to do for normal Paths.
For CompoundPaths I use this workaround.
if ( selected[i].typename == "CompoundPathItem" ) {
var newGroup = doc.groupItems.add();
copy = selected[i].duplicate(newGroup,ElementPlacement.PLACEATEND);
selected[i].moveToBeginning(newGroup);
compoundItems = selected[i].pathItems;
compoundIndex = compoundItems.length;
for ( f = 0; f < compoundIndex; f++ ) {compoundItems[f].clipping=true;}
var lineList = new Array(10);
for ( l = 0; l < lineList.length; l++ ) {lineList[l] = new Array( i * 10 + 50, ((i - 5) ^ 2) * 5 +50);}
newPath = app.activeDocument.pathItems.add();
newPath.setEntirePath(lineList);
newPath.moveToBeginning(newGroup);
newGroup.clipped = true;
newPath.remove();
Mind you, this workaround does work in so far that it bypasses that annoying and wrong error, and the Compound Clipping Path also works, with the only problem being that the Compound Clipping Path created like this is still displayed in its original colors in the Layers section, and is still selectable. When I lock the Compound Clipping Path I can work with it but still...
So the question is, what am I missing here? Surely there must be a proper way to do this.

app.executeMenuCommand()? That one eluded me so far, might be just the right thing. I'll definitely take a look, now just to find a ref on that, as unfortunately the official ref documents I have don't mention that command. Any place with a list of possible commands?
Ah, also of course I'm not only doing it for the isolation mode. If you care to hear the background, here is it:
As I said it's for shading the pictures I'm working on. I've iterated and tried through a bunch of techniques. For example gradient meshes on my first few real works. Now those meshes don't do well with complex shapes, which previously I alleviated by using a simple square or rectangle gradient mesh and using the original colored shape as a clipping mask. That did work, but it was a huge lot of work.
After a bunch of attempts at that I went over to using simple gradients as a background for the shape and then I'm doing the shading freehand with the blob brush tool, using a graphic style and filters to make it look right. That's better, but properly making all the clipping masks takes me much longer than anything else.
Now the problem is that the shading is not supposed to go over the lines, which is impossible to do properly without either messing up the order, or using clipping masks, hence the script. Because you know, if you use a blob brush with a strong Gaussian blur close to the lines you'll end up with stuff on both sides. If you don't start close to the line the shading won't look right if the darkest part of the shade needs to be close to the line. And that's where clipping masks do magic.
And finally here's an example how I work with the script and the result:
After I have traced a sketch, adjusted the line widths and everything to look neat I turn the paths to outline strokes and then make them into a live paint group (which would mess up the line widths, unless you turn the paths into outline strokes first).
With that live paint group it takes me just a few minutes to flat color my piece. Then I expand the live paint group, in case of doubt spend some more minutes to make compound paths from all areas I need to shade in one piece, then I select all the areas and use my script to turn them into neat clipping masks. Then I can click any area, enter the isolation mode and go up one level so I'm in the appropriate group, where I can shade freely without the problem of going over the lines.
At the end that allows me to apply a complex and in-depth shading, without wasting any time to get there.
PS: Well, I just found out that Draw Inside is pretty darn close to what I want to do, and oddly enough it produces the same visual discrepancy with compound paths that my script produces. I'll be taking a closer look at that, though my script does a little more than just the clipping mask stuff, so maybe I'll go for a hybrid solution. Whatever makes for a better workflow.

Compound path and live fill problem

Hello experts
I really hope you can help me out with this one. I'm all new to Illustrator and have tried to find the answer to my question but without luck, so you are my last way out
I'm currently working on a logo of a football which I have drawn with the line segment tool. A football is made of pentagons and hexagons, and I want all the pentagons to have a color fill. For that I have used the live paint bucket. But if I apply an effect such as a gradient it is applied to each segment as many seperates. I then read that you could use compound path and that works with my lines but not with the live fill. Is there a work around for my problem or do you have any smart suggestions of what I could do ?
Thanks for your help in advance
Kind regards
Christopher

A few questions:
What AI version?
By "Live Fill" are you refering to "Live Paint"?
CS 6 lets you fill a stroke with a gradient. That may be what you used here.
Congratulations learning about "compound paths" on you own. That's a step in the right direction.
You can control a gradient fill across multiple objects by using the "Gradient Annotator" (under "View" or "G"). This allows you to set a gradient start and end point by dragging across your selected artwork. You can also edit the gradient sliders directly on the annotator.
If you ARE using "Live Paint", you can use the "Live Paint Selection Tool" (hidden under the Live Paint Bucket tool, or "Shift-L"), to select multiple Live Paint segments, then drag the annotator across all segments. The annotator is hidden when used with Live Paint (at least in AICS5).
I hope these tips are helpful.
Ray

Help needed to make a compound path of text in rectangle

Hello, I hope some one will really solve my problem.
Im trying to make a compound path (text inside a rectangle). I had done this previously with success but now the whole shape and text is showing same color. Although text should be transparent! And now due to the similarity in colors i cannot see any font.
I don't know why this is happening?
I made outlines of text, ungrouped it, released their compound paths, placed all fonts and rectangle in seperated layer and then made it a compound path.
Please let me know if im following all the steps.
Also, please forgive my bad English as im not native.

adobied,
As you know now, Larry answered the Compound question while you were still typing.
We do have quite a few cross postings in this busy forum, especially at this time of day with natives present both over there and over here.
You can use Opacity Masks for a whole range of purposes, and they can act as (inverted) Clipping Masks, and also for partial/varying transparency.
In this case, the suggested use corresponds to an inverted Clipping Mask.
I quite understand your wish to have the Compound under control, and I believe that is sorted with the advice from Larry.

Can someone explain to me what are the benefits of compound path when it comes to text? I can understand one or two lines but a whole paragraph?

Every year we do a fundraiser to help my job, but my co-worker is getting frustrated. We receive outside files laid out in Illustrator, but the person who does the file sets all of the text using compound path. These aren't one or two lines of text to be manipulated but whole paragraphs of text. This person does this every year, and it is time consuming if my co-worker can't manipulate a paragraph without going to each individual layer that has a letter. Is there a way to make these compound paths merge as one without altering the document i.e. make some element disappear. Any kind of help is appreciated.

ikaika,
As I (mis)understand it, you should simply ask this outside person to keep all text as Live Type, using a font that you have on your machines (in the exact same version) so there will be no font substitution issue(s).
That way, you could get the job done without silly waste of time.
Failing to comply would seem quite uncooperative.
I presume there is no copyright question onvolved in this.

Illustrator CC Compound Path backward compatibility issues

I have a file created in CS6, it contains compound paths, it will not open correctly in CC. I have saved it as .eps, and down to illustrator 10 with no success on CC. CC drops many of the paths, and creates bizarre transparencies that do not exist in the original file. I need to share this file (and many others like it) with colleagues who are on CC... but cannot figure out what is going on. Any suggestions are welcome as I've hit a wall here... I've never seen anything like it.
Links to the files in question:
Saved to v10: Dropbox - badconversion_AI10.ai
Saved to EPS from CS6 Dropbox - badconversion.eps
Thanks.

When opening your CS6 file in CC it looks like this:
The EPS looks like this:
The Ai 10 looks like this:
Since I don't know how it should look, I can't know what went wrong.
Usually if you just hand them the CS6 file it should cause the least problems. Converting it to EPS or Ai10 makes no sense at all when all the other people use Illustrator CC.

[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..

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...

Compound Path and peeking white lines

I'd appreciate a fast response to this if its possible as I've got to send it to print very soon!
I'm trying to create a compound path in order to mask off some bits and create letters, but there seems to be some kind of overlap and its leaving a white line where there shouldn't be one. Its all set up to snap-to and both shapes are perfectly in line, but its still leaving this white border.
The top of each letter is basically just 2 semi circles, the diameter being where the white line is. Hopefully the lines are still visible on low-res monitors...
Does anyone know how to get rid of this line or if it will even print?
Cheers
Adam

Cheers for that, I blew the shapes up as big as the entire workspace so that I could overlap them a little bit, and it turns out they weren't even aligned properly... however aligning them completely doesn't work either, I still get a white line.
The problem with deliberately overlapping them is that you end up with a new white shape underneath, basically a bigger version of the line. Unless I'm doing it wrong.
Edit: Just read that, I'll try simplifying the shapes. Its basically made from circles and rectangles, I just hadn't joined them together.

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?

Compound Path to Shape

I have a questions about creating a single shape from a compound path. I have a grid of lines I created using the pen tool, made the stroke 25pt, then went Object-Path- Outline Stroke to make them into shapes. From there I used the pathfinder-Unite to create a compound shape. What I'm trying to do is get all the area within the 25pt stroke outline as a single shape with nothing in between the grid lines I made. Is there a way to accomplish this?

So the layer panel shows this as a "compound shape" (not "compound path") and there are still crossing lines in outline view?
In the pathfinder panel you need to hit "Expand", which will then turn it into a compound path.
You don't need a compound shape to get a hole. A compound path can also create holes.

Edit compound path question

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