Working with a group of items taken from Vecteecz.com

[BlueDog007]

Right now: I am frustrated with how complicated things are in following these directions obtained from Adobe Support:

The following are the steps to follow when isolating an item from a group of items downloaded from Vecteezy – M 1 July 24

From Adobe Support:

As informed over the chat, please find the below steps that we performed in your computer.

• Downloaded the ZIP file from the third party website
• Extract the ZIP file by right clicking on the ZIP file > extract all
• open the EPS file in Illustrator
• select the file and click on "image trace" and "expand"
• click on anywhere in a file and go to "object > ungroup" to ungroup the file.
•  Click on a white backgoung and go to "Object > Compound path > Release "
• Double click on a white background again and click on Delete from your keyboard.
• Select the specific quotation marks and use it in the other file. 

I am trying to follow the above directions again, and I am furious about the difficulty in reviewing how things work when trying to do things again on my own.

I re-downloaded the zip file from the third party website.

Question: Why do I have to Right Click under the Tab: "Compressed Size" to see: "Extract All"?  Instead of: Why can't I just select the entire file by clicking on the left most checkbox to Right Click and see "Extract All"?  This stuff is so darn frustrating!

Even when I finally figured out that by opening the file in ai that the file shows up in ai.

Then I can't find Image Trace on my ai screen.

I even try to look under the Object category to find Image Trace and the options are faded out.

So, I am thinking that I still had to back up a step and figure out how to Extract All,.

The instructions I got from Adobe Support -- Suck -- Why?  Because your telling me to do things which I cannot do.

What the point right now, after I just lost another two hours of my time, trying to figure things out.

It is just not fair!

In a nutshell, here is what I am trying to do:
I found out about a third party site called: Vecteezy.com

At that site, they have various vector images that can be used in ai.

I was just interested in finding quotation marks.

I found a grouping of premade quotation marks.

Out of the entire download of those quotation marks, I just wanted to use one set of quotation marks.

However, after downloading the group of quotation marks from Vecteezy, all quotation marks where on a white background.

Adobe support showed me how to issolate all the quotation marks from the white background.

They gave me a summary of the steps I copied and pasted above.

All I wanted to do was to replicate the instructions again.

Gosh darn it.  I can't do this.  And this just killed my time for over two hours.

Help!

[Monika Gause]

If those are alyready vector files, then there's no need to Image Trace them. They might be grouped and have clipping masks or whatnot. So you have to analyze them. But that has nothing to with Illustrator - only how well the designer of that artwork organized it. Can you please show it and also take a screenshot of what is inside the layers panel ? Window > Layers.

Select something in the file and then click on the little spyglass in that panel.

[BlueDog007]

Oh gosh darn it.  I just wrote a reply to you and forgot to submit it.

Believe it or not, I spent over another hour trying to figure things out while eatting my dinner salad before dinner.

I finally realized that because the file was already extracted > image traced > expanded that I didn't have to do it again.

The pain of this learning process is sometimes unbearable..  But I am hanging in there.

I'll have to come back to this thread sometime in the near future.

Right now, I have to stop.  I have to eat the main dish of my dinner, get some rest, and possibly have more work to do tomorrow.  But I will be returning eventually.

This time I am going to remember to post my reply.

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

<"moved from using the community">

[BlueDog007]

Folks, after finishing my dinner, I returned once again to this problem.

To my amazement, I discovered I saved my notes from my conversation with Adobe Support in a folder called Vecteezy Downloads.

From there, I located the downloaded file of various quotation marks.

So, I attempted once again to replicate the instructions for issolating the various quotation marks from the others and the white background.

So, starting from that downloaded file, I followed the instructions from Adobe Support.

And sure enough it all worked.

I just don't quite understand what: Object > Compound path > Release really means.  The words "Compound path" is what is throwing me off and difficult to understand.  It did work to finally help to separate the various quotation marks from the complete set.

But the last step of Double Clicking the white background again and clicking on Delete from my keyboard; well it works, but I don't understand why it was necessary to do that in the first place.

Like I said earlier, I will be getting back on this thread as time permits.  I have work to do later today in my own business.  I'm just trying to get my head around some of the steps in the process of doing things.

[creative explorer]

@BlueDog007 think 'Compound Path' a way to group shapes together and create a new shape with holes in it. Imagine it like a donut-hole maker.

For example, 

• You have two shapes, two circles—a big one and a small one.
• Centre aligned them (vertically and horizontally align center)
• You can use the "Compound Path" function to combine them.
• Where the small circle overlaps the bigger circle, it creates a hole in the final shape (like a donut).
• The rest of the bigger circle remains.
  
  
• If you don't like that, you can either Command (Mac) or Control (PC)  Z to undo. Or right-click and do a release Compound Path, and the smaller circle is back to the orginal shape as a smaller circle

[BlueDog007]

Michael604

I have a vague idea of what you just stated.  Perhaps if I open a new doc and actually try what you suggested, then I will understand things better.  But, honestly, I am still a bit confused.

Unrelated Comment:

I've been getting many, about 30, unrelated Adobe Community Mailer emails to my email address.  This morning I called Adobe and reported it.  But she (Ms. Sumana) told me it is handled by a different team and she will report my email address to them.  I don't know if I should post my email here in this forum, but you probably have other ways to know my email account.  Thanks for doing what you can.

[creative explorer]

@BlueDog007 I get my students to re-create logos with simple shapes while using the pathfinder panel. Maybe this can be of some assistance:

• Learn to use Shapes with Pathfinder
• Re-Create the Android Logo

[Anubhav M · Accepted solution]

Hello @BlueDog007,

We are still waiting for your response. Kindly let us know if it has been resolved or if you need further assistance.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[BlueDog007]

When I have more time to study this, then I will try to understand what has already been posted.  I only have a vague idea of what has already been said.  But for now I am going to mark the above post as correct answer.  Thank you.