How to do a wholesale swap of all instances of one shape to another shape?

[Document Geek]

I have a design that uses a large amount of a single shape. I've been refining it and now I want to do a wholesale swap one of shape to another shape. I know I can do this one at a time using symbols, but I'm wondering if there is a way to have Illustrator search for all instances of a particualr shape geometry and replace them with the new shape. Maybe a script like this exists?

[Kurt Gold · Accepted solution]

Yes, there are scripts (do a search fo zamena or zamena size, for example).

And there are other ways as well. Which one depends on the Illustrator version you are using. What version is it?

[Document Geek]

I am using Illustrator 23.0.1 on Mac.

[Document Geek]

Zamena script works great!

Do you also know of a way to replace just the geometry of an object with the geometry of another object? (Leaving the fille and stroke alone)?

[Disposition_Dev]

You can create a graphic style with the source object, run the zamena script to change the object, then apply the graphic style to the new object.

If you were so inclined, you could write a script that does all of this for you, including making a function call to the zamena script.

[Document Geek]

I'm not sure how a graphic style fits into this. What I'm trying to make is pixel art of sorts. I used Object Mosaic to make the tiles, then Zamena script to change all the tiles to another object. But I just want to have the Zamena change the geometry, not the colors.

Is this possible? If not Zamena script, then how would I accomplsh this?

[Monika Gause]

Can you please show screenshots of what you have and what you want to get?

[Disposition_Dev]

A graphic style contains all the color/gradient/pattern information for an object.

If you save the graphic style first, then change the artwork to something else, when you apply the graphic style, you'll end up with the same fill/stroke/etc as you had before.

Fundamentally, this changes the geometry of an object without affecting its color information. 

Edit: consider the first of the attached images ("problem"). Am i understanding your question correctly? If so, try out the ("solution") in the second image.

Edit number 2: Just after i posted my last edit, it occurred to me that you might be saying "any time the script changes the geometry of a given shape, it should retain the fill/stroke of that specific shape when it changes the geometry". Does that sound closer to what you're asking for? Like in the 3rd image ("alternative problem")?

problemsolution

alternative problem

[Kurt Gold]

You may try the built-in Global Edit feature.

[Document Geek]

Zamena will do exactly what I want. And I had no idea that global editing existed. I learn two new things today. Thank you so much!