illustrator question

[Ψ]

hi i was just wondering if you could help me in illustrator a little bit. i wanted to know is there a way to take some thing out of a layer and put into a different layer. because i accidently drew something on the wrong layer. but i can select it. i tried cutting that required object and pasting it into a new layer but when i paste it pastes it back into its original layer.

plus do you know how i can turn off the auto select layer off cuz i want to be able to click anywhere on the document and be on the same layer.

[Ψ]

still no replies? :(

[robvr6]

I thought if you select something then cut it. Create a new layer then paste it on t that thats all thats needed??

[Ψ]

i tried it it wouldnt work. it pastes it back into its own layer.

[iLikePie]

i just want to make sure i understand you correctly...

so the situation is, you've got a file with multiple layers, and you've got an object on one layer but you want it to be on a different one?

it should work just like you (and others) have said... select the object, cut it, then select the layer you want it on and paste. I'm guessing this must be the problem bit - you are selecting the desired layer, right? make sure it's not locked or anything. In fact, a good way to test that you're on the right layer would be to draw something new on it, and make sure it DOES appear in that layer.

sometimes it looks like you've got the right layer selected, but your working layer is still the other one (shown by the pencil icon).

gotta hate it when simple things don't work, huh? :)

[morse]

Illustrator is con.fus.ing

[.soulty]

heres my reply from what i gathered...

open you your layers pallete (f7) hit the arrow on the layer your talking about ... click on each layer inside that layer group untill you get to the object you are after.. notice on the right of the layer there is a fill rectanglar box.. this is to say 1: its the active layer and 2:the colour group it is in. This can be clicked and dragged to a new layer , making the contents of that layer fall into a new layer..

1:open the arrow and navigate down to the layer.. create a new layer outside the working layer

---- new layer 2
---- layer 1
- object
- object
- object
- selected object (filled square)

click on the filled square next to the selected object and click and drag this to the newely created layer.

hope that helps ... if not then explain a little more and i will try again :P

[Ψ]

thanks that helped alot.

now to the 2nd part of my question. does anybody know how to turn off auto select layer? cuz i want to be able to click right beside the path with the direct selection tool to deselect instead of going to the top of the doc and doing it. cuz whenever i click on the side of the path i end up on my refrence image layer which is at the bottom.

do you guyz understand what i am trying to say?

thanks in advance

[punkerton]

to turn off autoselect i just lock all the other layers.

[Loststarz]

God, you all need help.

Answer to question 1:

Select the object.
Select the layer you want it to be on in the pallette
right click the object and select arrange> Move to current layer

As for the 2nd question, Punkerton is correct. Just lock the underlying layers.

[Ψ]

God, you all need help. :huh:

thanks again guyz...

[Loststarz]

:huh:

thanks again guyz...

Well I was more commenting on the fact that many people told you things to do that were harder and more complex than they needed to be.

I don't blame the student who asks the question, just the teacher who blurts out random answers without first consulting the text.

CHEERS!

[.soulty]

okk kayy? . Loststarz your help is appreciated but dont bag out other members when they are just trying to assist the requester in their question. Your method is a nice easy one but their is always more than one way to skin a cat (as they say). ;)

[simplistik]

okk kayy? . Loststarz your help is appreciated but dont bag out other members when they are just trying to assist the requester in their question. Your method is a nice easy one but their is always more than one way to skin a cat (as they say). ;)With that being said... .soulty's way is what I was just about to post until I read through all his beating around the bush, and is the quickest way IMO.

As for locking things down though, if you don't want to move it to another layer but you don't want to click it you can lock it down by pressing CMD+2/CTRL+2 to lock down an object, or CMD+3/CTRL+3 to hide it. To unlock your objects press CMD+OPTION+2/CTRL+ALT+2, and to unhide press CMD+OPTION+3/CTRL+ALT+3.

[iLikePie]

also loststarz, you will notice that the easiest way (imo) which is cut the object, paste it in the new layer, didn't work. Now it SHOULD work, so we were trying to help him fix that... your way works as well, but i still reckon its easier the other way. But that's not the issue is it?

i think there's a way to turn off autoselecting layers, or at least there is in the program i use (which isn't Illy). since i don't have illy i can't check for you, but look for an option in preferences like "select through layers" or select visible layer or something.

also, you can mass-lock/unlock or view/hide layers by holding down the control or alt key (can't remember which) when you click on a layer... it'll hide/lock all other layers. pretty handy.

[Loststarz]

also loststarz, you will notice that the easiest way (imo) which is cut the object, paste it in the new layer, didn't work. Now it SHOULD work, so we were trying to help him fix that... your way works as well, but i still reckon its easier the other way. But that's not the issue is it?


You cannot simply cut and paste objects in illustrator, it will just bring a single path or point that way.

Day 1, Lesson 1.

PS - Try not to be so sensitive (Delicate).

[simplistik]

You cannot simply cut and paste objects in illustrator, it will just bring a single path or point that way.

Day 1, Lesson 1.

PS - Try not to be so sensitive (Delicate).
Yea you can. Cuttin an object off the stage doesn't degrade the pathing structure. If you have a circle... you select the circle, press CMD+X, and it'll cut out the whole object. To put it onto another layer just press CMD+V, to paste to the center relative to the stage, press CMD+F to paste in the same place, in the absolute front, or CMD+B to paste in the same place absolute back.

Day 1, Lesson 1a

;)

[punkerton]

the reason the cut paste method wouldn't work is if you tried to select the object with the direct select tool(y'know, the white arrow). in that case you really were just cutnpasting parts of the path and points. use the selection tool(y'know the black arrow) and you'll get the whole tamale

[simplistik]

the reason the cut paste method wouldn't work is if you tried to select the object with the direct select tool(y'know, the white arrow). in that case you really were just cutnpasting parts of the path and points. use the selection tool(y'know the black arrow) and you'll get the whole tamale
Not always true either. If you have an object and you're using the Direct Select tool you're still grabbing the whole object if you're clicking inside that object, it still doesn't seperate it from the outside paths. The only time that won't happens is if you're directly clicking on a path, or click dragging over the path from the outside in.

Day 1, Lesson 1b & c

[punkerton]

gosh we'll be able to write a book after this

[simplistik]

gosh we'll be able to write a book after this
:lol: we could do that... but that's what the instruction manual is for :lol: why reinvent the wheel :D

[Ψ]

haha....you guyz are still here.....

P.S ilikepie, i tried what you told me to play around in the prefrences about turning off auto select layer. couldnt find such thing execpt there is another thing called select from paths...

[iLikePie]

fair enough fork... i'm surprised, but as i said, i don't have illustrator so there ya go :P

maybe we should submit that for CS3 :D

oh and for the record loststarz, i wasn't being delicate/sensitive. When i'm wrong i'm more than willing to admit it, but in this case i didn't think i was, so i was just trying to explain my reasoning. enough said on that though.

[Ψ]

hmmmmm another question. how would i go about adding a background colour on the canvas

[nobody]

You could just create a new layer at the very bottom and make a square that has a fill with the color you want that fills the whole canvas. I don't know the actual official way to do it but that's a good cheating method.

[Ψ]

sorry boout this but another question. i am trying to create a gradient background and i have 4 colours that i am working with. but on the 3rd one i want it to be no colour (transparent). and i want the rest of the colour visible. any ideas how i go about doing this?

[.soulty]

well just use the opacity mask , with that mask being black in that particular area of the gradient. and on the gradient just use 3 colours, 1 2 3 and have the transparency inbetween 2 -3.

[simplistik]

well just use the opacity mask , with that mask being black in that particular area of the gradient. and on the gradient just use 3 colours, 1 2 3 and have the transparency inbetween 2 -3.
Yup... oooopacity maaask is the way to go. I answered this somewhere didn't I? SEARCH SON SEARCH :P :lol: :D

[Ψ]

sorry soulty i dont understand what you are telling me to do. can you please provide me with a .AI file so i can view what you have done?

[DDD]

yo fork, I think there is a section on that in the help files I believe. If you dont need to see through the object you could make it the same color as the bgrd in your gradient as well. Thats if I understand you correctly.

Whats with all the snappy comments from so-called AI experts? Just answer the question and move on. No sense in puttin down anothers suggestion *cough*Loststarz*cough*

[Loststarz]

Whats with all the snappy comments from so-called AI experts? Just answer the question and move on. No sense in puttin down anothers suggestion *cough*Loststarz*cough*

Screw you bud.

[iLikePie]

DDD your method (i.e use the b/g color as "transparency") is the way i would do it if you can... it works fine as long as there's no texture or detailing in the background. If there is, obviously that method doesn't work so you'll have to use a mask.

it's a shame, i don't think it would be THAT hard for adobe to add a transparent option for gradients... macromedia managed it :P

[.soulty]

fork here you go:
http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186910&highlight=opacity+mask

and Loststarz watch your tone dude.


::oh and what DDD said about making the colour the same as the background colour (as long as the background is solid colour in that area) that would suffice as well.

[Ψ]

thanks soulty that was perfectly what i wanted. now that i think about it. i remeber veiwing the thread. lol sorry for not searching.