CS4 Illustrator Question

[Signs4Realtors]

I upgraded from Adobe CS3 to CS4 and can't figure out how to get Illustrator to perform a function I commonly use (placing a gradient stroke behind text). Attached is a screenprint from CS3 and CS4 where I try to perform the following function:
- type initial text (951 Graffix in Red)
- change text to "outlines"
- "ungroup"
- pathfinder tool "add"
- pathfinder tool "expand" (IN CS4 THIS OPTION DOESN'T ENABLE)
- object dropdown, path, "offset path"

IN CS3 THIS CREATES A SEPARATE SET OF LARGER TEXT BEHIND THE ORIGINAL TEXT...SEE CS3 SCREENPRINT...THEN I CAN MODIFY THE GRADIENT COLORS AND SELECT EACH SET OF TEXT SEPARATELY

IN CS4 THIS INITIALLY LETS ME CHANGE THE BACKGROUND COLOR/GRADIENT, BUT SINCE IT NEVER "EXPANDED", THE GRADIENT FLOWS WITHIN A SINGLE LETTER AND NOT ACROSS ALL OF THE LETTERS AND WHEN YOU RE-SELECT THE TEXT "EVERYTHING IS GROUPED TOGETHER...SEE ATTACHED CS4 SCREENPRINT"

IF THERE IS A CS4 ILLUSTRATOR GURU OUT THERE, PLEASE HELP!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!

 

[HaroldDesign]

Not sure if it's what you're really looking for, but if you make a compound path out of the outlined copy and then fill it, the gradient will flow throughout.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

CS4 got rid of the expand button in the pathfinder window. Now you have to make a compound path out of the letters as Caleb describes.

 

[Mason]

Convert text to outlines/ ... Object/Path/Offset Path/ (settings vary here so choose what youre looking for) At this point DO NOT deselect, go to your Pathfinder palette and select the "Add to shape area" option (top right on the palette) click on it, do not deselect, use CTRL + [ to send it to the back incrementally and add your gradient to it.

Its slightly different in CS4 than in CS3 but the result is the same

 

[Circleville Signs]

You could also just do Object>Path>Offset path> 0.0


Gary

 

[Signs4Realtors]

Figured out the "compound path/make" function to let the gradient flow through. The only problem I still have is that when I "deselect" the text and "reselect" the back text it selects the front text (outline) with it so I can't change the colors. Then I have to "ungroup" and select each letter individually to "group" the two sets of text back together. In CS3 this never happened?

 

[Signs4Realtors]

Got it...thanks!!!

Thanks for the input on the Object/Compound Path/Make functionality to replace the CS3 Pathfinder "Add to Shape Area" functionality.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

Now, I can:
- type initial text (951 Graffix in Red)
- change text to "outlines"
- object dropdown, compound path, make (this allows the gradient to flow)
- object dropdown, path, offset path (this creates a separate grouping of text behind the original text...just like CS3 did)


NOW I CAN FINALLY STOP SWITCHING BACK TO CS3 <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:stockticker>AND</st1:stockticker> ONLY USE CS4...THANKS!!!<o></o>

 

[cptcorn]

I had this same problem...

"CTRL 8" for the shortcut!

 

[Mason]

Didnt read a thing I wrote.. why do I bother?

 

[Signs4Realtors]

Mason, when I follow your instructions the front text and back text are grouped together. How do I get them to be separate groupings so I can easily change the colors on the text and outline?

 

[cptcorn]

Didnt read a thing I wrote.. why do I bother?

You're method (which was also my same method) works well in CS3, not CS4

 

[Signs4Realtors]

go to your Pathfinder palette and select the "Add to shape area" option (top right on the palette) click on it

Maybe I am selecting the wrong button on the CS4 Pathfinder palette? My window only shows Shape Mode = "unite" which may be different? The button in the top right says "exclude". CS3 says "add"?

 

[javila]

The difference between the two is the output of the exand function.

One ouputs a group, the other outputs a compound shape.

Gradients in groups will flow inside each object. Gradients in compound shapes will flow as a whole.

 

[Mason]

Maybe I am selecting the wrong button on the CS4 Pathfinder palette? My window only shows Shape Mode = "unite" which may be different? The button in the top right says "exclude". CS3 says "add"?

My bad, upper left!
Unite and "add to shape area" are the same

 

[Mason]

You're method (which was also my same method) works well in CS3, not CS4

Works perfectly in both versions, in fact it works exactly the same since version 8

 

[cptcorn]

Works perfectly in both versions, in fact it works exactly the same since version 8

I guess what I meant was, the end result isn't the same. That way everything is still an individual object that is grouped. I'd rather have those elements be a compound path when finished. Visually the result is the same, but after you deselect your item, its kind of a pain to go through and edit those area. Few more clicks.

I do, outline type....ungroup/ctrl 8 .... object/path/offset path...if the objects are not touching I do an extra step after everything of ungroup/ctrl 8 .... so then my main type is quickly selectable and the background is quickly selectable.

 

[Signs4Realtors]

Works perfectly in both versions, in fact it works exactly the same since version 8

Why is the "EXPAND" button grayed out in CS4 after doing the "ADD" function? In CS3 after doing the outlines, ungroup, "ADD", I would always hit the "EXPAND" button to allow the gradient to flow across all letters from left to right. Also, after doing the "EXPAND" in CS3, when I did the object/path/offset path the end result would be a separate grouping of text that I could easily re-select to modify the colors/gradient later after de-selecting. In CS4 (maybe because the "EXPAND" can not be selected) after doing the object/path/offset path the end result is that the top layer of text is grouped with the botton layer of text (the offset layer) and you have to ungroup everything. Then you have to re-select each individual letter for the top text and re-group them, then select each individual letter for the botton text and re-group them to modify the colors/gradient. It is many more steps to accomplish the same CS3 function (My goal is to create separate groupings of text and stroke around the text where I can easily select each grouping and change the color/gradient across each grouping...not have the gradient only go across each letter).

Please tell me if you know of a method to achieve this goal. Just doing the outline/offset will not achieve this goal (it will group everything and not allow the gradient to flow across letters from left to right).

The solution I described above accomplishes this goal in CS4 using a different method from CS3 (Pathfinder/EXPAND function is no longer in CS4 and we need to use the "compound path" function.

I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S INPUT AS I NOW AM USING CS4 FULL-TIME AND NOT SWITCHING BACK TO CS3 TO PERFORM THIS FUNCTION.

 

[HaroldDesign]

I'm not sure I fully understand what you're trying to do, but I would probably (I'm guessing) be making duplicates of the copy and doing what I need to do to each "group", and them snapping them into place in the front to back order I need them to be. One might have a gradient (+ compound path), one contain transparency, etc...

 

[Signs4Realtors]

I'm not sure I fully understand what you're trying to do, but I would probably (I'm guessing) be making duplicates of the copy and doing what I need to do to each "group", and them snapping them into place in the front to back order I need them to be. One might have a gradient (+ compound path), one contain transparency, etc...

Caleb, You were right before when you said to use the "compound path" function in CS4. This not only lets the gradient flow through from left to right across the text, but it also keeps the original text grouped when you add the stroke (offset path) and keeps the stroke text grouped once you deselect everything. By doing this you to easily change the colors/gradients on the original text layer and stroke layer (see attached pic of what I was trying to achieve).

CS3 let me do this with outline, ungroup, add, expand, offset.

CS4 changed the add to unite in the pathfinder section and it doesn't allow the expand box to be selected which results in two issues: 1) the gradient doesn't flow through the text from left to right (compound path solves this issue) and 2) the text and stroke (offset layer) end up grouped together and it is difficult to ungroup and regroup them to change the colors later.

The easy way to do this in CS4 is as I said before:
- change text to outlines
- object compound path / make
- object path / offset path
* there is no need to group, ungroup, add, unite, etc. You are simply left with two separate groupings of text that can be easily modified later