Question regarding the pen tool (w/ picture inside)

Hello everyone! I have a question regarding the pen tool. I think this picture is very helpful for my question:
So in this pic is an orange rectangle and within that rectangle is a blue stripe. I would like the blue stripe to be perfectly flush (not over, and not under) the edge of the rectangle. For example, on the bottom end of the blue stripe, you can clearly see that the stripe does not extend far enough to the edge of the orange rectangle. At the top of the stripe, it goes a little bit over (a bit hard to see). I work with some complex shapes when using the pen tool and it is really slowing me down to compensate for over/under shapes. If it could just snap to the borders of other shapes it would make my life a lot easier. Thanks for reading and please help!

A couple of thoughts come to mind:
1. You could create the shape "face on", using guides, and the points will snap to guides with snap enabled. Then you could transform the whole thing together by selecting all the shape layers.
2. Holding down the shift key while dragging a point seems to cause it to snap to some things under some conditions. However, on having just tried to recreate what you're showing I didn't see the proper snap happening sometimes.
3. There's the full manual approach, of course where you zoom into thousands of percent and move the points by hand manually. I assume this is what you're trying to avoid.
-Noel

Similar Messages

Newbie question: Using the pen tool

Hi, I drew a shape with the pen tool in Flash CS4. When I double click on the line it highlights the entire shape, but I can't fill for some reason. If I single click, only part of the line is highlighted (before it changes angle). How can I get this line to connect as a shape to invoke fill on it?
Thanks, Mike

also check out the "close large gaps" option when using the paintbucket tool
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-close-large-gaps-fill-color-adobe-flash-cs4-305979/

Using the pen tool question

How do I stop the pen tool from wanting to add to paths under what I'm trying to draw when it touches another anchor point?

Ridiculous as it is, in Illustrator you are actually supposed to:
1. Mousedown some distance away from where you want the new path to begin (away from the endpoint of the unselected pre-existing path).
2. Press and hold the Spacebar.
3. Drag to where you want the new path to begin. Mouseup. (The point will be placed without the infernal auto-join behavior.)
4. Release the Spacebar.
The Pen has no business affecting unselected paths by default. It violates the entire meaning of selection. Worst-of-class Bezier drawing interface.
JET

I am using CS6 and when I use the pen tool, it deletes the inside image not the outside image

I have been using photoshop cs5 and cs6 for a while but I have never encountered this problem. Whenever I use the pen tool to trace an object and I close the traced object, it deletes the object i traced and not the background. It is really anoying and I cant change it. I have spentt a fair amount of time trying to change it but i dont know how. Can someone please help I have also looked online but there is nothin to help.
Thankyou Alex

Hi,
It's probably the path operations setting.
The default setting in photoshop cs6 is Exclude Overlapping Shapes and you could also use Combine Shapes.

Pen tool: Resize image inside a layer/ stop pen outline / white space after crop

I have 3 noob questions all related to the pen tool.
1. Whenever I use the pen to outline something and drag the image to another psd file I see a grey pen outline around the image.
ex. http://screencast.com/t/GmKWAr5UH
2. Whenever I outline with the pen and then select inverse and then delete the background, the background becomes white. I want to drag my outline into my new file but without a white background. it should be transparent so it appears like a collage.
ex. http://screencast.com/t/Rh4Uvq4xBM
3. how do I select an image inside a layer to resize it. Nothing I do creates handles around the image isnide the layer.

Theres some basic stuff you are not understanding…
1. In Photoshop there is the pen tool for creating abstract vector edges, and selection tools (lasso, magic wand etc). You need to turn the results of the pen tool into a selection. Best way is using the the Command/return shortcut, or command clicking on the path in the paths panel.
2 layers need to be , not - If you want to delete areas (make them transparent). To do this either go to Layer/New/Layer from background - or hold Option and double click the Background layer.
3 See answer 2, and use Free Transform (command T)

Using the pen tool, how best should I build or construct this image?

Hello,
I'm trying to recreate a certain image with the pen tool.
I have already tried using Live Trace using the "Simple Trace" setting. Live Trace did a pretty good job but not with enough accuracy or fidelity to the original image as I would like.
I am pretty rusty with Illustrator now, but I remember from past lessons that the basic idea is that artwork in Illustrator is divided into layers, objects, and elements within objects. But one of the biggest principles with Ilustrator is the order these layers, objects, and elements are stacked. Elements are stacked to create an object. Objects are often stacked, each object on its own layer, to create the entire piece of artwork.
Also, the lower an element, object, or layer is in a stacking order, the further towards the back it appears in the image.
Also, the higher an element, object, or layer is in a stacking order, the closer to the front it appears in the image.
So, in Illustrator, you don't so much draw or paint a piece of artwork, but, instead, creating artwork in Illustrator is more a matter of building it or constructing it.
So, with all that said, below I have an object I would like to create with the pen tool. It is a fleuron. It is at least fairly complex.I am not sure how to build it or construct its parts. What would come first, second, third? What would be on the bottom layer, middle layer, top layer, etc.?
I know there is no one way to reproduce this object with the pen tool. Whatever way you would use or would like to share is fine. I guess, more specifically, I'm not afraid of rigor and working hard, but I'm also not necessarily looking for rigor. Instead, what I am looking to do is work smartly and efficiently. I'm looking for what might commonly be considered "best practice."
So, how would you advise I approach the object below? How should I build or construct it?
Thanks! : )

As for the simple graphic itself, this is what I would end up with:
One Group containing:
One red-filled, unstroked Compound Path consisting of three subpaths.
One white-filled, unstroked Compound Path consisting of 18 subpaths.
The reason I would compound the red paths and the white paths is simply so I could apply to them different fills with one move, should I want to.
The reason the two Compund Paths would be grouped is simply so the whole graphic can, when finished, be moved, rotated, scaled, flipped, skewed (i.e.; transformed) as if it were a single object. (Which it would be; a Group is a logical object, just as a "set" is a logical object.)
As for how I would actaully draw the graphic:
First I would roughly evaluate it to get an idea of what I want to end up with in terms of clean, tidy, paths (as already describe above.)
Second, I mentally devise a "plan of attack" by which to achieve that; just studying the shapes a little more deeply for anything that can be exploited to minimize the work:
Are there any repetitive elements of the shape that can be accomplished by duplication, moving, scaling?
Is there any symmetry that can be accomplished by duplication and flopping?
Is there any simple geometry that can be accomplished with basic shape prmitives (whole or partial ellipses, rectangles, polygons)?
Third, I always try to also consider whether the process of drawing the current graphic and/or portions of it might be of future use to me, and if so, can I exploit other software features to save me time and effort later. For example, consider a single one of the ess-shaped "coils" of the middle tapered "spiral" grouped together with its white highlight. Such a graphic, colored in black and white and stored as an ArtBrush with its Colorization set to Hues & Tints would let me stretch and scale that basic shape along other-shaped paths. Similarly stored as a PatternBrush, it might do multi-duty for many things suggestive of coils, like rope or jewelry chains.
Then I just start drawing the necessary paths, using my default Graphic Style (.25 black stroke, no fill). As I proceed, I store (as Brushes, Symbols, etc.) any intermediate things that I think I might find useful later. For the graphic at hand, I then optimize the paths I've drawn by combining them (cutting, joining, path operations) into the fewest, cleanest, and simplest paths necessary to define the shapes. I then store the finished graphic as a Symbol, Brush, etc. if I think it might be of use later.
Regarding Layers, Groups, etc., etc:
It sounds like you (like many beginning AI users) are way over-thinking the matter of stacking order. Yes, it's good to use some sensible amount of organization as your illustrations and designs become more elaborate, but you don't have to fret so much over it. The principles are very very simply.
Layer really don't even enter into my mind when creating such a graphic, because the paths of which it consists are all going to be grouped, and all the contents of a Group have to exist on the same Layer anyway. Multiple Layers would only come into play when this whole graphic is used as one element in the overall page layout. For example, suppose several instances of this object will exist on a page layout to serve as dividers between ads or stories arranged in columns in a page layout. I may choose--if it makes organizational sense to me--to put all the copies of this object on a Layer dedicated to them. The Layer on which they reside may or may not include other graphics; it's just a question of what makes organizational sense and editing convenience to me while I'm working the file. For example, having the copies of this graphic on a separate Layer would allow me to lock that Layer to avoid accidently selecting the graphics when I'm editing text objects that I've organized on another Layer.
Don't think of Layers as some oppressive "right or wrong" thing that you have to decide upon at the start of every little thing you draw. It's nothing but an organizational convenience that is driven almost entirely by common sense. The mechanics of it are really very very simple in principle.
Look: Everything you create or import in an Illustrator document is an object. Just like sheets of paper in a tablet, each of those objects (each path, text object, raster image) is going to reside somewhere in the z-order (think front to back) of the document's object stack. You can't do anything to prevent that. It's the way the program works. The file is basically just a list of things that the output device has to draw. Being a list, it has a first object, a second object, and so on. Objects higher in that list are nearer the "front"; objects lower are nearer the "back." Normally, objects in front obscure objects behind them, wherever they "overlap."
Now, considering that what you have is just a list of objects, as that list grows and grows, doesn't it eventually just make sense to be able to "bracket" or "label" contiguous portions (contiguous is key here) of that list for organizational and manipulative purposes? That's all Groups and Layers are; brackets around sections of the list.
Consider that an Illustrator file (like most computer files you create) is really just a text file. So suppose you have written a technical manual in a word processing program. Would you write that manual as one big, honkin' text string, or would you "bunch together" contiguous portions of the story under some labeling scheme of subheads? After that, wouldn't you similarly "bunch together" contiguous subhead sections as chapters?
So you can think of Groups as "subheads," and Layers as "chapters" in your Illustrator document's list of objects.
Sure; if you're working on a page layout document, sometimes it makes sense to go ahead and set up some of this structure at the start (just as when writing a book, it makes sense to start with an outline). So you might go ahead and define a Layer for printer marks, another for the diecut, another for text, another for images, another for background fills.
The very next designer might decide to structure the very same project a little differently. He might, for example, decide there's no reason not to keep the text objects on the same layer with the raster images. There's no hard & fast right & wrong her. You do what makes sense for the project at hand.
Now in this context, back to your simple graphic: I don't need a PrinterMarks Layer, a DieCut Layer, or a TextObjects Layer to draw this graphic. I just need the default Layer 1. For convenience, I may want to add a TraceThisStuff Layer onto which I put the original raster image, just so I can conveniently isolate it (lock it, dim it, etc.) while drawing the paths on Layer 1. On the other hand, I can really just as easily leave the raster image that I want to trace on Layer 1 and reduce its opacity and lock/unlock it at the object level. It's up to me.
But for that matter, revisit my "third level" of evaluation described above. In reality, I would very likely not even start drawing this graphic in the document for which it is intended. I would just as likely open an existing JET_Dingbats.ai or a JET_Ornaments.ai or CustomerName_StyleGraphics.ai file or template, draw the graphic there and when done, just copy it and paste it into the current document file. That's how you, over time, build yourself a reasonably organized "personal library" of re-usable resources that save you countless hours of repetitive work in the future.
JET

Using the Pen tool to cut out shapes?

Hi fols, I am looking to make a stop frame animation, based on politics
and I plan on doing this all in Adobe Photoshop (i.e move the objects then file save etc t
hen sticking it all into imovie) what I was wondering is in order to cut out pictures of say politicians heads, I have tried using the brush tool to draw all the way around the head and then magic eraser to the background but do you think there would be an easier way to do this via the pen tool?
Regards
Davey

I think you'll find this tutorial useful.
http://is.gd/A90Q5t

Why is the Pen Tool automatically creating shapes for me?

Hello,
I appreciate your time in reading my question. I was just wondering why the Pen Tool on Adobe InDesign CS6 is creating shapes automatically for me. Which is not allowing em to finish what I was was wanting to create?
Here is a 15 second video of what I mean: IMG_0506.MOV - Google Drive
I would really appreciate any help you could give me. Have I pressed something wrong?
I look forward to hearing from you soon
Kind Regards
Daniel.

Hi Peter,
I never realized that. I am still a newbie when it comes to InDesign. I really do appreciate your help :-)
Enjoy the rest of your day
Kind Regards,
Daniel.

Help with using the pen tool

I have a few different problems with the pen tool.
1. When using the pen tool I keep finding that the shape I'm doing is slightly overlapping where I've already gone with the pen tool.
If I try and go over that area again the path I've just drawn then jumps and ruins the shape I was creating.
How can I stop this from happening?
2. Also is there a limit to the amount of paths you can create and add text to? I created two paths and typed on them fine but when I added a third path it refused to type. The cursor didn't change to show I could type and if I did click on the path line and try to type jumped to my other path and typed there. All paths were on different layers and none were overlapping, but it is 3 circles inside each other that get smaller if this makes a difference.
How can I type on the third path?
3. When I have done a path and clicked stroke it is only a thin line. How can I make this line thicker?
Thanks.

Ok, the first example would be something like this. Pretending the lines go elsewhere, say I've drawn a path with the pen tool, gone round the bottom box and that then goes round the two lines going down. So if I go down the one on the left side it hits the previous path I did, but to go up the line on the right side I'd need to go across there. But if I make a point where the two lines meet to do this it then throws the line off elsewhere.
I did have snap vector tools on but it does that without it on.
The next one I was creating a car speedometer so it has lines on the outside, dots inside of that and then, where I've done the blue circle, would be the third path where I then write the numbers in. But I can never write on that third path.
And finally, the pen tool and I think it dd have Shape Dynamics set. I've changed a couple of things and it looks a bit better now so I think that should be ok. Thanks
I know I haven't shown the panels but I haven't got any for the first as it won't go right so I deleted what I was doing. And each thing I've done is on a different layer for the speedometer, all just paths created with the circle tool with the text on.

Using the Pen Tool in Flash

I'm in the process of teaching myself the components of the CS4 Design Premium package using the Adobe Classroom in a Book series. I'm currently going through the Flash CIAB and i've started using the pen tool. The task involves creating a wave like design across the stage. Whilst this in itself is simple, the final instruction is to click on the first anchor point to close the shape. In the illustration, the closed shape seems to automatically extend around the stage, however when I click on the first anchor point, the line automatically connects between the two points in a straight line.
Am I doing something wrong? The next step is to fill this area, but with the straight line effect that I am getting, this becomes impossible. I should point out that the instruction states that the pen tool line should extend off the stage. I have done this, but even then on clicking on the first anchor point the shape is closed incorrectly.
If you have any suggestions as to why this may be, I would be greatly appreciative.
Chris

Thanks Ned,
I think I worked out the problem; I think that part of the instruction was missing. When I looked at the picture again, I noticed that there were anchor points around the stage, so I guess that was what I missed. I was simply creating the wavy line across the stage, and then clicking on the first anchor point to close the shape. I resolved the problem by creating three anchor points around the stage and then closing the image by clicking on the first anchor.
Thanks again for your help Ned.
Chris

I have read all the questions regarding the "Can't send photo using iMessage".

I have read all the questions regarding the "Can't send photo using iMessage". I followed everything and check everything that was in it. It's still the same. I am still not able to send a photo. It started happening last week. It was fine before that. There is no error message.
It will try to send but it will get stuck just before it sends
and the red ! will appear with the "Not Delivered" status.
When i tap on the !, it just says "This iMessage was not delived".
No other message or photo is sending as the same time as the photo.
I did reset it, I checked the email address, removed it as well. Turned it off then back on. Signed out and signed back in. Wi-Fi strength is very good. iOS is 6.0.1. I checked for updates, it is up-to-date I also checked a link http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2755. It did not help at all.
What's wrong?!?!?!?!

It is not a matter of reconsidering the decision. There are unsolveable technical problems with trying to run a program such as Firefox on Blackberry OS. We would need Blackberry to distribute a tool similar to Android's NDK to run on Blackberries.

Question regarding the "mcxquery" and "dscl -mcxread" commands:

Question regarding the mcxquery and dscl -mcxread commands:
Does anyone know why the mcxquery and the dscl . -mcxread commands don't show any info about MCX managed login items & printers? The System Profiler's "Managed Client" section does. Id like to see info regarding managed printers and managed login items using the mcx tools. I have Mac users running 10.5.2 with both login items and printers that are pushed out to them via MCX. The System Profiler app shows all of their policies, but the dscl . -mcxread and mcxquery tools dont. Why not?
-D
Message was edited by: Daniel Stranathan
null

How do you "call procedures/functions" without sql code? You need at least the call statement like
{call myProc(?,?,?)}that you wrap into a CallableStatement.
Other than that: when you switch off autocommit, you need to call commit/rollback at the end. Usually, if you don't commit/rollback a non-autocommitted connection, the transaction get's committed/rollbacked when you close the connection - that depends on the JDBC driver. But it's never a good idea to ommit the commit/rollback calls on a non-autocommit connection. Usually you enclose your code in a try/catch block like this:
con.setAutocommit(false);
try {
   con.commit();
} catch (Exception e) {
   con.rollback();
} finally {
    con.setAutocommit(true); //or:
    con.close();
}

Drawing with the Pen tools

This question was posted in response to the following article: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-73a0a.h tml

Correction: same issue -- pen tool drawing shows up only on the digital image on the screen. Not when printed. Well sounded like a good theory.
Problem remains: how to get pen tool drawing, made on photographs, to print.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Drawing with the Pen tools o photographi
Date: Sat, 5 May 2012 20:08:05 +0000
Curt, believe I found the answer:
Create a new blank page, the size of the photograph to be worked on. The blank page is what the pen tool responds to only.
Add the photographic image to the new blank page (same size).
Now you can use the pen tool over the photographic image. When finished drawing, flatten the image with drawing, and print.
Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 21:00:54 -0600
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Drawing with the Pen tools
    Re: Drawing with the Pen tools
    created by Curt Y in Photoshop General Discussion - View the full discussion
Perhaps you are talking about stroking the line?
Set the color and size with brush, then in Path window click on Stroke Path with Brush.
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Using the knife vs. the pen tool to alter paths?

Is there a reason to use the Knife tool to cut up a shape VS. using the Pen tool to add or subtract additional paths?

The Knife tool cuts a single path into two separate paths.
The pen tool adds or removes anchor points to a single path.
There is no direct relation between the two. They both serve completely separate purposes.
Am I just doing your homework or something? These are all questions that could easily be answered by spending 10 Minutes with the application and trying the tools.

Is it possible to change the path color using the pen tool?

I know we were able to in the past but can we now>

Here is a quick step by step on how to draw a path and stroke it with color:
Choose the pen tool to draw a path.
Draw your path. Below, you can see the path I drew with the pen tool.
You then want to select the color of the path, which is the "set foreground color" block. (you can see it above in step 1, a few tools below the pen tool). Below you can see the color I selected, then click OK.
Then select the Direct Selection Tool, you can see it circled in red below.
Then right-click the path you drew with the direct selection tool. Select "stroke path".
The stroke path dialog is brought up, you can select the tool form. I selected the pencil for this example.
Below you can see the path stroked with the color and the pencil tool I selected.
Other helpful related links:
if you have any questions, feel free to post back.
enjoy,
janelle

Question regarding the pen tool (w/ picture inside)

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