Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Hi guys,
I am working on a map and the plot has more than 32,000 points which is the limit that illustrator manages. Therefore impossible to join all of these paths.
Has anyone ever had this problem and is there a solution?
Thank you for your answers.
Regards
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
You can open the file in Acrobat but exactly you can not edit it like Illustrator.
You can also open the file in Photoshop, it rasterizes it and convert it into pixels.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
ok thanks fro the anwser, but in another word i'm stuck with my problem, because photoshop pixels... not exactly what i want. 😞
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Have you tried Path>Simplify with the fidelity set to something like 96%.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Yes Larry, i even tried with 100%.. but no way !
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Can you share a sample .ai file?
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Is this vector object with 32,000+ anchor points a compound path? Can it not be broke apart into separate objects? Another thing I would try is slicing it into multiple objects. If the object has effects applied to it (line strokes, shadow effects, etc) those effects can be re-built using other approaches (duplicate objects arranged underneath, placed raster-based background images).
A 32,000 anchor point limit within Illustrator is not the only concern. If the design is going to be printed you'll need to know the limits of those devices. I've seen printers reject objects with more than 5000 anchor points.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
.ai nor zip files suppported. Any idea to share a sample ?
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
hi, not going to be printed. and trying to send sample but...
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
You can use some cloud sharing site like Dropbox, Google or even Adobe to share the file. What I meant was to use something less than 100% to force the reduction of the number of points.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
here is the dropbox link for a smallll sample : https://www.dropbox.com/s/8d79664nilpfylq/Australia.ai?dl=0
I'll try with something less and tell you.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
In order to share a sample .ai file you can use a file sharing provider (Google Drive etc.) and post a (public) download link.
You can also put the file onto your CC storage and share the download link from there.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
It is possible to use the Object > Path > Simplify route, as already suggested by Larry.
It may take a while because more than 1 million of anchor points have to be processed in this case. Also, you will have to play around a bit with the Curve Precision and Angle Threshold settings to get some reasonable results.
I just did a quick test and was able to go from more than 1 million anchor points to about 25.000 thousand points (entire Australia). Certainly it could be even more simplified.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Thanks Kurt i'll try. Not expert with illustrator... Is there any distortion or modification of the path after this ?
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
There are slight modifications, of course. To simplify something always means to modify it.
Distortions? Depends on your point of view and what settings you use to simplify things.
You will have to experiment a bit in order to get results that may suit your needs.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Simplify works.
Any reason this has to be so complicated? - it's not an "accurate" representation as all the lines are straight, so why not have illy trace this and play around with the fidelity... you will lose a lot of the islands though...
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
The only reason but the best one is because it's a map... and we can't change the coastline.. I'll try to see if i can do something exporting in a 3D soft
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
You will not necessarily lose islands if you carefully use the Simplify command in reasonable pieces, Jonathan.
Your pointer may sometimes be correct in case you are talking about processing (simplifying) all paths in one whack.