Is there something like a marque selection to delete?

[Xander36210402r7ns]

Hi everybody,

I have a bunch of lines I'm trying to cut through. I've tried both Scissors and Knife. I don't want to individually slect each line to use Scissors, and Knife is sloppy. It doesn't have a Shift-slide option to cut a straight line (or I haven't figured it out). 

So I'm like...can I just draw a box across this thing and pathfinder delete / punch it out or something? That's what I'd do in Photoshop.

What's the best practice for something like this? This has to be a routine/easy thing to do.

Thanks for reading everybody.

[Kurt Gold]

As far as I understand your request, the Shape Builder tool, the Shaper tool or Live Paint may help.

If that does not help, you may want to share a sample Illustrator file with further instructions, so one can have a look.

[Xander36210402r7ns]

Hi Kurt,

Sorry about that. It's been a while since I've been on communities. I have to get in the habit of posting visuals. a picture says a thousand words. I need to slice these barcode lines at the gap. The photo in back is inserted into Illustrator, so I need a good clean slice across the middle. I'll tryout what you suggested in the meantime, but that's the idea. Thanks!

[Kurt Gold]

As far as I can see, in your screenshot there is an unknown animal, probably a monkey or a sloth, residing at a blue trunk. With its long forearm it's embracing another stem at the right handside of a barcode wood.

In case that forearm represents the desired cut line, the suggested ways may work well. If not, you may provide a sample Illustrator file, not just a screenshot.

[Jacob Bugge]

Xander,

If you do something that actually cuts stroked paths, the shape/direction of the cut ends will be determined by the chosen Cap, Butt/Round/Projecting, basically perpendicular to the path direction at the end.

If you wish to have the (appearance of the) cuts follow a path that may be form any angle with (each of) the paths, you can:

A) If you just wish to hide the ends, use a closed path on top as a Clipping Path, selecting it together with the bunch of lines and creating a Clipping mask/Set; this is reversible;

B) If you can live with filled paths, Object>Path>Outline Stroke for the bunch of lines and use a closed path, or just an open one if only for one end, on top and (without selecting the bunch of line path) use Object>Divide Objects Below, then delete the outlying unwanted end parts; this is irreversible.

Remember to always make a backup of artwork before you destroy it.

Edit: Hi Kurt.

[Xander36210402r7ns]

This is where I always get messed up. There's no sense of hierarchy with layers in Illustrator. Groups, paths, compound paths, clippings masks...it's a mess, man. 

I've got the <Rectangle> sub-layer on top of the Group of lines and nothing shows up in the menu drop down. Not even Ungroup. To do this for above/below, what do the objects need to be? There just isn't a known standard for this that's ever been evident. It's just one of those things you're supposed to figure out like Clipping Masks (which I have over and over then forget, lol).

Can you please tell me what object format these tho things need to be top/bottom so I can get Object>Divide Objects Below to show up or something of that nature? 

Thanks for the help, Jacob. 🙂

[Monika Gause]

This is where I always get messed up. There's no sense of hierarchy with layers in Illustrator. Groups, paths, compound paths, clippings masks...it's a mess, man. 

By @Xander36210402r7ns

If you do not set up a hierarchy, then there is none.

[Jacob Bugge]

Xander,

As Monika said, there is only the hierarchy that you set up.

The stacking order is crucial to many things.

Normally, we just talk about objects, which can be individual paths or combinations of objects such as Groups and Clipping Masks/Sets and whatnot.

I believe you are heavily influenced by Ps concepts/Ps speak (Layers being a significant part), and it has proved to be a great hindrance to many because it is fundamentally different to Ai, the best approach then being to try to forget everything Ps and really start over and enjoy a completely different world of wonders.

In the Layers palette with the layer(s) expanded, you just have objects, and you can change the stacking order by dragging things up and down in the palette, or on the Artboard/workspace, some cunning ways using a combination of both.

But for simple things like a Clipping Mask, if only you have the Clipping Path on top, you just select all the relevant parts and apply the mask, and then everything finds its way to the place of the Clipping Path in the stacking order.

And for Divide Objects Below, if only you have the path on top, you just select only that, and when you apply the dividing the path disappears and the divided objects are in the same places in the stacking order, and you can just select the unwanted bits on the Artboard/workspace and delete them (and see them disappear in the Layers palette).

[Xander36210402r7ns]

"If you do not set up a hierarchy, then there is none." 
Still struggling with what you're getting at. I don't see the hierarchy if there is one and that's my biggest mental block. I'm really just trying to get a visual relationship on how all these elements behave with each other. Like, it'd help to have a basic reference or languge of how these elements in Illustrator harmonize.

Like I generally understand compound paths and clipping masks, but I always seem to come back to Illustrator and half the times the thing I want to do is greyed out and there's never an general understanding as to "Why, you're doing it wrong. put that there instead" You know? 

Because the sub-layer elements (is that what we call them?) are diverse, their behvaiors create a number of combinations. That's the thing I'm trying to wrap my head around. 

I'll see if I can't find any answers to what I'm getting at. If I do I'll post them here. No worries on responding further to this thread as I think it's a bit more involved. Thanks you guys for all your help though! ::smile:: 

[Monika Gause]

---

@Xander36210402r7ns  schrieb:

Because the sub-layer elements (is that what we call them?) are diverse, their behvaiors create a number of combinations. That's the thing I'm trying to wrap my head around. 

---

The things inside the layer are the objects.

And yes, you can have several kinds of objects, which is beautiful, because it allows you to do the things you want to do. There is no list of which kinds of functions work with which kinds of objects. You probably want to create it for yourself so you know next time.

[renél80416020]

@Xander36210402r7ns 

- Pour utiliser découper le objets inférieurs on sélectionne uniquement le trait de découpe.

- Pour utiliser le cutter, il faut sélectionner tous les objets à couper.

Pour couper selon un tracé rectiligne, appuyez sur la touche Alt (Windows) ou Option (Mac OS) tout en cliquant
sur le plan de travail avec l’outil Cutter, puis faites glisser le pointeur, ajouter la touche MAJ pour contraindre la direction horizontale.

Ces deux méthodes fonctionnent uniquement si les objets ont un fond.

(objets groupés ou pas et même situés dans des calques différents)

Voir la solution B de @Jacob Bugge 

René