Is there a way to scale an object that has a gradient fill without effecting the gradient?

[Moxx]

I have a rectangle that I want to make narrower but I want the gradient fill to stay the same. Right now when I scale the width of the rectangle down the gradient scales with it.

Is there a way to change this behavior so I can scale the rectangle down without changing the appearance of the gradient?

Thanks!

[John Mensinger]

There may be several ways to do that. Here's one:

1. Select your rectangle and Edit > Copy
2. Paste in Front
3. Transform the pasted copy to the desired new size
4. Select both the original and the resized rectangles and choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make
5. Here you have the option of leaving it a live Clipping mask, or making it permanent by (with it selected) clicking the Crop button in the Pathfinder panel

Note: If your original rectangle has a stroke applied, it will be lost in this sequence; simply re-apply at the end.

[avid_body16B8]

As far as I know just select the gradient you created and make a new rectangle and it should be the same proportionally.