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T
tenxtone
Participant
July 28, 2010
Answered

Illustrator / swatch pattern movement issue? (*advanced question)

  • July 28, 2010
  • 9 replies
  • 63500 views

In Illustrator CS3 I often make new swatch pattern to use as a fill. When I flll an object w/ that swatch, then copy that object, then paste it into a new file, the pattern has moved inside the object. When I paste the object within the original file I copied it, the pattern doesn't move.

How do I lock the pattern from moving or prevent it from moving? (Apple+ F or B) doesn't work.

I realized I could rename the file, save it, and make changes, as a workaround solution.  I'm looking for something more efficient, however.

Much appreciated, and props to whoever knows the answer!

JP

      Correct answer Mike_Gondek10189183

      Jet gave the right answer to this one. You can also get to that same setting by double clicking any of your transform tools with a pattern selected.

      9 replies

      T
      timh31040982
      Participant
      October 6, 2021

      This solved the issue for me!  

      Turn off "Transform Pattern Files" 

      illustrator --> preferences --> General --> Transform Pattern Files (Check box to turn on).

        C
        Chan5FDE
        Inspiring
        February 18, 2022

        This worked for me too, and i have another thread open about this and the advisor didnt give me the right answer (maybe he misunderstood me?)

         

        For addition we need to turn off "Transform Pattern Files" at below menu.

        illustrator --> preferences --> General --> Transform Pattern Files (untick).

        K
        King Erik
        Participant
        August 22, 2021

        This may also be echeieved in the Object → Tranform menu via: transforms each  (alt=Shift=ctrl=D).

        Within the Transforms each menu, look under the → Options subsection & select the box → Transform Patterns.

        Vijayan Raju
        Vijayan Raju
        Participant
        August 3, 2021

        Hi JP,

        Recently am also facing the same issue. You can control the pattern moving issue while copying to the new artboard or to move some other position in the same artboard.

        Just check the pattern in swatches panel (Pattern which is used in the artwork) and double click the pattern in swatch panel then the pattern option menu will pop up. Just untick the "MoveTile with Art" in the pattern option menu.

        If you do this step the pattern will not move while copying to the new artboard.

        hope it helps.

        Reagrds

        VJ

        Vijayan Raju
        Vijayan Raju
        Participant
        August 3, 2021

        For addition we need to turn off "Transform Pattern Files" at below menu.

        illustrator --> preferences --> General --> Transform Pattern Files (untick).

          Thai Jade
          Thai Jade
          Participant
          April 2, 2014

          I am using pc version / CS6 and stumbled onto the answer to this question. I created a pattern swatch. When it came time to draw my shape object, I use my smart guide to find the center of my artboard, I selected my shape tool, clicked in the center,held down my alt key and drug it out to the size I needed. This was for a biz card.

          H
          hwilkes501
          Participant
          October 23, 2013

          I realize several years have passed since this question was asked, but incase someone in the community is stil having this problem, I saved my original with the pattern as a pdf, then placed it into the new artboard/file. Before I settled on the pdf solution, I rasterized, flattened, expanded, jpg'd & png'd to no avail, they all sucked when placed into the new larger artboard bc either the pattern continued to move or the results were pixelated, even w high res.

          I was making business cards, and my original artboard was 2x3.5, and I had already painstakingly moved, scaled & recolored each pattern to fit the 2x3 artboard. Then when I went to paste it into a full size 8.5x11 ai template  the pattern realigned itself to the 8.5x11 page, grr.

          I'm using cs5, btw. And when you try this, the pdf preview will look crazy, but no worries, it places just fine.

          E
          emil emil
          Inspiring
          October 24, 2013

          It is what Doug said.

          Make sure in both documents the artboards have the same x and y coordinates even though the size can be different. Copy the pattern from one document and Paste in Front in the other. Then you can transform it it in which case the preferences explained by Jet and Mike take control of how it is transformed.

          Ton Frederiks
          Community Expert
          Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          January 2, 2023

          Expanding apparence really isnt an option for every scenario. Im in a situation at work where the pattern is being applied to live type that needs to stay live type when sent to the printer so they can change the type as needed for the orders personaliztion. When they take my art from my original artboard and paste it into their print files the pattern shifts durastically. Checking or unchecking Transform Pattern Tiles box makes no difference in this. The only way to get the pattern to stay as it was set up is to have an artboard of the exact same size. Which is not an option when dealing with specifications of a printer. There should really be a better fix for this by now. 


          Try this:

          Turn On: Transform Both in the Transform Panel

          Turn Off: Paste Remembers Layers in the Layers panel

          Mike_Gondek10189183
          Community Expert
          Mike_Gondek10189183Community ExpertCorrect answer
          Community Expert
          November 22, 2010

          Jet gave the right answer to this one. You can also get to that same setting by double clicking any of your transform tools with a pattern selected.

            A
            art2jour
            Participant
            November 22, 2010

            Yes, that works when you are pasting into a new file of the same size. Our problem is/was when we go to copy a file with lots of pattern fills (painstakingly placed ) we are copying it perhaps 2-up side by side for printing purposes on a larger "artboard", and the patterns shift within the design shapes.

            I think this has to do with xy axis? The above was our go between solution...I'd love a better more efficient solution!

            A
            art2jour
            Participant
            November 22, 2010

            Our solution was to expand the patterned filled object. The whole pattern is expanded so to reduce file size and get rid of all the expanded pattern design outside of our shape, we made a copy of the object, merged it using pathfinder to make a solid shape or just flled it if it was one shape, place the solid shape over the expanded object (use outline mode to see all this) and then use crop in pathfinder. You need room around the object to do all this, so we moved it off the artboard and then moved it back.

            It now copies into a new file for printing without the filled patterns inside the shapes moving.

            Hopefully this helps!

            JETalmage
            JETalmage
            Inspiring
            July 29, 2010

            General Prefs>Transform Pattern Tiles.

            JET

              U
              umarm37650491
              Participant
              July 23, 2015

              thanks.

                A
                Anonymous
                July 28, 2010

                Tiles don't align to the objects that contain them. They align to the artboard's X and Y axes. Is it possible you're pasting into a document, in which the X and Y axes are different than the original?

                (Edited)

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