So clever. So smart. ... View more

Am I Doug now, Jacob? Or better asked, is it apparent to you by my screen name on this forum that I am who I say I am? If so, many thanks. If not, many thanks anyway. ... View more

How did you hack it, Monika? (Hack is such a coarse word. But sometimes what we call a hack can be an elegant solution.) ... View more

Replicating your steps on Sierra with AICC 2017, I too lose transparency in the Link-Placed PDF (saved with both the Illustrator Default and Press Quality presets). Transparency is restored when I embed the Placed PDF. ... View more

Thank you, Jacob. Kurt, let's see if the answer is at the top of this post – I just changed my screen name. It should now say DougKatz (placing a space between first and last name was not accepted when I edited). ... View more

Jacob, I did as you instructed. But when I go to Edit Community Profile, I can't seem to edit! I can highlight each field, but none of the fields – including Screen Name – respond to my editing attempts from the keyboard. I must be in the wrong place? ... View more

Thank you both. I did not assume a 3D application, but nor did I assume Illustrator's 3D Effect. Beyond what I didn't assume, I assumed some elegant combination of blends, masks and pathfinder operations that my limited cognitive capacities couldn't conceptualize on their own. I also confess the question was idle. I don't have a need to mimic this artwork, just curious how it might be achieved. Mike, I appreciate you're deliberately exposing the inadequacies of the 3D Effect. And Kurt – OK, fine – there IS nothing elegant here, you say… just some good ol' vector craftsmanship. In an odd way, that's a relief. No newfangled, super efficient shortcut that I've overlooked. (Mike I'm Doug. And on my screen that's the name I'm given on my posts. Do you see JamArtz?) ... View more

Kurt explains why. The culprit is the Transform Tools setting in the Smart Guides preferences panel. This setting disturbs shift dragging with a mouse or Wacom tablet. It also disturbs, shift-dragging points with VectorScribe's PathScribe tool. I've confirmed that with Astute Graphics. Everything works for me as expected in the most up-to-date version of AICC 2017 on the most current Sierra, with the latest Wacom driver so long as the Transform Tools setting is toggled off. ... View more

Kurt finds yet another use for the Outline Object Effect! And the crowd roars in gratitude! ... View more

Where do you see anything about nonbreaking spaces on that page? I only see a forced break character mentioned (which we've always been able to produce with Shift-Enter). ... View more

Ah. OK, that's helpful. I think you're also telling me – due to this glitch we've uncovered in AICC 2017, Sierra or both – there really is no way for the moment to discover the true creation date of any Saved As files. Oh well. Woe is me. Like you say, there are worse things in the world. ... View more

Kurt, I've just opened a file created last month in AICC 2017 that I modified earlier today. As we've been discussing, the file now shows in Sierra's Finder as having both a Created Date and a Modified Date of February 4, 2017, 9:56:21 AM. I wanted to confirm the accuracy of the metadata. I went to File>File Info…>Basic. There I looked at the dates at the bottom of the Basic panel. They both read Feb 4, 2017, 9:56:21 AM! Am I not looking in the right place for the metadata?! ... View more

Hmm. Having no programming experience, I readily take your word about the options. On the other hand, 1. This is a change in Illustrator (and/or OS) convention. I've never seen the Created Date changed on a Save As in 25 years – with any program I've ever used, from the simple TextEdit to Word to Pages to any Adobe software. The convention I'm familiar with is to change the Modified Date, leaving the Created Date unchanged. 2. Why have a separate Created Date and Modified Date if they're identical with each save or save as? One would do. 3. A fixed Created Date – set when a file is saved or saved as for the first time – makes so much more sense, don't you think? Knowing when you or someone else first created an illustration, for example, can be valuable in a host of circumstances. It certainly is in my work. I'm just grateful we have Kurt around to discover workarounds. ... View more

You are as stubborn and unfashionable as I! I, for one, am an embarrassment to my profession and my family. It's just that I can get done whatever I need to with my Model T Ford and dial-up phone…. ... View more

With apologies to all, it is NOT a problem with Photoshop nor with Acrobat here either. I misspoke in my original post. Illustrator is the only offender on my machine. Kurt, are you suspecting an Illustrator problem or some interaction between Illustrator and Sierra? (I jumped from Lion to Sierra – a long jump – and from CS5 to CC 2017 – another long jump – so I'm guessing the problem didn't exist with earlier OS and AI versions?.) And thank you for the workarounds. ... View more

Wow. Thanks, eclectic4. From the non-response here, I assumed this was an oddity unique to my setup, and I was just going to have to live with the inconvenience. I may still have to live with it, but it's good to know it may be Illustrator and not me. I expect more people are experiencing it but maybe not noticing. For me it's not a trivial issue. I'd love to get a fix. If you come across anything – or just have more people reporting it – please let me know. ... View more

I'm quite sure I do know exactly what whispers in your ears about the relative unimportance of Outline Object on a planet confronting far darker challenges. Rest assured my ears are being whispered into too. Thank you, Kurt. ... View more

Needless to say, I am grateful for these confirmations, Kurt. I am cursed with frustration when I don't understand how and why an operation does what it does. You have brought me considerable relief. Who needs a software engineer when we have you? I have tried a few times to follow your white-frame instructions with a linked image without "full" success. Specifically,  I can add a fill, drag it below the image (Contents) in the Appearance panel, paint it white, apply Outline Object, apply Offset Path and apply Drop Shadow. What I get is an image with a drop shadow. What I don't get is a white border framing the image. The visual result is identical to applying a drop shadow to the image directly, without an additional, white-painted, offset fill to mimic a snapshot frame. So as you say, my claim that it "doesn't work" with a linked image is a partial truth. Thanks again for your expertise and your patience. As for perseverating, I bet the only people familiar with that word are the troubled ones who are disposed to do it! ... View more

Sorry for perseverating on this topic. Three questions: 1. Back to your instructions, Kurt, is it possible that the only reason I need to use the Outline Object Effect on that white added fill behind the photo is because the base object is a raster image? (I'm now guessing that because I don't need the effect when the base image is a vector object.) 2. Am I correct that your instructions will only work when the photo is embedded? I can't seem to make them work if the image is linked. 3. Are there other objects or appearances that Outline Object has a useful effect on in addition to images and type objects? Thank you for your patience. ... View more

"Makes a path out of something that isn't." OK, but isn't an additional fill a path (virtual until expanded of course)? It certainly is if applied to a simple vector object, no? With a simple object, I can add color to it, apply effects to it, transform it and so on. I don't need to apply Outline Object to that additional fill to make it (and all that's applied to it) visible, right? Asked another way, why do I need to "make a path" out of Kurt's white fill behind the photograph with Outline Object if I don't need to apply Outline Object to a second fill added to a simple vector path? Where is the difference there? Is it somehow because the photograph is not ITSELF a path? If Convert to Shape does something similar (make a path out of something that isn't), why wouldn't Offset Path make a path out of something that isn't? Why wouldn't Offset Path be sufficient in the same way Ton's Convert to Shape is sufficient? Does this have to do with Teri Petit's pre- and post-effects? I do understand that Outline Object virtually converts type to outlines. This makes more sense to me, as type is a fundamentally different kind of object than an additional fill added in the appearance panel. Oh well, thank you Monika for trying to get this through my skull. Lazy is certainly not a word I would use to describe you of all people! Nor am I lazy by the way. I'll keep working at this until I figure it out. Old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. ... View more

Good advice. I've taken it. Of course you're managing to make me feel more inept even than I am! I made several tests with many objects. I made simple objects, added fills, strokes, applied effects, grouped some objects, overlapped some objects, copied objects and applied Outline Object to one set, expanded the appearance of them and their (unoutlined) copies. I am simply not seeing a difference with the effect (other than in Kurt's example)! Neither when I apply the effect nor when I expand the object. And yet clearly, Kurt's instructions above to include Outline Object on the white fill for the framed photo effect is essential. I can see how the white lower fill won't be seen without the effect applied. But what is that effect ACTUALLY doing!? Why is it making the white fill visible so it can receive and display the drop shadow? I discovered it has nothing to do with the fill being white. No lower fill will display without outline object applied, no matter the color applied. To further confuse me, if I replicate Kurt's steps using a simple vector object instead of a linked or imported photo, I can apply white (or any color) and a drop shadow to a lower fill and see both fill and shadow without the outline object effect. Why is that? And what in the world does any of this have to do with tightening the boundary around a type object, which the effect also does?! I am obviously clueless about this effect and don't wish to burden you or others if I can read about it on my own. I will keep searching for a clear resource, and in the meantime, if someone is willing to shed more light on this effect, obviously I'm all very appreciative ears. ... View more

Quite right, Monika. And trying it myself reveals how ignorant I am about the Outline Object Effect's powers. I have used it only to better align a text object on the page, never as Kurt recommends it here. I've also just searched around for an explanation of the Effect when applied objects other than text. My search skills surely are deficient, but I can't find a good explanation of its purposes (Teri Petit's sample file from the Dark Ages won't download for me, and Illustrator's Help files explain little to me). Can I trouble you for a current reference to information… or your own explanation? Thanks. ... View more

But may I ask Kurt why this step: - Apply Effect > Path > Outline Object to the white fill What is its purpose in this sequence? Would Roberta not produce the same outcome without it? ... View more

I will find that out! And they may be compliments but also statements of fact. ... View more

Thanks for the timely confirmation, Ton. Over the years, your posts have taught me tricks that I can use. I taught you one that's obsolete! Not an even trade. It's unfortunate to lose this capability. Not that I made glyph gradients a steady diet, but it was something that came in handy on rare occasion. And I can't think of an alternative that keeps the type live and doesn't require duplicate glyphs, precise alignments and easy editing. Oh well, with progress comes inescapable losses. To go forward, some things need to be left behind. ... View more

Jane, you have discovered a new shortcut in Illustrator! Or at least new since pre- AICC days! This is wonderful. If you tried to pan with the option key alone  while in a text object using, for example AICS 5.5, you'd get exactly nowhere. Your cursor would be dead to the world. Try it if you have access, you'll see. You would have to do the finger dance I described above. But the simple press of the option key in AICC2017 functions as my finger combinations did earlier. And less intricate to boot. I'm very grateful. ... View more

Hmm. Well I have Astute Graphics plug-ins, as you know. And I have a Wacom. I have none of the other specifics in your list and very few other applications, none especially exotic. So as you say, it's Sierra or Wacom or AG or some obscure combination. I'll see if anyone using Sierra sees the same, although I have the impression that few on the forum are using Sierra (maybe for good reason). If no one else responds, I'll just have to pull out the AG plug-ins and the Wacom driver and test, test, test. Alternatively I can learn to live without the shortcut. Just that it's been a wonderful convenience for many years. Thank you as always for taking the time to check this, Monika. If I find anything else out as I explore, I'll be sure to come back here and post. ... View more

Quite positive. Never use InDesign. I'm also positive I have not described this behavior clearly enough to you, Monika, because if anyone can make sense of an incoherent question, I know it to be you. The steps: 1. Make a text object (Point or Area, no matter) and type some gibberish. 2. Click to set an insertion point anywhere in the text. 3. With the type tool selected and the insertion point set, press and hold the COMMAND key first, then, without releasing the COMMAND key, press and hold the SPACE BAR so you are pressing both keys at once. You will see the Zoom tool cursor. 4. Release the COMMAND key while still holding the SPACE BAR. You will now see the Hand tool icon. 5. In CS5 (my last version before CC2017), as long as you kept the SPACE BAR pressed, you could  actually navigate around Illustrator's canvas (for example, to check another text block's style or content, to drag down below the edge of the Illustrator window, to look at another artboard or the like). As you navigated, the original text object remained unaltered. 6. Release the SPACE BAR and you: (a) return to the type tool cursor, and (b) the insertion point is exactly where you left it in the original text object. But in AICC 2017 (on Sierra v. Lion), when I follow these steps, I do indeed get the Hand tool and can indeed navigate around the artboard, BUT (and it's a killer but) while I'm navigating, spaces are being inserted where I left the insertion point. In other words, "outside the text object" I have the functionality of the Hand tool, but at the same time, "inside the text object" holding the space bar is doing what it does – adding spaces. In CS5, this "in-text" function of the SPACE BAR was disabled after the above finger-dance. Can you not replicate this in CS5? Or maybe it's only because you're on Yosemite rather than the archaic OS I was using? ... View more