Pathfinder Tool Precision in Web Mode

[alzoin]

I would like to know who in the world might want it's pathfinder tools NOT TO BE as much precise as possible?!

The fact that the pathfinder's precision is set, for example, to 0,028 pt by default astonishes me. I simply don't get the point of it. Even though I choose to create a web document, it seems to me that it shouldn't make any difference: if I use the pathfinder tools, I want the results to be PERFECT. Not distorted by some imprecision caused by a default setting.

Illustrator CS5 (Mac) Pathfinder Tool Messing up Paths - Graphic Design Stack Exchange​

Please explain this Adobe.

[Monika Gause]

Uncheck the "Align to pixel grid" setting in the transform panel and the "Align new objects to pixel grid" setting in the panel menu.

It's an object based setting, you need to set this for the objects.

[alzoin]

These options were already unchecked actually.

And I feel like it is not what's causing the issue since creating a new document and unchecking these options doesn't change anything to the 0,028 pt unprecise default setting. If I go ahead and change that to 0, then I get 0,001 pt as a vallue for that setting (0 doesn't seems to be accepted as a vallue), which solves the issue.

But, we are talking about getting rid of the bug here, which I know how to do. My question was: why does that precision setting exist in the first place? I don't see how it can be useful in any way. I mean, who might want to have the pathfinder tools not to be perfectly precise?

[Ray Yorkshire]

0.028 pt is very small - a 100th of a Millimeter ?

Perhaps it is not set lower for people with slow computers or very complex objects, so it works faster

[alzoin]

True enough: it is indeed very small. But, if you're working on creating an icon and you want it to be clean at 16px . 16px, you might want to create it at that specific size at which size the 0,028 pt will have an impact. Of course, I could create my shape at a much bigger size and then scale it down, but the fact is that it still doesn't answer my question.

Your guess about the hardware performance thing might be the right answer, but I would have like to get an official anwser from Adobe themselves.

[Ton Frederiks]

I think it is time for a feature request:

Illustrator Feature Request/Bug Report Form

[alzoin]

Yes, I think you are right actually. will enter a request. Thanks!

[Ton Frederiks]

It may be the best thing to do.

The Pathfinder panel was introduced in 1998 in Illustrator 8.

I doubt if the current team can answer your question (but they can sure change the default or make changes sticky).

[alzoin]

Yes. Well, I have been using Adobe Illustrator since Creative Suite CS2 (around 2005). And, from what I can recall, this has never been an issue up to like Illustrator CS5 or something.

Before that, I would use the pathfinder options without having that path corruption effect no mather my shapes' sizes. It started becoming an issue afterwards. That's when I discovered that "Precise" option that I hadn't even noticed before hand...