What is the weight of invisible path in Illustrator?

[SJCullen]

Hello,

I am not sure how to word my question, but I am wanting to know what the weight of paths in illustrator when they are invisible, so that I can set my stroke width to match this.
I want to be able to see the paths of unfilled shapes when I am moving and intersecting shapes to create a design, so I need to set a stroke width. But I also want to maintain the accuracy of the path when I fill the created shapes and turn of the outline stroke. My issue is that I am creating a discrepancy between the actual path and the "outline" of the shapes (if this makes sense). I am getting gaps in the shapes I create when using the pathfinder tool (mostly only visible when zoomed in, but they are still there and get worse when the shape is resized).
It seems to me that .25 is pretty close to the width of an "invisible" path (that you can only see when you hover a path when no stroke), just judging by eyeball.
Is there any way I can know this for sure to increase the accuracy of shapes I am making with the pathfinder? 
Thanks
Shelley

[Ton Frederiks]

I am not sure I understand your question, but maybe increasing the accuracy of the Pathfinder will help.

Select a very small number in the Pathfinder menu options for Precision.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

When are you seeing this effect? while exporting an image format?

If so, what EXACTLY are your export settings...

[barbara_a · Accepted solution]

For more accuracy you might try View > Outline. In that view, all the paths are visible and have the same thickness. You'll be able to quickly see if you paths are accurate. When in Outline view, to select a path, you need to click on the path itself, not in the center, even if it has a fill color.

[SJCullen]

Yes changing to View>Outline solves my problem 🙂 It seems I just wanted to be able to see the paths when not selected.
Thank you for your replys- it is hard to know what question to ask, when you don't know what you don't know!
Amazing program, but lots to learn!