Using Help | Contents | Index Back 141
Adobe Illustrator Help Transforming and Distorting Shapes
Using Help | Contents | Index Back 141
Using the Pathfinder palette
Use the Pathfinder palette to combine paths into new objects and shapes. In the
Pathfinder palette, you can access filters for combining paths and you can access shape
mode commands, which create and modify compound shapes. For more information on
how filters affect the objects to which they’re applied, see “
Using filters and filter effects”
on page 239.
You access Pathfinder filters by clicking a Pathfinders button or pressing Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) and clicking a Shape Modes button. (See “
Creating a final shape quickly”
on page 148.) You access shape modes by clicking a Shape Modes button. (See “About
compound shapes” on page 142.)
To open the Pathfinder palette:
Choose Window > Pathfinder.
To display the Pathfinder palette menu:
Click the triangle at the upper right corner of the palette.
To repeat the action of the most recent Pathfinder palette button:
In the Pathfinder palette menu, choose Repeat <command>.
The command is applied with the most recently used options.
To set Pathfinder options:
1 Choose Window > Pathfinder.
2 Choose Pathfinder Options from the Pathfinder palette menu.
3 Specify any of the following Pathfinder options, and then click OK:
• Type a precision value in the Precision text box to affect how precisely the Pathfinder
filters calculate an object’s path. The more precise the calculation, the more accurate
the drawing and the more time is required to generate the resulting path.
• Select Remove Redundant Points to remove redundant points as you click a Pathfinder
button.
• Select Divide and Outline Will Remove Unpainted Artwork to delete any unfilled objects
in the selected artwork as you click the Divide or Outline button.
• To reset all options to their default settings, click Defaults.
Combining objects into complex shapes
You can combine paths and objects to create shapes in a variety of ways in Illustrator.
The resulting paths or shapes differ depending on the method you use to combine the
paths. Illustrator creates the following types of shapes:
• Compound shapes consist of two or more paths, compound paths, groups, blends,
envelopes, warps, text, or other compound shapes that interact with and intercept one
another to create new, editable shapes. Some compound shapes may appear like
compound paths, but you can control them on a per-path basis.
• Compound paths consist of two or more simple paths that interact with or intercept
each other. They are more basic than compound shapes and are recognized by all
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