Unable to change stroke color on lines and make them dashed?

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
January 7, 2026
2 replies
536 views

All of a sudden I can't see to change the color or stroke design (dashed). What have I done?

SmallLargesseBagBodyLining.pdf

Draw and design

Correct answer Ton Frederiks

If you select that path, can you give it a stroke color?

Yes, if you give it a stroke, you give the path an appearance. But that is different from giving an appearance to the entire layer and its contents.

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

It sounds like you may have switched from Preview to Outline mode. You can switch back through View>Preview or by using Command (Mac)/Control (PC)-Y.

Kurt Gold

Community Expert

It is not an Outline Mode issue, Bill.

As Ton mentioned, the issue is about an additional stroke applied at the layer level (Layer is called "CuttingLines" in the sample file).

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

There was an error displaying the file that the Questioner posted when I tried to see it. So I went with the suggestion that I posted based on just the written question.

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

You have an effect applied to the layer, in your case a black stroke will be added to everything on that layer.

Select an object (like the spiral).

Double click the layer item at the top of the Appearance panel.

Select Clear Appearance from the Appearance panel menu.

Dilly_DallyAuthor

Inspiring

So I was able to clear the appearance of several objects. But now when I go to draw (for instance a line), it automatically has an appearnce (the dot on its layer is opaque). When I try to clear the appearance...the whole thing disappears, but the layer is still there. In the attached file I am talking about the path under the layer named Instructions:ArrowDottedLine:path.

SmallLargesseBagBodyLining.pdf