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David Cardillo, PRH
Inspiring
October 4, 2024
Answered

Select Same > Appearance works manually but not in an Action

  • October 4, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 1640 views

I'm trying to select objects with the same appearance with an action. All of the items have the same fill color and opacity (transparency) setting.

 

I cannot select Same > Fill color as some objects with the same fill have a different opacity. I cannot select Same > Opacity because not all the transparent objects have the same fill. (Both of these Select options do work in my action.)

 

My action is creating an object with the same appearance attributes (fill, opacity) and doing Select > Same > Appearance.

 

When I create this object manually, the option selects all the objects I want, correctly.

 

When I record the creation of the object, so when it plays back it creates the same object, playing back the Select action doesn't select anything.

 

Is there some appearance attribute I'm missing? Something that perhaps doesn't get recorded so it isn't there when the object is created by the action that is there when I do it by hand?

This would be a whole lot easier if you were able to select multiple selection criteria, or be able to add to or subtract from a selection.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer sttk3

    What I am saying is that if you specify the color and transparency for the rectangle automatically generated by the action via a graphic style, rather than specifying them individually, everything will have exactly the same appearance, and you can select them as the Same Apperance.

    3 replies

    Egor Chistyakov
    Egor Chistyakov
    Inspiring
    October 17, 2024

    Now reported here here at UserVoice (thanks).

    Confirm this.

      D
      David Cardillo, PRHAuthor
      Inspiring
      October 7, 2024

      It now appears something else is going on.

       

      Somehow I've managed to create multiple objects with the same appearance attributes, namely opacity, that even though they're listed as the same — because I typed in the same values — they're showing up as "mixed appearances."

       

      At this point I'm baffled.

       

      Kurt Gold
      Community Expert
      Kurt GoldCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 7, 2024

      Can you share at least one sample Illustrator file as well as the action set file?

       

      Include some instructions.

      D
      David Cardillo, PRHAuthor
      Inspiring
      October 7, 2024

      Hi, Kurt, let me see if I can simplify this to make it easier to understand.

       

      1. Make a new, blank document.
      2. Start recording an action in the Action panel.
      3. Record yourself making a new rectangle with the Rectangle tool.
      4. Set the Fill to Black, and the Stroke to None.
      5. Change the Opacity in the Transparency panel to 20%.
      6. Stop recording.
      7. Move that frame to the side.
      8. Manually create a new rectangle, using the same steps as above.
      9. Under the Select menu, choose "Same > Appearance."
      10. You should see the previous rectangle you made included in the selection.
      11. Your Properties and Attributes panels should contain the same information for both objects.
      12. Now run your action you just recorded in the Actions panel.
      13. Choose Select > Same > Appearance.
      14. Note that nothing else gets selected.
      15. Manually select the rectangle created by the action plus either of the ones created manually.
      16. Note the Attributes panel now says "Mixed Attributes."

       

      You recorded yourself making an object with certain attributes. You played back that action and according to every panel it has the same attributes as the one you previously created, but you cannot use Select > Same > Appearance to select them both because the appearances are "Mixed."

      I recorded a video of the process: https://app.screencast.com/dQQAjWL9SEUgl I'm eager to see if you get different results.

       

      My system:

      MacBook Pro

      15-inch, 2018

      2.9 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i9
      Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB
      Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

      32 GB 2400 MHz DDR4

      Illustrator version: 28.3.0

      S
      sttk3
      Legend
      October 5, 2024

      Tried it and it actually worked as reported, no selections were made. After registering the graphic style with the appearance of the PageItem to be searched, and applying it to the path generated by the action, it now works as intended.

       

      1. Action Panel > Insert Select Path
      2. Applying the same appearance graphic style as the PageItem to be searched
      3. Select > Same > Appearance

       

      Would this be an alternative?

      D
      David Cardillo, PRHAuthor
      Inspiring
      October 7, 2024

      hi, @sttk3, I just want to be sure I"m understanding you correctly.

       

      My action is creating an object that has the same appearance attributes that I'm trying to select, then using Select > Same > Appearance.

       

      Are you suggesting I create the object, then apply those appearance attributes to the object, then try selecting by Same > Appearance?

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