Joining paths...freehand style

[SA]

Hoping someone can help me out. On a daily basis I have to join hundreds of paths within Illustrator to fix die drawings, artwork or whatever... With freehand this is easy, you just select all the paths you want joined, click join and it joins all the paths... Easy...

With Illustrator it seems I am only able to join two paths at once. This involves selecting the end point of one path then the end point of the next path and joining the two. Move on to the next path and repeat, etc, etc, etc... Anybody know if there's an easier way of doing this?

This is the error message that I get to see a thousand times a day. It comes up if you have more than two paths (or any stray points) selected and try to join them.

[Joe]

Can't help you on the paths question. I'm sure someone will be able to help you on that one but you can check that little box next to "Don't Show Again" and the message will stop popping up a thousand times a day...or ever again.

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

I run into this all the time, and you know what I do? I do it in Freehand. Just one of a few reasons why I prefer Freehand to AI. The way clipping masks are handled is another. If you are used to doing it in Freehand, why switch? The way the two interact together, I do it all the time.

[SA]

Can't help you on the paths question. I'm sure someone will be able to help you on that one but you can check that little box next to "Don't Show Again" and the message will stop popping up a thousand times a day...or ever again.

What little box?  :evil:

I actually dont know how I missed that one...

I run into this all the time, and you know what I do? I do it in Freehand. Just one of a few reasons why I prefer Freehand to AI. The way clipping masks are handled is another. If you are used to doing it in Freehand, why switch? The way the two interact together, I do it all the time.

What do you mean by the way they interact... I know I can copy and paste from Illustrator to freehand, but how do you get the joined paths back to Illustrator? Export a Illustrator file?

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

You can save a Freehand file, or actually export it as an AI file, or I find "Generic EPS" works best. AI will open just about anything vector, run some tests to see what way works best, but Generic seems to retain most everything from FH to AI, including masks and joins.

[gnubler]

Just an FYI - the keyboard shortcut for joining two open paths is Command-J. I wasn't aware this didn't work on multiple selections. I may scour some Illustrator forums/sites to see if there's something we don't know - but I trust DCS, Prepress Master and lover of Freehand.

[SA]

Thanks!!!

DCS - you got me thinking so I tried something and it actually worked... Select paths, now if you go to your freehand menu: Edit/Special/Copy Special and choose EPS from the different options. Now whatever you copied you can paste directly into Illustrator from freehand.. Only tried it with a few simple objects so far and seems to work fine...

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

Thanks!!!

DCS - you got me thinking so I tried something and it actually worked... Select paths, now if you go to your freehand menu: Edit/Special/Copy Special and choose EPS from the different options. Now whatever you copied you can paste directly into Illustrator from freehand.. Only tried it with a few simple objects so far and seems to work fine...

Sweet, I'll try it out. I do it a lot, so may save me some time. :wink:

[hotmetal]

Thanks!!!

DCS - you got me thinking so I tried something and it actually worked... Select paths, now if you go to your freehand menu: Edit/Special/Copy Special and choose EPS from the different options. Now whatever you copied you can paste directly into Illustrator from freehand.. Only tried it with a few simple objects so far and seems to work fine...

Sweet, I'll try it out. I do it a lot, so may save me some time. :wink:

I get handed a lot of dies generated in CAD. The line segments are never joined. Often I want to use the outer perimeter of the die to make a mask or expand a bleed (I get a kick out of expanding my bleed exactly 1/4" past the die, but that's just me having my little fun.) I've just gotten real good at zooming in and running around the vectors, joining up the segments, until I have a closed shape. Command-J, you betcha. I do this several times a day when we're running at full steam around here.

The only swoofy Illustrator tool I've found that helps in these hunt and weld sessions is pathfinder, and I mostly just use the third one from the left on the bottom row. (I'm tired of learning the names of all this shit, I just know where to click.) It gets rid of all the extra/overlapping segments and leaves me with a hollow shape of the original complex object.

Freehand... we don't have a copy around here anymore, or I'd try that on this stuff. Freehand was my first love...

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

... and mine. I HATE Adobe for the sacrificial lamb it made of that sweet, sweet application! Damn them to HELL! :angry:

[hotmetal]

... and mine. I HATE Adobe for the sacrificial lamb it made of that sweet, sweet application! Damn them to HELL! :angry:

for that and for many other reasons (but not Pagemaker... )

[Joe]

My first love was a female. You geeks need to get out more. :tongue:

[hotmetal]

My first love was a female. You geeks need to get out more. :tongue:

That's ok, I wuz just leavin'

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

You're first love was Covert-Special Ops, or are we talking to the same Hoff?

I still stand by my original comment about first love. No Ho got me wrapped like one that helps me do my job better... that just means mo cash! Freehand = Golden Ho. 100% Genuine Gold Ho!

[Joe]

 

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: