Selecting Objects in Illustrator - selecting objects only completely contained within your selection box

Hi
Macbook Pro, Illustrator CC 2014.1.0
When selecting objects in Illustrator using a selection box created by dragging a selection tool, everything that the box touches gets selected. On programs like AutoCad, there are options to select only what is completely contained within the selection box. This can be very helpful. Can one do this in Illustrator?
Thanks in advance

I use Illustrator pretty often but I'm not at a level that I understand scripting. Maybe I'm out of luck then.

Similar Messages

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

Error on selecting object in ILLUSTRATOR CC

Hi everyone, i have problem with selecting object in illustrator CC, when i select the current object it will also select the other object, i cannot select the object i want, not on the group or clipping mask.. always highlight it both. it often times happen when i doing so much vector object. any help from you guys is so much appreciated..
thanks
Creig

This has been happening through so many versions that I no longer remember when I first encountered it.
One trick that occasionally works when you get such a 'ghost' selection;
Create another object (a small square or whatever).
Select it. Your new object and the ghost will be selected at this point.
Align them using any one of the alignment buttons, it doesn't matter which one.
Immediately undo the move (Cmnd/Ctrl + z) and deselect your new object. About nine times out of ten the ghost selection will be gone as well. If so, you can delete your extraneous object and continue working (until next time).
It doesn't always work. But it is quicker than a restart when it does.
--OB

[svn:fx-trunk] 7073: When looking around a tab group to determine which object to focus on, not only should the object be selected, but it should also be enabled and visible.

Revision: 7073
Author:   [email protected]
Date:     2009-05-19 08:27:59 -0700 (Tue, 19 May 2009)
Log Message:
When looking around a tab group to determine which object to focus on, not only should the object be selected, but it should also be enabled and visible.
QA Notes:
Doc Notes:
Bugs: SDK-19717
Reviewers: Alex
Ticket Links:
    http://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/SDK-19717
Modified Paths:
    flex/sdk/trunk/frameworks/projects/framework/src/mx/managers/FocusManager.as

Revision: 7073
Author:   [email protected]
Date:     2009-05-19 08:27:59 -0700 (Tue, 19 May 2009)
Log Message:
When looking around a tab group to determine which object to focus on, not only should the object be selected, but it should also be enabled and visible.
QA Notes:
Doc Notes:
Bugs: SDK-19717
Reviewers: Alex
Ticket Links:
    http://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/SDK-19717
Modified Paths:
    flex/sdk/trunk/frameworks/projects/framework/src/mx/managers/FocusManager.as

Drag Select Inside Points With The Direct Selection Tool While Above An Object?

I'm trying to modify a path in InDesign CS5 (Fig. 2), as it is now I have to select each point individually. Becasue while you're zoomed in (Fig. 1), you can't drag and select the points. When you attempt to do that, you end up dragging the whole image.
Is there a way to drag select inside points with the direct selection tool while your directly above the image with the paths you want to select?
Fig. 1
Fig. 2

FAIL #1:
No. When you copy paste the Cliiping Path [NOT the frame] into Illustrator, then alter the path and paste back into Indesign, it pastes it back as a FRAME, NOT a CLIPPING PATH.
FAIL #2:
Why do people comment on this stuff without first testing what they are suggesting?
What you suggested doesn't work or even make sense.
Apprently in InDesign, you can't have a CLIPPING PATH without an IMAGE there to begin with. When a FRAME OBJECT contains an IMAGE the option to convert the object to an UNNASSIGNED OBJECT is greyed-out, as in UNSELECTABLE, as in NOT POSSIBLE, which is another way of saying IMPOSSIBLE, which in most circles pertains to MAJOR FAILAGE.
When you CUT [hold command then press X] the CLIPPING PATH, from the FRAME/OBJECT you can then unassign the object, but when you paste the CLIPPING PATH back in, it invariably pastes the IMAGE along with the CLIPPING PATH, and once again the UNASSIGNED OBJECT is simply an ordinary frame with an image, and thus NO LONGER AN UNASSIGNED FRAME.
People like you make life harder dude, seriously.
Again, like some of the folks above, you're confusing a FRAME PATH [that you can alter and create with the pen tool as well] with a CLIPPING PATH. They are NOT the same thing.
Know the difference between the two before you feel inclined to respond.
My kingdom for someone out there with some merit and sense of accountability.
It's like, where do you people work? Are you serious? SMH.

Decode statement in Select line of a View Object Query

I attempted to create a view object in expert mode with a customized query.
The query had a decode statement in the select line of the query. The view
object compiled correctly but gave an error when run.
ex: select .... decode(CrpSchools.SCHOOLS_ID,null,CrpCustSchools.SCHOOL_NAME,CrpSchools.SCHOOL_NAME) SCHOOL_VALUE, ...
from ....
where ....
The error was that school_value does not exist in the statement. I got the error when
doing a vo.executeQuery().
When I removed the decode statement everything worked correctly. Does anyone know if
the decode statement cannont be used in the select line of a query in a view object?
Or maybe I was linking the query column (SCHOOLS_ID) up to the view attribute (SCHOOL_VALUE) incorrectly in the
Attribute Mappings tab of the VO wizard?

There should be no problem using a DECODE() statement, provided that you've aliases the column as you have done.
At design time, if you click on the (Test) button, does your query test ok?
Are you by chance applying a custom where clause at runtime?
If so, are you saying:
setWhereClause("yourtable.column_alias = ?";
or are you doing:
setWhereClause("column_alias = ?";
for an expert-mode query, you'll need to use the latter syntax.

Accessing the "Key Object" within a selection?

Is there a way to tell which object is the key object in a selection? I could find no reference to key objects in the scripting documentation.

what do you mean? "key" as used when you need to Align objects in the UI? since we don't have access to this sort of features, there's no need for a key object within a selection.

Copying objects from Illustrator CS3 to FreeHand 11.0.2

Working on a Mac in OSX 10.4.11, I was able to select and copy objects in an open Illustrator CS2 file and paste them into an open FreeHand 11.0.2 file, where they would be fully editable. After migrating to OSX 10.6.2 and upgrading to CS3, this no longer works - the objects selected and copied from Illustrator either do not appear (only corner indicators are visible) or a pale version appears as an uneditable low-rez image with funny colors....
Because there are so many missing features in Illustrator, it's important for me to be able to work back and forth between the two apps. Has anyone been able to achieve this (formerly) simple interactivity?

I got the following post from Danny Haas:
If you go to Edit>Special>Paste Special and then select AI/EPS from the list
it should paste just fine. It works well for me.
Worked for me too, although text was not imported as editable text. To do
that had to special paste the text separately as unformatted text, and then
reformat in FH.
From: Judy_Arndt <[email protected]>
Reply-To: <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:19:27 -0700
To: PETER AGOOS <[email protected]>
Subject: Copying objects from Illustrator CS3 to FreeHand 11.0.2
I skipped AICS3, but now use AICS4 for some tasks.
The only solution I've found is to save the AI CS4 file as AI 8, open that
in FHMX and copy from there.

Problem with applying fills & strokes to grouped objects in Illustrator CC

I have this problem that I deal with everyday & I can't figure out how to fix it.
I am always struggling with applying fills & strokes (or changing fills & strokes).
It seems like I always have to ungroup the objects first (even if I never grouped them in the first place), or I have to clear appearance first. Sometimes I have to ungroup several times, even if it is only one object by itself, not grouped with anything else.
I think It may have something to do with the pathfinder... like the pathfinder is creating groups when I use the divide filter.
Even when I use the direct selection tool, to select just the object I want, it wont let me apply the fill or stroke that I want.
Also, it seems like it has several layers of appearance... when I ungroup the object, it changes appearance (the fill or stroke changes).
Also, if I eyedrop the object to apply its appearance to another object, the "hidden" appearance is the one that gets appled to the new object.
The closest discussion I could find was about compound paths, but I think this is a different issue, because when I go to compound paths in the menu, it doesn't give me the option to release anythig.
I have this problem ALL DAY LONG, every day. Please help!!

Thanks for your reply!
I see what you are saying, and I think is some cases that could be a helpful trick - but the problem I'm having is slighlty different.
The object that I want to change doesn't show the actual appearance... it only shows its underlying appearance after ungrouping several times, and then when it is completely ungrouped, it visibly changes to another fill & stroke. This happens even when the object is not grouped with anything... it is just grouped to itself i guess & I am not grouping these items, they just become grouped somehow - I think because of the pathfinder. I often have to ungroup 3-5 times, which is a hassle in iteself... but sometimes I actually need to grouping to keep items togther so I can manage all the ojects & move them around as needed.
So... the method you are suggesting could possibly solve the issue, except I don't know what the fill & stroke is until I ungroup everything, so I can't create the swatch off to the side to match it. The other thing is, it seems like I would be creating a lot of swatches, since I use lots of different fills & it seems like it would be a lot of extra work.
Here is an example of 2 objects before using the pathfinder. Please note how the object selected & the fill & stroke boxes all jive:
Now here are two images after using the pathfinder tool (I added another object to get the problme to happen). Please note how the fill & stroke boxes do not match the objects selected:
This is what happens when I try to change the fill to green (the fill does not apply):
I thought it had something to do with compound paths, but as you can see below, the menu doesn't give me an option to release compound paths:
The final image is what happens after I ungroup the objects:
I don't understand:
1) why pathfinder is grouping these objects
2) why the strokes & fills change & why the fill & stroke boxes don't match the actual fill & stroke.
3) why I can't change the fill or stroke without ungrouping (even when using the direct selection tool).
4) why the fill & stroke change again after ungrouping

Using Flash objects in Illustrator

I have a lot of vector objects (icons/graphics etc.) that
were created in Flash CS3 (not by me) and I want to use/import
these objects into Illustrator CS3 so that I can modify them
(change colors, rearrange various shapes in each object etc.). I am
not very familiar with Flash, but I am very experienced with
Illustrator, which is why I want to get the objects into
Illustrator for editing.
I have tried selecting the object on the Flash Stage and then
choosing File then Export...I select Illustrator 6.0 as the format
(the latest version of Illustrator it will export in) and save it
as a .ai file. When I open the file in Illustrator CS3 only part of
the object (~40%) appears. Many of the shapes that make up the
object are missing. If I just select the object and choose Copy
then Paste into Illustrator the same thing happens.
I've got to believe that there is an easy/more direct way of
doing this. As an FYI, each of the objects is saved as an .FLA file
and a .SWF file.
Thanks in advance for any help!!!
Andrew

I moved the thread to the Illustrator forum.
You can modify the clipping path just as you do a normal path, just select it in the Layers panel and use the Scale Tool, Free Transform Tool, etc but that shouldn't be necessary, with View->Smart Guides selected you can easily draw a rounded rectangle from the upper left corner to the bottom right corner of the image and thus have it the exact size that you need. While you drag with the Rounded Rectangle Tool you can also use the Up and Down arrow keys to change the roundness of the rectangle on the fly.

Pasting Smart Object from Illustrator to Photoshop Creates "Blank" Object

Hi,
I just upgraded to Creative Suite 5.5 from CS 4. Prior to the upgrade, I was able to select objects in Illustrator, copy, and paste them as smart objects in photoshop without any problem. Now when I paste them Photoshop correctly recognizes the dimensions, but when the object is inserted it's completely empty. I've checked the fill and opacity for the pasted layer (both are at 100%). I've applied color overlay blending effects but there's nothing there. It's totally empty. I'm able to copy and paste images from my web browsers and from the system (Mac Lion) clipboard by taking screenshots, but I cannot paste anything from Illustrator. It's just empty.
Note: I've been using Photoshop for over a decade, so it's not a "I don't know how to copy-and-paste" issue. I've also confirmed that Illustrator's file handling and clipboard preferences are set to PDF and AICB. I've also done a complete uninstall of CS 4 and CS 5.5 (including deleting preferences), and reinstalling CS 5.5. But it hasn't fixed the problem.
I've Googled this for almost an hour without any luck at finding a solution or even anyone who's having this problem. Anyone out there who can shed some light on what the solution might be?

Yes >>Preserve Appearance and Overprints<< is checked.
Attempts to paste into other applications result in the same empty box. (I hadn't tried this before, so thank you, this makes me think it might be an Illustrator problem rather than Photoshop, but read on. Something isn't right with my CS 5.5.)
Nothing peculiar about the copied content. I've tried numerous AI files with simple vector images that I've copied as smart objects before.
You can't double click the empty SO object, because it's literally empty. It makes an empty layer in Photoshop. (But, when you make a new file or paste into another application, it does see the correct width/height of the copied object - but then it fails to paste it.)
I've tried placing the AI file in Photoshop and it says "Could not place because of a program error." Is there something wrong with the way my CS 5.5 install is handling vector objects?

Illustrator CS3 - Print - Output - Wont allow me to select Separations

Hi there
I'm silkscreening for the first time. The prepping process should be really simple right? Separate colour layers, using Illustrator, then print each layer onto transparency sheets. Well I'm about to loose my mind.
The image is CMYK, its a single spot colour (I think) which is red and the outlines are black. Printer is a Canon ix6500.
I can't seem to separate the colours in Illustrator CS3?! Why?! When selecting Print > Output > Mode > it won't allow me to select Colour Separations.
I've tried to overcome this by selecting Printer > Adobe Postscript and PPD > Canon ix6500 series. This allows me to select Colour Separations, but then it won't print, it only saves it as a PDF, and prints it as is.
PLEASE HELP!!! Any advice would be appreciated!! I'm going out of my mind here!!

I'm silkscreening for the first time. The prepping process should be really simple right?
It is. But you're misunderstanding the whole principle of color separation.
Separate colour layers...
No. Forget Layers. Layers has nothing to do with color separations. Think of Layers as nothing but an organizational tool for the stack of objects in your file. Color separation is the generation of a separate print for each ink that will be printed.
...then print each layer onto transparency sheets.
No. The image for each ink is printed on its own sheet.
The image is CMYK...
For clarity, don't call it an image. That makes it difficult to figure out what you're talking about. This is Illustrator; an object-based layout program. Your design can contain any number and combination of raster images, vector paths, and text objects. The word "image" in the context of a program like Illustrator always suggests a raster image object. If you're referring to a raster image object contained in the file, call it that: a raster image. If you're talking about your whole artwork, call it the design or the document. Don't call it "the image".
...its a single spot colour (I think)
That's self-contradictory. Nothing can be CMYK and at the same time a single spot color.
Here's a simple key to understanding color separation: Don't think in terms of "colors." Think entirely in terms of inks. In your immediate context, how many inks are going to be used to print with individual silkscreens?
By definition, a CMYK color is built up by overlaying a combination of up to four specific inks: Process Cyan, Process Magenta, Process Yellow, and Process Black. (Note the word "process" here, refering to "four-color process.")
By definition, a spot color is a Swatch (in Illustrator) which represents a single ink.
So "spot color" and "process color" are antithetical. "CMYK" is germane to process color, not spot color. Although process color can be done by silkscreen printing, spot color is more common, and I'm assuming that's what you are targeting.
So it's simple, when you think like this:
Ask yourself: How many inks are going to be allowed to print this design? (Two: a black ink and a red ink.)
Therefore, create that many (2) Swatches in Illustrator. Make sure they are defined as Spot Color Swatches. Use only those two Swatches in your entire design.
You can name those two Spot Color Swatches anyway you want. It doesn't matter. There is a common misconception that Spot Color Swatches must be named like (or even selected from) Swatches in the Pantone Swatch Library. Not so. Regardless of how you name them, each color separation is going to print to its own separation "plate" and the actual image on that "plate" (or film, or vellum) is going to be black. This is true in both process and spot color. In spot color work, each Spot Color Swatch--again, regardless of how you name it-- is going to be printed to its own "plate" and the image on that plate will be black. The name of the Spot Color Swatches, therefore, is nothing more than a convention by which to convey to the printing house what inks you intend to be used for each separation "plate." Obvously, it makes the most sense to name your Spot Color Swatches according to the names of the actual silkscreen inks that will be used (ex: "Nazdar Fire Red"), if you know them. If not, simply naming them "SpotRed" and "SpotBlack" will be fine.
Which brings me to a point of common confusion with which I think you are struggling: Exactly parallel to the matter of merely naming your Spot Color Swatches is the matter of merely coloring your Spot Color Swatches for on-screen display. There is a common misconception that Spot Color Swatches must be selected from some pre-existing Swatch Library (ex: Panone). Again, not so. So long as you define a Swatch as Spot Color, you can use any "color mixer" to specify any color you want for how it is displayed on-screen. You can color your Spot Color Swatch using either the RGB color sliders, or the CMYK sliders. Again, it does not matter one whit. Using the CMYK sliders to color your Spot Color Swatches does not make it "a CMYK color" (i.e.; a process color). So long as the Swatch is designated a Spot Color Swatch it's still defining a spot color (a single ink) and will print to only one separation "plate". Obviously, it makes the most sense to try to color your Spot Color Swatches to approximate how the actual corresponding ink will look in print. But the truth is, it doesn't matter. You could, for example, use CMYK sliders to color your Spot Color Swatch named "Nazdar Fire Red" so that it looks lime green on screen. If you did, the separation plate would still be labeled "Nazdar Fire Red", and it would still have a black image on it, and the color in the final printed result would simply be a matter of what physical ink the printer loaded his silkscreen with.
Again, to summarize that: Using CMYK sliders to color a Spot Color Swatch does not make it "a CMYK color" in terms of color separation. That is, it does not make it a process color. As long as the Swatch is defined as a Spot Color Swatch, it will print to only one color separation plate.
Finally, Layers: Don't worry at all about which Swatch is used on which Layer. You can have a thousand red fills and/or strokes, and a thousand black fills and/or strokes applied to a kazillion different objects, and those objects can be arranged in any stacking order on any number of Layers, or all on one Layer. It doesn't matter. If you've only defined two Spot Color Swatches, and you've only used those two Swatches in your design, then when you print the design to color separations, you will still only get two separations: one for SpotRed, one for SpotBlack (or whatever you named your Spot Color Swatches).
Printer is a Canon ix6500.
The question regarding your desktop printer is always: Is it a PostScript printer? That is, does it contain a (firmware) PostScript interpreter, or does its driver contain a (software) PostScript interpreter? If not, it can't print color separations. If this is your problem, there is a workaround, and a particularly popular one in screen printing, sign making, and other industries: You can "print" to a PDF "virtual printer" (i.e.; software which pretends to be a printer). If you have Acrobat (that's Acrobat, not Reader) installed, and if you are on Windows, you probably have a virtual printer named Adobe PDF installed. If so, you can select that as your "printer" and "print" color separations to it. If you've built your design correctly the resulting PDF will have one page for each ink. (The image on each page will be black.) You can then print those PDF pages to your non-PostScript printer. (This workflow is quite common in small screen printing shops.)
JET

A problem highlighting/selecting text in Illustrator CS3

In several instances I can't highlight text to copy or to edit, other times it works fine. If I click the radio button for the text in layers (other layers may be locked to prevent accidental selection), the baselines appears and I should be able to highlight the text, but I can't. If I highlight some other unaffected area of text successfully (unlocked layers), sometimes it will allow me to select the problem text directly after. Then it will go back to being a problem, why?

I'm using the general text tool, I've locked the other sublayers to avoid accidentally selecting those items. Then I click the radio button on the sublayer I wish to edit or copy, which reveals the baselines. Then if I click within that object to highlight text with the cursor, the text tool creates a new textbox/sublayer and does not highlight the text I intended.
From: Monika Gause <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Reply-To: <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:49:40 -0600
To: Roger Daleiden <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: A problem highlighting/selecting text in Illustrator CS3
Re: A problem highlighting/selecting text in Illustrator CS3
created by Monika Gause<http://forums.adobe.com/people/Monika+Gause> in Illustrator - View the full discussion<http://forums.adobe.com/message/3992086#3992086

Remove gaps between objects in Illustrator

Hello. I have made a document with some objects in illustrator. The problem is that there is a white gap between the objects.
I have tried all the advices here on adobe forums and google, but nothing works.
I have uploaded the files to my website, so that you could give it a try if you want to help.
the files you can find here:
http://www.kasperstaal.dk/example.ai
http://www.kasperstaal.dk/example1.ai
- the one file is a CC file and the other one is CS6...
How can i fix this?
Thank you very much in advance..

For the web try and export is as PSD/TIF/whatever and check the antialiasing option "Art optimized"
When printing this shouldn't matter. It doesn't in offset printing, but might matter in other rare cases. Occasionally people pop up in this forum ...
But since you won't be in control of selecting the service bureau and printing process, you might try and create shapes below the actual object that share the same color and hide the gaps.

Only Dimension Table Values in Combo Box or Drill Down Selections

Hi All,
How to get only Dimension Table Values instead of Master Data Values in Combo Box or Drill Down Box list of values?
I am getting all the values in 0CALMONTH Combo Box where i need only infoproviders values.
In Entry List tab of Combo Box when i select 0CALMONTH its reading from its Master Data.Is there any option how there is Dimension table in Value help.
In Query, infoobject levels the filter values selection is set as infoprovider only.
Can anyone please let me know how to get only dimension table values when we use combo box.
Thanks & Regards
K.Srinivas Rao

Hi
Create one BI query with only one object in the output of the query. (In your case 0CALMONTH)
So now if when you run the query it will show values which are there in infoprovider. THen drag one form from output of this query in vc & create dropdown list on this.
Is this what you are looking for?
regards
Sandeep

Selecting Objects in Illustrator - selecting objects only completely contained within your selection box

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for