Illustrator- "zeroing" pen tool shortcut?

Hello,
Ive had a look around and cant seen to find an answer. In Illustration CS3 is there a keyboard shortcut to "Zero" and anchor point when useing the pen tool. instead of going back and clicking on the anchor point to contunue at a different sharp angle?
Thanks
Jay

Use the Option(Alt) key

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Pen tool shortcut request

The new way shape layers work is great. Good improvments to the vector tools in photoshop. Could the pen tool gain the shortcut in illustrator that allows you to tweek the placement of a point just after clicking (before click up) by holding space bar? I find this subtle feature very useful when traceing over raster work. It saves time by letting you place the point right the first time and not needing to hotkey back and forth between direct select and pen. Thanks for you time.

Yes, that would be handy, wouldn't it. I'll add that to the wish list...
Thanks
Pattie

Pen Tool Shortcut Acrobat 8.0 Pro ???

Hello,
We have bought tablet for company to use pencil. We use some shortcut but
the principal that we want to use is the pen tool and I think that it doesn't
exist. We use Acrobat 8.0 Profesional. What I want to have is to set 3 differents
pencils, a red, a yellow and a green one. Can you help me on this.
Than You

To use Acrobat with the Tablet PC you'll need a plug-in such as the one detailed in the following blog entry.

Illustrator: Using pen tool or brush tool?

Hello,
I'd like to trace my pencil sketch in Illustrator, or inking. Some tuts advice to use a pen tool but some tuts recommend to use a brush tool - which one I should use and why? I think using the pen tool is very slow way to trace (It's taking hours!) but I need advice to set the brush tool settings working like I would use a pen on paper. A line of brush tool leaves too thin ending or too rounded etc.
If someone could help me and tell, I'd be very happy for that. Thank you.

Tsuya,
I think using the pen tool is very slow way to trace (It's taking hours!)
I think it's very slow way to do that
Three things that may speed up tracing are practice, knowing where to place the Anchor Points and how long to drag out Handles (both of which may be built up through try and fail, sorry practising), and a special cheat.
The special cheat consists of pressing the Spacebar to lock the Handles and move the current Anchor Point about. You can switch back and forth quickly and make the crucial mutual adjustment of position and shape while tracing.
It is worth really working on where to place the Anchor Points; you may be surprised so trying beyond what would seem likely is important.

HELP! Illustrator CS2 pen tool problems

Hi, All
new to the forum...great resource...
I'm having a problem with my CS 2. Specifically my tools are acting weird..
The pen tool will not allow me to place points where I want them, or adjust the handles with any finesse. When I go to place a point in a certain spot, and click the mouse, a point appears nearby but not where I want it to. Then, when I try to move it, or adjust its handles, it only will go where it wants to...not where I'm telling it to go.
I can select objects, but cannot place them where I want them!!!! ( I can get close, but no cigar!)
This is most frustrating!....
I have re-installed the program.
I have also restarted the computer.
I have not trashed my preferences folder....not sure where that is or if that might be the problem.
Can any of you guys (and gals) help?!?
many thanks in advance
JP

DUH!
Thanks very much JET.....that was exactly it.....though how it got turned on, I dont know....(couldnt have been anything I did!!!) lol
JP

Illustrator Cs2 Pen tool not working.. Help!!

So I downloaded Ai cs2 the other day. Whenever I come to drawing polygons with the pen tool I set the fill to a colour and the stroke to none(/) just so i can produce block colour shapes without an outline. However When ive come to do it on cs2 the pen tool only lets me draw thin black lines... What am I doing wrong??

THat's outline view.
If you turn on preview mode, you should see that shape.
But since it's not selected and the layer in the layer panel is closed, it's impossible to analyze this further.

Pen Tool Path Prediction Missing (Show Edges doesn't fix it)

Hi all,
I just encountered a problem with Illustrator's pen tool that I don't know how to fix. As I am drawing a path, the path prediction is missing. Normally the path connects from your last point to your cursor and you can calculate where you want to place your next point.
Show edges does not solve the problem. Show edges is currently activated and the path prediction isn't visible.
Does anyone know how to fix this? A Google search didn't do me any good.
Thanks,
J

Monika Gause, Thanks for the suggestion. I am however on CC and do not see an option for rubberband. Any other ideas? This problem slows my work flow down drastically and is incredibly frustrating.

Pen Tool vs Tablet

I've been using Photoshop for a long time, but I'm new to Illustrator and Flash. I feel like I should learn how to use Illustrator before I tackle Flash, but one of the biggest obstacles is the pen tool - what a pain in the butt!
An art school student told me I can simply substitute an electronic drawing device (e.g. a Wacom tablet) for the pen tool. Is that true, or would using such a device carry some sort of liability?
If a drawing tablet is a good way to go, what size should I get? I'm not yet familiar with various brands, but the Wacom/Intuos appears to be most popular. However, it's very expensive, and I don't have a clue what size to get. I assume a 9 X 12 device would be the best choice if I wanted to trace a picture measuring 9 X 12 inches. But could I instead get a tablet half that size, copy half the picture, then copy the other half and paste the two halves together in illustrator?
To put it another way, what size is most popular with web design professionals?
Thanks.

Mordy, Doug:
David is confusing AI's Pen Tool with a stylus, due to the bad advice he received from some dolt who impied to him that one is a substitute for the other.
David,
I'll try again:
Forget all about whether any given user likes or doesn't like stylus pointing devices.
Historically and currently, in vector drawing programs like Illustrator the primary drawing "tool" (feature of the software) is generically called the "pen tool". Specific programs may call it the "Bezier Tool" or something else, but it's long been the primary interface element for accurately drawing Bezier paths. In short, the Pen Tool is the heart-and-soul of a vector drawing program. You need to use it, regardless of what kind of hardware you are using for your computer's input device.
Ever since stylus input devices first appeared with so-called pressure-sensitive features, various programs have provided additional and/or modified software features to take advantage of it.
That started in raster (paint) programs, which added the ability for the width of their "paintbrush" features to be controlled by the pressure input of a stylus.
Later, vector (draw) programs started doing something similar, adding features which involved closed paths being drawn with varying "widths." Those are usually called "brush" features. Other vector features can also be modified to allow some of their settings to be modified on-the-fly by the pressure button of a stylus. Examples of that include some of the settings when using Symbols, or a "brush" tool like Illustrator's recently-added Blob, etc.
But none of that pressure-sensitive stuff changes the fact that the software pen tool is still the
primary tool for drawing accurate Bezier curves, point-by-point. And the pen tool doesn't have any pressure-sensitive or stylus-targeted features, because the whole purpose of the pen tool is to draw paths deliberately, accurately, and economically, point-by-point.
So you can
use a stylus while using the Pen Tool (software) in Illustrator, just as you can use a mouse while using the Pen Tool in Illustrator. Either way, you still need to learn to use the Pen Tool, because it is still the heart-and-soul of every mainstream vector drawing program, including Illustrator.
So the art school student who led you to believe that using a stylus input device somehow obviates the need to learn and to use Illustrator's Pen Tool has given you a
very wrong impression.
All the praise or criticism of stylus input devices in the world doesn't change that. Drawing paths point-by-point is the
primary way to use vector drawing programs. That means using the Pen Tool, and that means using it whether the object in your hand is a stylus or a mouse.
So get yourself a Wacom 6x9 Intuos tablet because that's the only way you're going to find out if you like using a stylus. You may love it so much that you never touch a mouse again. Or, it may end up just collecting dust until you get over the thought of throwing away (or giving away) somethning you spent a significant chunk of change on. But regardless, get busy learning Illustrator's Pen Tool, because you're going to need it either way.
JET

What happened to the 'Shape Mode' shortcut keys on the Pen Tool?

For the longest time I've used both the Shape and Pen Tools for drawing vectors in Photoshop, but with CS6 I noticed a lot of weird behaviours. The one that is really getting to me is the lack of 'Shape Mode' shortcut keys when using the Pen Tool. When on the 'Shape Tool', fo example Cirle or Rectange, you can press the Shift to change the Shape Mode to 'Add', Alt to change it to 'Subtract' or both together to get 'Intersect'. This functionality used to exist on the Pen Tool too, but in CS6 I can't seem to get it working.
A collegue suggested to move over to Illustrator for all my Vector needs, and I know that this a good advice. However the lack of quick/integrated changing between 'Shape Modes' in either product (now) makes drawing things alot slower (for me).
Am I missing something, or is this feature now ommited in Photoshop CS6. If it is does anyone know if its possible to script something to allow this kind of behviour in Photoshop or Illustrator?
cheers,
Jon

The modifier keys "Alt|Opt", "Ctrl|Cmd" and "Shift" work differently depending on the tool being used but the individual keys seem to provide somewhat related functions.
For example the "Shift" key tends to be a constraining key Rectangle tools are constrained to square ellipse tools to Circles. However if there is an Active selection when you hold down the skey when you drag out a new selection it does not reset the current selection instead the new selection is not constrained and is added to the current selection. Shift constrains Transform tool to current aspect ratio, Shift constrains Line tools to vertical, horizontal or 45 degree angles. Pen tool like line tool shift constrains the angle.
The "Alt|Opt" key changes the way tools operate. Transforms are from the center not from the side or corner being dragged. Selection tools like the rectangle and ellipse will cause the intal drag out be from the center however it there is a Active selection dragging out a new selection will be subtracted from the current selection. This key changes the Pen tool from draw mode to anchor point adjusting.
The "Shift" and "Alt|Opt" modifier keys can be used together to have an operation be both constrain and from the center.
The "Ctrl|Cmd" key seems to change the way a tool works on a control anchor point. The Pen Tool changes from Pen Draw mode to Direct Selection tool to facilitate moving the point. Transform can be distorted a single corner point can be moved and distort the rectangle bounding box.
These keys may have other functions I don't know about. Photoshop has many features so many I don't know if any one person know and uses all of them. For the rest of us they seem to be Photoshop hidden secrets.

Pen Tools in Illustrator has changed

A program should make it easier to work with after every upgrade. In Illustrator it is every time when we buy an upgrade that it is getting more difficult to work with the program. This time they changed the pen tool. In CS2 we could use a short cut to change the pen tools to add anchor point or to switch between the different pen tools, staying in the standard pen tool. Now every time we have to go back to the menu to change the tool. It adds only an incredible amount of time to work with the program. Why did they change this?

Larry he did not have the keyboard shortcuts that check box does not effect the command keys, the option key or the - or = key. I read what he wrote very carefully you and James did not read it carefully.
If he wrote that when he hoover the pen tool over a path or anchor he did not get the plus or minus anchor point tool I would have responded as you and James suggested.
It was my first thought as well but that was not what Paul wrote. Is that OK?
Paul
In the preferences under general there is a option to shut off auto add or minus anchor points it is labeled as Disable Auto Add/Delete. It will not give you the pen tool with the - or + sign if you hoover over a path or anchor point but does not effect the keyboard shortcuts.
Don't worry about this they are just trying to show me up because they have a thing with life.

Pen tool that behaves more like in Illustrator

I'd like the pen tool to behave more like in Illustrator - mainly where you can click on
points to make them lose half of a handle, rather than having to go get the convert tool and click on the point.

In Photoshop you never have to actually choose the Convert Point tool at all, its best reached with these shortcuts.
• When using the Pen, the Alt key will change to the Convert Point tool, as C.Pfaffer… has said. Needs to be over the endpoints, or path points.
• When using the Pen, the command (cntrl) key , will bring up the Direct Selection tool. These two shortcuts mean that with a single tool you can make and reshape paths in any way, no switching tools necessary. A much better, and quicker to use system, than Illustrators more cumbersome system in my opinion.
• With the Direct Selection Tool (A key), Option > Command (cntrl) at the same time will also bring up the Convert Point tool. This means that the reshaping existing paths is also easier in Photoshop.
For people who are so ingrained into Illustrator's way of doing these things, I think it would be possible to have a Preference to use "Illustrators Pen Tool" - this is a valid Feature Request and this has been suggested before.

It's simple... I want the Illustrator pen tool to ALWAYS make corner annchor points and NEVER smooth. Right now I have to convert every single one of them, or I have to do a work around every time I draw a line and make one of the handles disappear. Is

It's simple... I want the Illustrator pen tool to ALWAYS make corner annchor points and NEVER smooth. Right now I have to convert every single one of them, or I have to do a work around every time I draw a line and make one of the handles disappear. Is there some simple setting out there that will just "make it so?"@

The video I am watching this guy is just dragging every line to make curves. And every anchor point is a corner. He is not switching back and forth between the pen and the anchor points tool, and he is not using the convert points tool. He draws a curved line and starts another straight line only to curve it with a click and a drag. It is super efficient, and I could save a world of time if I could figure out what he is doing.

How to use pen tool in Adobe and Illustrator?

How to use pen tool in Adobe and Illustrator?

With the pen tool in Indesign, is there a way of making the points not join if you want to make a few single lines?

[PHOTO] How do you do these shapes using only Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator?

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss89/Littlesteph06/Shapes1_zpsde75df36.jpg
I'm only allow to use PEN TOOL. No shapes or anything else.
Please teach me? I'm not very good. Hope you guys can help me.
The no.1 I have done. The no.9 just leave it or if possible to teach online, then please
Just teach me any one you know ^^ I'm happy to learn!
Step by step please. Explain in easy way. I'm below a beginner ><
Bare with me~
Thanks in advance.

Use the online help:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/illustrator/cs/using/WS3f28b00cc50711d9-2cf89fa2133b344d448-80 00.html#WS55B8A5DC-5496-494d-ADA8-FFE0FA5DAEA1

How do I turn off the alt scroll zoom? When I'm in Adobe photoshop and illustrator using the pen tool, alt is utilized for another short cut. I would like to use the alt command for the pen tool instead of zooming into the screen.

How do I turn off the alt scroll zoom?
When I'm in Adobe photoshop and illustrator using the pen tool, alt is utilized for another short cut. I would like to use the alt command for the pen tool instead of zooming into the screen.

I tend to select things from left to right and every time I am moving in a downward right diagonal motion during lasso selection I am missing a clear view and I am tending to have a more sloppy selection. All this does is slow me down since I need to go back and hit those areas again. The big arrowhead just get's in the way. The original lasso tool with the thin line and small active point at it's lower left was far better for me.
I don't like turning the cursors to precise because I like to see the active tool icon where my cursor is and as the icon changes as I hold modifier keys down. If I am forced to get comfortable with using pricise cursors I guess I will, but man, I've never had to do this in my 15 years of photoshop use...
I would absolutely LOVE to find a way to get the old lasso icon -- without the arrowhead above it.
Is there any chance this option could be inlcuded in cursor preferences? I'd give much thanks, Adobe.

Illustrator- "zeroing" pen tool shortcut?

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