moving anchor points on a vector drawing

[kranedesign]

Is there a sensitivity setting I am missing out on?  I am attempting to draw a closed path object on top of an existing closed path object, and need the two objects to align perfectly with one another.  the direct selection tool is not allowing me to move the point where I want it to go.  The distance it allows me to plop the point is either too far or too close.  I'm on Illustrator CC.  I'm thinking that there is a sensitivity setting for points that I am missing out on.  Please help!!!

[kglad · Accepted solution]

[moved from Adobe Creative Cloud to Illustrator]

[kranedesign]

The two objects are both drawn, and I'm now tweaking the anchor points on the top object, so that the two objects are aligned where I want them to be.  I didn't have this problem with moving anchor points until recently, so I'm starting to feel like I might have a virus?

[Monika Gause]

Check if any align settings are selected:

- Align to grid?

- align to pixel?

[kranedesign]

align stroke is checked off. 

[Monika Gause]

Check in

View > Align to grid or

View > Align to pixel

[kranedesign]

ok found the setting.  snap to pixel, and snap to grid was selected.  I unchecked them, so all is good now.  Thank you

[Monika Gause]

You're welcome.

[kranedesign]

illustrator is acting up again on Illustrator version CC.  This time the rainbow spinning wheel pops up every time I execute a task like moving an anchor point.  My computer has 90+ GB of storage available, so I don't reckon it's a space issue that is causing my illustrator to perform slow.  Please let me know what I can do to get the rainbow wheel to stop emerging.

[kranedesign]

I am working with illustrations of garments with coloured patterned fills to give this situation more context.

[Monika Gause]

Patterns can really get very complex. Please try if this also happens when you apply one of the default patterns.

[kranedesign]

I tried a generic fill, and the rainbow wheel still appears.  I am colouring multiple bodies and don't want to undo all the other bodies that I've already coloured.  I do think it is an issue with all my fills.  I have rasterized some of the fills and gone back in and recoloured them with the new rasterized fill that is saved at a lower resolution.  Let me know if there are other tricks I can do to reduce the size of the fills even further (without causing grid marks and super low-res output).

[Monika Gause]

This sounds like quite a mess. And I don't understand your workflow at all.

Rasterizing stuff might reduce Illustrator's workload (of rendering especially transparency and/or raster effects), but might also enlarge your files.

The rainbow wheel has not necessarily to do with filesize, but rather with Illustrator having a hard time computing all your effects or transprency or the sheer number of paths.

Without seeing the file it's rather difficult to even guess what may be the issue here.

Also: where is the file stored?

How much RAM is free in your system?

Any other apps running?

When did you last restart the computer?

What about the scratch disk setting?

[kranedesign]

Also: where is the file stored?

in dropbox

How much RAM is free in your system?

251 GB  capacity (91 GB available)

Any other apps running?

safari, iTunes, preview is also running

When did you last restart the computer?

restarted computer today prior to starting work on this

What about the scratch disk setting? I'm sure about this setting

I am colouring bodies in with original prints that I have created with some prints having at max 3 colours.  Let me know tips on how to be more efficient with this task of colouring in bodies.

[Monika Gause]

Please get your file out of the synched Dropbox folder. Put it somewhere else on your harddisk.

Then turn off iTunes (I know this is really hard).

251 GB is your hard disk not your RAM.

I don't know how you are colouring bodies.

So I would need to know which Illustrator functions you apply, especially if you use:

- gradients

- gradient meshes

- effects

- transparency

- brushes (how exactly are they built)

- placed images (how many, which file size, which file format, linked or embedded?)

- how many patterns (how exactly the patterns are built)

- the number of paths in your file (look that up in the document info panel)

- the size of your AI file

Please look up the setting of scratch disk in the preferences. The scratch disk is used for writing stuff there that doesn't fit into RAM. A scratch disk preferably is a different hardware than your internal disk in order to speed this up. But actually the most important thing in your case might be RAM. And a good GPU that is supported by Illustrator (at this point things might get complicated, because it hugely depends on the model of the video card although on the Mac it's not as complicated as on the PC).

You are working on the edge of what's technically possible, so you must know how computers work and which parts of your computer you are driving to its limits. There are a number of hits when you search your favourite search engine for "How do computers work". You might want to do a little research.

[kranedesign]

*unsure about scratch disk setting. Where is this and what should it be set to?

[Monika Gause]

It's in Preferences > Plugins & Scratch disk.

Best would be a second hard disk to set it to. Setting it to your startup volume might slow down Illustrator especially when there's not enough space left (how large is your file? How many photos are placed in it?)

Segmentation of hard disks shouldn't be an issue on a modern system, as Mac OS optimizes the hard disk while working.

[kranedesign]

ok, so my scratch disk was set to start-up as the primary.  I have changed the primary setting to my external hard drive that is plugged into my computer.  There is a secondary setting (that was set to none, that I have set to my external had rive also).

The prints/patterns are fairly simple (line drawings with an art brush and solid background; solid shapes with solid background, plaid).  They are 9 x 9" repeat blocks with no gradients or gradient meshes or special effects.  there are three prints in total with no more than three colours in them. 

- placed images (how many, which file size, which file format, linked or embedded?)

- the number of paths in your file (look that up in the document info panel)

see attached image

- the size of your AI file

85 MB

The file size is pretty big, so I think it has to do with my fills?

[kranedesign]

I have 16 GB  1600 MHz DDR3  memory on my computer

[Monika Gause]

16 GB should be enough in most cases. But still: please tell us some details about your file (see questions above).

[kranedesign]

- gradients

none

- gradient meshes

none

- effects

none

- transparency

none

- brushes (how exactly are they built)

basic brush, later converted to an art brush

- placed images (how many, which file size, which file format, linked or embedded?)

60

- how many patterns (how exactly the patterns are built)

3 patterns x 6 colour ways each ; 9 x 9" repeats; line drawings motifs with solid background, solid shapes, with a solid background, plaid

- the number of paths in your file (look that up in the document info panel)

89, 994 paths

- the size of your AI file

87,504,286 bytes

[Monika Gause]

To get a 90 MB file with just paths, there need to be lots of paths and points.

Your file has 800,000 points, which is quite a number.

Brushes most probably are not "simple" at all, because they might contain lots of anchor points without you even noticing it, because it only shows after the brush has been expanded.

So everything in your file points to a rather complex file.

Can you copy just the path (of course with its patterns and fills, but no other paths) you are working on into a new file,

then close the other file,

save the new file

restart Illustrator (to make sure RAM is empty)

and then work just in the new file?

Just as a test to see if this improves anything. If it does, then file complexity is the answer to your problem.

[kranedesign]

I am learning a lot from this thread, thank you.   Can you go into detail on how I would go about copying the path with the patterns and fills , but with no other paths?

[Monika Gause]

Are your objects grouped?

If not, just take the select tool and click on that path

Then Edit > Copy

Create new file

Edit > Paste

If the files are grouped, select it with the group select tool.

And then proceed as described