Repeating Line Patterns/Brushes?

In Xara, I created a brush with a series of dashes, a question-mark shape, and more dashes. Please see the attached.
Attachment 81252

I will need to make other similar repeating line patterns, such as dashes, a triangle, and more dashes.

They will be use in maps.

IS THERE A WAY TO THIS IN ILLUSTRATOR CS5? I looked at dashing options and some of the brushes but they don't appear to be able to do this (perhaps there are some options I overlooked)?
Attachment 81253

first type your dashes and question mark
then menu object > expand make sure both object and fill boxes are ticked and click ok
then on the brush palette click new brush button and select pattern brush and click ok
you can then click ok again for the default options and your brush should work

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I spent a large portion of yesterday reading Illy manuals at the bookstore trying to find a solution. It helps to know Illy terminology. :)

Steve, what if a question-mark was also needed at the each end of an open curve?
Is there solution?

Hi

yes you can do that - but you need to create a pattern brush from two pattern tiles

the method I gave you before was a 'quick fix' - now here's how you do it 'properly' :D

type your dashes with question mark as before - expand - but then go to edit menu and click define pattern, give it a name, and click ok

then type a question mark only - expand - go again to edit menu, define pattern, name, ok

check the swatches palette to make sure your two new pattern tiles appear there

then, with nothing selected, click the new brush button, select pattern brush, and click ok to open the options palette - you should see something like the attached, where 'line' and 'question mark' represent the two pattern tiles you have just made

click on side tile and then on the name of the pattern tile that is the dashes + question mark

next click on either start or end tile as appropriate, and then on the name of the pattern tile that is the question mark

then click ok

and hopefully if I have made sense you have your brush

:)

This worked also. Thanks some more. I don't think I would have been able to figure it out from the documentation alone.

More questions:
I saved the patterns to a user defined library and a did like wise for the brushes I made (which were different combinations of dashes and shapes).

I notice though there seems is no way to edit libraries (files) directly to remove from or add to them. They appear blank when I opened them but store the info in them somehow. The only way I could add or remove from either library was to select specific patterns or brushes from their respective swatches and then save over their existing libraries. No way to at least append a new pattern to a library?

Comment: there are so many swatches/panels and specialized tools to keep track of, very hard to get a handle on it all.