You're absolutely right, Ton. Thanks for pointing this out. I did mention unexpected ways – The behavior seems to be more or less predictable, but it takes a bit of experimentation to be able to make the predictions. My experiments continue…   Peter ... View more

Freeform gradients are (still) weird animals, and can behave in unexpected ways.   Save your freeform gradients as graphic styles (Window menu > Graphic Styles) rather than as swatches.   Peter ... View more

Not sure I understand what you mean by "it warps with the shape". You should be able to cut the arm in two places so that the hand is a separate open path, and just bring it to the front without having to adjust anything. Is the front leg part of the same path as the arm? If so, you could cut the point of the garment in a couple of places and move it behind the arm but in front of the leg.   Alternatively, direct select, copy, and paste in front just the hand and portion of the arm that you want to move to the front; fill the copy with black, and apply it as an opacity mask to the garment.   Peter ... View more

As with your JavaScript request, please post to https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests where the engineers will see it. Mostly just us users here.   Peter ... View more

If you prefer, you can also just click and drag a gradient stop off the bar, but the trash can works fine.   Peter ... View more

Does it make a difference whether you view it in GPU or CPU mode (View menu or cmd/ctrl + E)? Some sort of effect applied to the group?   Peter ... View more

I don't know if this is remotely what you're after, but it seems to me that there has to be something lighter to separate the letters from the background, or the letters themselves must be a sufficiently different black to make them legible The top one is a lighter fill behind the black letters with a path offset and feather effect applied; second one is lettering in dark gray rather than black; third is a stroke with a gradient from 100% white to 0% white.   Peter       ... View more

Is the object you want to select below the type object in stacking order? Check in the Layers panel. You can change the order there, or simply select the desired object, as needed.   Peter ... View more

Perhaps you should try a different color for the glow, or a different blending mode.   Peter ... View more

Thanks, Larry, I had gotten that far. It's that (see John's post) there ARE no smart guides until you select/move/draw something to interact with an existing object. Without context, there's nothing to show, so I was baffled about the suggestion, that's all. Just me being me.   Peter ... View more

You must select an object to which the new color may be applied. All your images show "No Selection".   Peter ... View more

When you drag the selected artwork into the Swatches panel do you not see the blue outline around the swatches and the green circle and + sign?   From your description, your method should work.   Peter   ... View more

Sorry, but I do not understand your description.   Peter ... View more

Shift  + click works to start a new path over any interior anchor point of an existing path, but at an endpoint it continues the existing path. To start a new path, press and hold with the Pen tool, then press and hold the space bar and drag the Pen tool to the desired point, then release the space bar. Continue the path as usual. It helps to have enabled Smart Guides or Snap to Point to align the start of the new path to the existing point.   Peter ... View more

You're welcome. Sorry I couldn't offer better. ... View more

Yes, I see this same behavior.   Using the Object menu > Transform > Move dialog will move only the selected points.   Peter ... View more

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a bug. Of course, now that I want it to happen it won't, but even earlier today regardless of unit settings to the contrary, Distribute Spacing was stuck on points. When I set general units to inches (or cm, or mm, it doesn't matter), whatever value I enter, and even if I enter the units with the value, it returns a spacing of points, although it doesn't display the units. Switching the units to points and checking the spacing in the Transform panel confirms that the value is correct but the units are invariably points. Repeatedly changing units and activating the spacing button several times (seems to be a random number of times) finally resets the panel so that it delivers the correct units.   No, I have not yet reported the problem through Uservoice, as I thought it might have been related to other glitches I was encountering, and my problem alone, but I think I have cleared up the rest of the issues, and now I see that its not just me.   So to recap, the problem is real, exactly as @Dan Rodney  describes, and the units are points, and after a night's sleep and try it again, reporting it if it persists.   Thanks, Peter     ... View more

Ah, yes! Sometimes a fresh start is all we need! ... View more

Hi, Linda,   I am unable to replicate your result. Could you please explain exactly the steps you went through that got you to this point?   Thanks, Peter ... View more

You're welcome. ... View more

I'm glad it's of some help to you, Ethan. I do see this effect occasionally, and I've mostly learned to ignore it, but life is more pleasant when the display is correct.   Peter ... View more

No, it's necessary to click in the appropriate box.   Peter ... View more

May I ask what version of Adobe Illustrator you are using? I cannot replicate this behavior — only the values I enter are changed. Have you tried restarting Illustrator? Your computer? Resetting preferences?   Peter ... View more

Please try going to View menu > View using CPU and see if that makes a difference.   Peter ... View more

Fortunately, I had swallowed my mouthful of coffee a moment before I reached "menu spelunking"!   Thanks, Peter ... View more

The short answer is that it's a Symbol, and if you double-click it a dialog box will offer you the opportunity to edit it. When you are done, double-clicking in an empty space away from the Symbol will get you out of editing mode.   For more complete information on Symbols, go to https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/symbols.html   Peter ... View more

You're very welcome, Maddison.   Sorry, I just couldn't leave it alone.   Hi, Jacob. Thank you. Still here, or still here again, take your pick.   ... View more