Inspiring

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Eye dropper not applying selected fill to grouped objects

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When using eyedropper tool to select a fill color from another vector object on the page, if I have grouped objects or text selected, it will not apply the selected fill. It will apply the stroke (if there is any) and it will show in the color panel that I have applied the color, but it does not change the fill. Now if I ungroup the objects, then use the eyedropper, it will apply the fill.
With text, if I outline the text, ungroup the letters, use THEN use the eyedropper, it will apply the fill.
Objects will show the correct fill when using sliders and swatches UNLESS I use the eyedropper on them. Once I use the eyedropper, that text or grouped object's fill color is locked (at least on screen).
This just started happeneing with the latest update.
Running Illustrator 24.1.2 on Windows 10 Pro.

UPDATE: Latest update:24.1.2 - Text has been fixed but eyedropper still not applying color to selected groups objects.

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Monika GauseCorrect answer

Community Expert

Hold shift while clicking.

S

Scarlett.3369

Known Participant

Holding Shift while clicking is not a valid answer, maybe for eyedropping solid colors bot not if you need to eyedrop a gradient. If you do this and eyedrop the gradient it will only pick the color in the gradent you selected.

I have tried to debug this over any over and so far ungrouping everything (which is unrealistic also) just to eyedrop doesn't alwasy work. Holding shift doesn't always work. What I did find if you double click the eydropper tool so its menu opens up, and you turn off "appearance" setting from both options, and the eyedrop tool works fine without having to hold shift. . The downside is that you will no longer be able to eyedrop anything and it copy the appearance of the object. For example if you have some artwork that has a transparcy or what not added to it and you need to copy it. Using the eydrop tool will not copy it and will only copy say the color at 100% without the appearance options added.

here is a video link showing what im refering to: https://www.loom.com/share/6c3e0a404b054079828b161e52b7a063?sid=63f827df-cf19-4bb0-bd1e-292ef15c8082

[abuse removed by moderator]

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

What I did find if you double click the eydropper tool so its menu opens up, and you turn off "appearance" setting from both options, and the eyedrop tool works fine without having to hold shift. . The downside is that you will no

By @Scarlett.3369

You can only have either or. Being able to apply appearances to groups is an advantage and not a bug.

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S

Scarlett.3369

Known Participant

Never said that part was a bug Being able to add appearances to a group is fantaistic and saves time. But you forget to hold shift and it not work then have to always click undo a few times to get it to work again is becasue you cant just hold shift and retry becuse it will not work still. But i feel like it use to be holding shift would makit copy appearances, and not holding shift would copy the basic color

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J

Janne2596680603pr

Known Participant

Same issue here. Cannot color pick on a grouped object... shift-click does NOT work... crazy bug all these years...

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

Select the object and then take a look in the appearance panel. If you have trouble understanding it, please post a screenshot.

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J

Janne2596680603pr

Known Participant

stroke is clearly green... why does the appearance palet show grey?

Same with this solid >> it is green... but shows yellow in the appearance palet.

All happens because the color picker does not work as it should (and as it has worked before) on groups

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2

24425944

Participant

What appears to be working for me currently - If you choose the direct selection tool before switching to the eyedropper, it will apply the fill to all shapes contained within the group.

You only need to click the direct selection tool, you don't need to use it. i.e. - you can still use either the selection tool or layers menu to highlight the group, then click direct selection/eyedropper.

Shift+click contributes nothing to solving this problem and should not be marked as an answer. Running 27.9 on Windows 10 Pro

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

Please post a screenshot of the layers panel that shows the hierarchy of your group.

Also please show whether stroke or fill is focused when you pick the color.

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L

Lesje

Participating Frequently

I have the same issue. Ungrouped I can use it on a shape. Grouped it does change in the colorpanel, but not the shape.

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Monika Gause

Correct answer

Community Expert

Hold shift while clicking.

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C

Can of Creative

Participating Frequently

I have the same issue as above for the last version or so of AI (Mac 28.0 currently). Holding shift does not work/change the issue.

Prior to the last update or two, you could have multiple objects (say, 5 circles) and group them. When the group was selected and you uesed the eyedropper, it would change the color of all objects in the group. Now you have to ungroup first.

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Peter Villevoye

Community Expert

I'm curious to see how this "9949" text or object is created.

Could you create a screenshot in Outline mode, or check what the Appearance panel says about it ?

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DRock22Author

Inspiring

I had to remake it, but it was just two layers of text that had been outlined and merged. Appearances panel visible in lower right in the pictures attached. .

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Monika Gause

Community Expert

Can you try if it works when you press the shift key while clicking with the eyedropper tool?

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DRock22Author

Inspiring

It does work, but if I use the eyedropper on something without hold shift first, it makes it so I can't change the color even if I hold shift. I have to undo the original eyedropper to get it back to a point where I can change to color (unless I outline and ungroup).
Also noticed when I use the eyedropper it creates a very faint, almost unoticible, "stroke" around the text in the color I'm attempting to pick. Not an actual stroke, but just a slight visible color on the edges that looks the same at any magnification.

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J

jfeez

Participating Frequently

five years later but confirming that i'm also seeing a weird invisible stroke after using the eyedropper to color a group of objects (and having a very difficult time even coloring them in the first place). it's making it so i can't blend–make this group of objects because the stroke then becomes pretty visible/prominent in the blend (as seen in the screenshots).

when i UNGROUP the colored/phantom-stroked objects, the color inexplicably changes to black and the order of appearance conditions in the appearance window rearranges so stroke is on the top instead of fill — as if the color that was previously applied was only applied to the group as a whole. and then the phantom stroke is gone.

here's another stupid thing: when i'm eyedropping color from a group, it doesn't pick up the visible color at all and instead picks up black. why? who knows!

just absolutely mind-bogglingly bad experience. not expecting a response/solution, just screaming into the void in case someone else is also having this issue.

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