Drawing Polylines with rounded corners--how?
Sean
One way I found was to draw a rounded rectangle and use the Scissors tool to cut off what I didn't want.
Is there an easier way along the lines of drawing three lines with two open endpoints and two rounded corners?
Sean
I tried the online help for polylines and rounded corners, etc. I found out how to use effects > rounded corners, but it doesn't work with how I created my lines. Clearly, I am missing something, can you assist?
I want to draw three sides of a rectangle with rounded corners. That is, there are only two corners, and they need to be rounded.
I was able to draw three lines and group the objects, but the effects > rounded corners selection did not work.
My lines are 3-pt. thick. I need this to appear as one line.
Any and all advice would be appreciated, even if it is only to point me to the correct topic in the online help.
Cheers,
Sean
Sean
Teri Pettit
Try these threads:
Sean
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArgh. Apparently, it's gonna be a nightmare and maybe pulling teeth with a rusty spoon would be less painful. Sheesh. At version 10, one would think such a commonly-used feature would be a tad easier. I have a bunch of lines I want to join with rounded corners, instead of sharp ones. These lines don't necessarily fit the "rectangle" profile, and none are closed.
Cheers and thanks again,
Sean
B. Philippus
Perhaps you are using the wrong software for the job.
You could join the lines and then use the "rounded corners" feature under filters>stylize or in the effects menu.
Bert
Sean
How do I "join" lines? Searching on "join" in the online help is useless and "join lines" seemed to bring up bunches of unrelated garbage.
I tried grouping the lines, but they are still not one (when I apply arrowheads, I get four instead of two, so I know the individual lines in the group have not been joined as one).
Also, what tool should I be using to draw a series of lines representing pipes and annotating them with callouts and alphanumeric IDs? I need to go to PDF via PS, so Visio is out. CorelDRAW! 10? I know 8 would do this.
Cheers,
Sean
Bob Crossley
You can do what you want with AI 10. Use the PEN tool. With the PEN tool selected shift-click the anchor point (start). Still holding the shift key (to constrain to horizontal), click on the end point, then click again at a 45 degree at the desired location. Click again for the vertical line at it's endpoint, again at the 45 and once more at the end point of the bottom horizontal. What you now looks like a 3 sided rectangle with beveled corners. All the line segments are "joined" as one object. Now grab the Convert Anchor Point tool (the same fly out as the pen) and click pull the anchor points at the bevels to the desired arc! I know it sounds like a lot but it really isn't. Drop me a line on my email if you have any questions.
Bob in Oregon smo...@oregoncoast.com
Rick Moore
drawing tools are, but it can be done, take a look
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rickjohnson/illus/renderings.html
How this guy used Ill to do this is quite beyond me....
--
Rick Moore
Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects
www.bgkarchitects.com
Bob Crossley
If you are using the pen tool to draw the lines, they will automatically join no matter where you next click, as long as you dont switch to another tool. If you are joining 2 paths that are separate, then use the Direct Select Tool (hollow arrow) and select the to end points that are nearest each other and hit CTRL-J. Viola! joined lines! As far as the constrained arc, I'd go with the rounded rectangles and delete a segment, that would be the easiest.
Bob
Sean
Also, how does one join two lines into one element (not group, but acutally join hte lines)?
Cheers,
Sean
Sean
I'll try your suggs and get back to you. At this point, I accomplished what I needed using multiple rounded rectangles and deleting the parts I didn't want--a slight pain but not too bad.
Cheers,
Sean
Sean
You answered all of my questions! (Though, I still would like to know how to find that out in the documentation <vbg>.)
Grazie.
Cheers,
Sean
Sean
I just want to draw a representation comprising straight lines and curves--I'd expect illustration software to be able to do that <vbg>. I want easily to include these drawings in other software, hence I want to use a mainstream app rather than buy Pro-E just to join some lines with radiused corners. LOL!
Again, thanks. Rather than buy the plug-in, if this comes up often I'll move over to CorelDRAW!
Cheers,
Sean
Harron K. Appleman
Don't mean to be a wisea** (although you would be justified in thinking I am), but joining endpoints is covered on page 75 of the IL 10 manual.
Got there by looking up "join" in the index.
Working with paths and points might just be the least intuitive thing in any illustration program because the paradigm is so far removed from stylus-based drawing... or, for that matter, finger painting, "writing" on snow, or Etch-A-Sketch.®
After years of use, however, I must say I find Illustrator's path-related tools to be powerful and flexible. To me, Illustrator is one of the real gems in the Adobe collection. I say give it a chance.
=-= Harron =-=
Sean
Got there by looking up "join" in the index.
Wiseass. LOL!
Harbav, try looking up "Join" in the online help. Have fun.
And, how about looking up how to create rounded corners, and how to remove arrows from certain lines?
<vbg>
Cheers,
Sean
Ben Salisbury
Join won't work...it's too simple of a word for the search engine... type "joining" and you'll be on you way...
but I prefere the manual to the help files anyhow.
-Ben
Sean
Teri Pettit
You're right, I wouldn't expect Join to be excluded, especially since it is a command name. "Link", for example, is the same length and is probably used on more Help pages, and it is accepted as a search key, yielding 33 matches. It's just a guess, but I imagine that the exclusion database derives from a generic search engine, and in the context of Internet searches, "join" might be something that would be excluded because there would be so many hits on joining chat rooms, joining email lists, joining clubs, etc. Of course, you'd also expect "link" to be excluded from a generic search engine, because there would be too many references to html links. So our Help authors probably specifically removed "Link" from the generic exclusion database, and neglected to remove "Join" as well.
Re: "And, how about looking up how to create rounded corners, and how to remove arrows from certain lines?"
Searching the online help for "Rounded" or "Rounded Corners" gets hits on the Rounded Rectangle tool, and the Round Corners filter and live effect, and the Rounded caps and joins options in the Stroke palette. Seems like pretty good topic coverage to me.
You can't search specifically on removing arrowheads because there are over 100 different live effects, and the steps to remove any live effect are the same. I've seen questions asked on this forum about removing rounded corners, removing zig-zag, removing drop shadows, removing arrowheads, removing roughen, and removing glows.
The Help search engine is not set up to find a page that doesn't actually use the word being searched for, and it would be impractical to list all the effects on each page that talked about something you can do with them. (Removing them, adding them, modifying their options, converting them to regular objects, etc.)
Actually, I suppose it would be possible for the html authors to put the names of all the live effects into the "Keywords" meta tag for each page discussing actions you can do with effects, then it would be considered to be "used" on that page even though the reader wouldn't see it.
But if I were searching any software's help system, I would enter search terms that were at the level of generality that you'd expect the features to work at. Who would expect a program to have a different procedure for removing an arrowhead effect than it does for removing a drop shadow effect or a zig-zag effect? So "remove effects" or "removing effects" is the logical search phrase, just like you wouldn't search on "adding red" or "adding blue" if you were trying to find out how to add color.
Sean
Also, as I found out, you cannot remove arrowheads . . . that is, you have to remove all line customizations.
Regarding rounded corners, I understand searching for rounded corners pulls up some appropriate related topics, like rounded rectangles. Indeed, my first effective solution to creating rounded corners between segments was to create multiple rounded rectangles and delete the unwanted lines and curves. But, creating line segments joined by curves must be a fairly common thing, like removing _only_ arrowheads. So, if the software doesn't do the thing specifically, the documentation should anticipate the need and address the workaround. Well, in my opinion, anyway. But, then, I write this stuff for a living. <vbg>
Hey, this forum and these answers have been great! I have my solutions thanks to youse guys, and I appreciate it. Keep up the good work,
cheers,
Sean
Teri Pettit
This procedure is described in the Help section on removing effects.
It is not more common to wish to remove only arrowheads than it is to remove only drop shadows, or only glows, or only roughen, or only warps, or only blurs, or only feathering, or only zig-zag, etc., etc.
I agree that the documentation tends to be not very helpful when you want to find out how to construct specific kinds of illustrations that require using a sequence of multiple different commands or tools, whether it is constructing objects with some of the corners rounded and others not, or wrapping a gradient around an arc like in a CD image, or creating text that looks bevelled, etc. Like most software documentation, both the User Guide and the html Help are organized around describing how to use the commands, tools and palettes, not around how to create various kinds of illustration elements. Since for the most part there are no descriptions of multi-tool or multi-command procedures, they naturally do not appear in the index or search keys.
Yet the "tips and tutorials" kind of guidance tends to be more what people are looking for - it's what I usually look for when I'm using unfamiliar software too. People don't generally approach a program with the question "what does this command do", they generally have a fairly specific goal in mind and want to know which procedures will help them reach that goal.
But the problem is that there are so many different kinds of things that people might want to create that it really doesn't fit in an online help system or a user guide, despite there being a definite need for that kind of help. So that's what resources like third party books (e.g., Illustrator Wow Book, Design Essentials, etc.), classes, and forums like this are good for.
Ian A. Wright
> Accept my thanks and be off with you. <<
As you wish. Don't ask again.
Ian A. Wright
The User Guide and the on-line help are NOT the same. That's why they are BOTH provided with the retail copy. Coming here to ask about things that are listed in the index (like join) is not a "just-in-time" solution. You seem to be looking for a set of canned features rather than explanation of how various tools work. Maybe you should be looking in one of the other kinds of tutorial resources -- in the medium of your choice. One such resource is Adobe's "Classroom-in-a-book".
Sean
I was using the software and right then and there had a need to join two lines with a curve.
That is just-in-time stuff.
As for what I'm looking for, am looking for how to use the tools to do a common thing . . . not for a definition of what the tool is. There's a difference between having a pump panel on a fire truck described as a collection of valves and gauges intended to flow water from a source to the fire and actually having a common use of the pump panel described so you can use the thing.
I don't know for sure that the content in the book and online help are the same. It is just my experience that they seem to be. I would prefer not to debate you on that, I don't mind agreeing with you and saying you are right and I am wrong.
Fair enough?
Why are you carrying on, anyway. I already gratuitously and honestly thanked you guys for the assist. Accept my thanks and be off with you. LOL!
Cheers,
Sean
Bill Swallow
ROFLMAO!!!
Oh, man...
Sorry...
I agree with Sean, by the way. That kind of info should have been made very easy to get to in the online Help.
Sean
Cheers,
Sean
Sean
As you wish. Don't ask again.
LOL! I won't ask you again, anything, how about that.
Hey, smile will you. It's only software. Sheesh.
Ian A. Wright
I'm still unclear why you are not using the User Guide ...? Edpecially since you, "... write this stuff for a living"!
Sean
1) I perceive the content in the online help and user guide are the same.
2) I am in Illustrator using the software. I want just-in-time help right now on a feature or task.
3) I perceive that, in addition to a TOC and IX, I can use a word search to search for any word or string in the online docs that I cannot do in the printed doc.
4) I began by looking in both: trying to find out how to remove arrowheads. Neither resource provides searchable help on that. Then I tried both to figure out how to create rounded corners. Both talked about rounded rectangles, etc., but neither answered my questions about segments joined by rounded corners or curves.
5) So, I used the rounded rectangle and subtract approach, and in conjunction with discussion here, the need to try to join lines came up. At that point, I figured just try the online help because it was quicker, and "Join" turned up an error message.
6) I write as much online help as printed and bound documentation. Actually, all things considered, my work is 662/3% online and 331/3% printed and bound.
HTH,
Cheers,
Sean