Open Paths

[Savnac]

So many updates and still no changes to the open path behavior in Illustrator that I am aware of. Here's a very common scenario: Bring in a piece of reference art or logo. Put it on a locked and dimmed layer. Trace over top of it. I think we can agree this is VERY common.

My issue is that while I am doing this the open path likes to fill and block my view of the underlying image. Yes, I know there are ways around it like setting the fill to none until the path is closed and then applying the fill, or working with that layer in keyline mode, but WHY?? What is the benefit to filling open paths? It is a nuisance for tracing and it removes the most obvious indicator that the path has been closed. There is also no "Close Path" command. 

Adobe, please, let's see some path behavior that more closely emulates the way Freehand (which you trashed) and most other illustration packages hand them.

[Ton Frederiks]

You can create a New Document Preset that has the fill off by default when you have changed the Default Graphic Style to No Fill.

[Met1]

"There is also no "Close Path" command."

Ctrl-J?

[c.pfaffenbichler]

"There is also no "Close Path" command."

Ctrl-J?

By @Met1

Not by a long shot. 

James Talmage offered a Script for closing a Path that naturally can be assigned a shortcut via an Action – so the issue is not truly pressing. 

But that the Illustrator team apparently cannot imagine that the backwards bezier handle of the first point an Illustrator user created with the Pen Tool could be deliberate still flabbergasts me. 

[Bobby Henderson]

I manually trace over scanned images or sketches zapped over from my iPad all the time. Illustrator often does default to having a fill applied to the path as you lay it down over artwork. I just click the "/" key to remove the fill. That takes less than a second to do. Then if the line I'm laying down is too thick I just numerically change the value in the stroke palette. That's also quick. Clicking "i" to bring up the eyedropper tool will copy attributes from other objects in the document, such as one that already has no fill and a stroke the desired width.

I used Freehand a long time ago (the app has been dead for nearly 20 years). IIRC the pen tool behaviors between both were pretty much the same -at least in terms of keyboard shortcuts to adjust paths while drawing them. Not sure what the difference is you're describing. I'm not a fan at all of the pen tool behavior in other drawing programs because I'm used to the shortcuts in Illustrator and Photoshop and how those pen tool shortcuts work in conjunction with shortcuts to zoom in/out and hand-pan the view of the workspace. IMHO, the only thing that is arguably any better than Adobe Illustrator's stock pen tool is Astute Graphics' Inkscribe tool, which is an Illustrator plugin.

One thing I would like to see in Adobe Illustrator is optional smoothing controls for the Pencil, Paintbrush and Blob Brush tools similar to the Procreate iPad app.

[John Mensinger]

Yes, I know there are ways around it like setting the fill to none until the path is closed and then applying the fill, or working with that layer in keyline mode, but WHY??

Because Illustrator simply, directly, and rightly applies stroke and fill according to your input. I'd be pretty upset if it did anything differently in that regard. Setting the stroke and fill as you want them prior to tracing, or any other endeavor, isn't a workaround; it's just working, and only requires one or two taps/clicks. If you're waiting for an update that changes this behavior, I fear the wait might outlive you.

[Monika Gause]

Adobe didn't trash FreeHand. Macromedia ended development. The application was dead when Adobe aquired Macromedia and there's proof of it https://losingfight.com/blog/2007/05/17/rip-freehand/

FreeHand could be set up in a way that it never filled open paths. But it could also be set up in a way that it did.

[Savnac]

Hi Monika. Thanks for the reply. By "trash" I simply mean that they did not harvest the best of Freehand which was, IMHO, superior in many aspects to the Illustrator of the time. So much so in fact that I can tell you that many of Adobe's staff was using Freehand both before and after the acquisition. I've owned both since version 1 and worked with both since then. Even without ongoing support Freehand can still hold its own against Illustrator. 

Freehand's option to fill open paths is exactly what I mentioned in my post.

[Imaginerie]

As @Ton Frederiks said, you can set up so it never fills by default. There is a shortcut I use very often, because I like shortcuts 🙂
/ (the forward-slash at the top right of the numerical keypad)

Removes the fill or stroke (whichever is in focus) in one single click.
I personnaly like that it adds a fill, unless I hit the shortcut. But you sure can configure it the way you want!

[Savnac]

Hi Imaginerie. I like shortcuts too. IMO they're the difference between "Users" and "Power Users". That said the behavior I'm looking for is one in which filled paths show their fills and open paths do not. Yup there are work arounds, but why the reluctance to include this behavior?

[Monika Gause]

 why the reluctance to include this behavior?

By @Savnac

Nobody can tell you. If you have a feature suggestion, post it to uservoice and see if you can get enough support for it, so the developers cannot look away.  http://illustrator.uservoice.com

The simple thing is: There is only so much money for development, so they have to decide what to include. It's not only including this feature, but also making sure that it doesn't break anything else. And then there is also an already a wide array of preferences that a lot of people already have issues to navigate. So what will you add to that set?

Anyway: for you to get that wish come true: post to Uservoice.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

I do understand your issue, but you can always open up two windows for the same document... one in Outline so you can see your work as you trace, and the other in Preview mode.

As to "why", Postscript and now PDF, which has always been the underlying structure of Illustrator, requires a closed path to fill an object, so it assumes that even if there's an open path, the first point must always connect to the last point, otherwise nothing would print on the page, etc. Even if you draw a complete path, the underlying PS merely overlays the first anchor point with the last and "closes the path" between the two. This is all necessary behaviour.

[Subir23859095yk1l]

This is my windows photoshop scripts, but it's not working on mac sx photo selection path

// Open the Edges Collections directory

var strEdgeFXFolder = Folder.selectDialog ("~/Desktop/My Logo 1");

var edgeFXFile = strEdgeFXFolder .openDlg("Choose the egde you want to apply","JPEG/PNG:*JPG;*.JPEG;*.JPE;*.PNG;*.psd;*.PSD");

open (edgeFXFile)

help

[CarlosCanto]

so you just asked the same question in random threads in InDesign, PS, Bridge and Illustrator rooms? 

If you're a real user, start a new topic in the photoshop forum and ask a more detailed questions