Participating Frequently

Question

Direct selection tool selects full paths in outline view

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
January 27, 2017
3 replies
2369 views

Just upgraded from CS6 to 2017 CC and I'm having problems with selecting individual points when I use the direct selection tool by dragging across the points I want to select in outline mode. It also selects some of the entire surrounding paths. It's driving me crazy! Can someone tell me what's going on? I attached an image to help describe the problem.

This topic has been closed for replies.

Michael Riordan

Inspiring

This might be a dumb question and in no way is it meant to be patronizing, but is it possible you've got the group selection tool active instead of the direct select tool?

C

CameronLS1Author

Participating Frequently

Haha - I definitely do not have the group selection tool selected. And even if I did, I'm selecting a point on one path and it's also selecting an entire surrounding path that I'm nowhere near.

I was doing some experiments with different files and not having the same issue.

That one file I think was opened by a previous version or someone that didn't know what they were doing. Some of the fills and strokes were expanded. I think it has something to do with that.

I've been using Illustrator since 1998 and taught it at a university 2008-2010 and I've never seen this until I got on CC.

Doesn't seem to be as big of a problem as I thought. Just bad luck working with that one file first.

Thank you everyone for your help!

Kurt Gold

Community Expert

As already mentioned in post 6, it is at least one of the needless clipping paths that causes the issue. Delete it (or them) and you won't have the problem anymore.

I can imagine that the document was not originally created in Illustrator, probably just exported as a .pdf and reopened in Illustrator. Sometimes strange things may happen then and often a great number of nested clipping paths are the reason for apparent or mysterious misbehaviours.

I'm a bit curious why some participants cannot replicate the problem when they marquee select the anchor point in question. As for me, I can reliably reproduce the issue in at least three different versions of Illustrator on two different machines.

Mike_Gondek10189183

Community Expert

I did not have any trouble with your file, but do not doubt you are having trouble.

Best I can do is to show something similar that changed since CS6.

Drag selecting the right 2 vector points on text box below is almost impossible.

http://files.kaleidoscopechicago.com/_9g15QavZhTspnR

2017 drag selection.ai.zip

1.5 MB

The URL will expire on Feb 26.

After much struggle figured out that since after CS6 the type is what is getting in the way, and the reddish tone shows you how far you can drag.

Illustrator has been worse, especially in regards to drag selecting. Was better when the prerelease testing was limited a smaller group of ad agency professionals, authors, instructors and Adobe Certified Experts and the Adobe employees on staff were all avid users as Terri and Russell.

C

CameronLS1Author

Participating Frequently

It's not that there is something wrong with my file. It is that there is some new way Illustrator is processing selections in CC. Thank you for trying. I can't tell from your screenshot that it's not selecting the surrounding paths though and I'm not working with text boxes.

Cactus Cowboy

Inspiring

I don't understand why your having this problem as I just opened your file in CS6 Win and in outline mode was able to select every node you showed in your screenshot individually with no problem. Maybe check your pref settings or try using cntrl or shift key I don't know.

Kurt Gold

Community Expert

Can you share that file, so one can have a look at it?

C

CameronLS1Author

Participating Frequently

sure!

Flannel REV.ai - Google Drive

Kurt Gold

Community Expert

I'm pretty sure that the same misbehaviour would happen in older versions of Illustrator as well.

To me it turns out that an unnecessary clipping path inside a clipping group is the troublemaker.

Try this: Marquee select the anchor point at the shirt pocket. Go to the Layers palette and locate the current selection. You will see a clipping group and the first (topmost) item inside that group is a needless clipping path. Delete that clipping path and try again.

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