Converting AI lines to shapes

I purchase a lot of clip art from Shutterstock.com for various projects.

The files, most of which are created in Adobe Illustrator, are fine as long as you don't get too tricky. The problem is the shapes are actually lines.

So if you try to apply a bevel or join the shapes the results are a dog's breakfast. That is a total mess.

You can select these "line" shapes then switch to the Shape Tool, press Tab (which goes to the first node of the line) and hit Enter and the line becomes a shape.

But for the image attached, it is a nightmare because of all the shapes. Here's a faster way I discovered.

Select the image and from Arrange select Break Shapes. The largest shape comes to the front. Send it to the back and give all the shapes an outline so you can see them.

Select all the objects, switch to the Shape Tool. press the Tab key and hit Enter.

This converts all the lines to shapes in one operation. I cannot tell you how many times I have done this one line at a time. :-O

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Originally Posted by gwpriester

This converts all the lines to shapes in one operation. I cannot tell you how many times I have done this one line at a time. :-O

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Gary, wait until you do it by accident for 100 lines and then try to undo your error.

It certainly highlightls the lack of a proper Undo History list.

Acorn

I edited this post. I figured out what I was doing wrong.

I did not know you could covert lines to shapes like you showed Gary.

Now if I just can remember it for next time.

Ray

Ray, the technique for closing an open path has been around since day one. And with some of these shapes, using the Shape Tool then Tab and trying to see where the selected point is is almost impossible because of the huge number of control points.

Acorn, I think there could be a better AI import filter that recognizes un-closed shapes and closes them automatically would help.

pity xara does not allow a choice of winding rule which would make this 'filled shape from line' [as opposed to 'convert line to shape'] function more useful generally...

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Originally Posted by gwpriester

...I think there could be a better AI import filter that recognizes un-closed shapes and closes them automatically would help.

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Those AI files may not actually be un-closed shapes if opened in AI or CD, etc.

I myself have only had this issue in Xara products when the source is from a stock site.

Interesting shape:

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Originally Posted by Egg Bramhill

Interesting shape:

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Would have liked that GIF much more back in the 1960s/1970s...

Pretty cool, Egg

What were you smoking back then Mike?

Dude!

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Originally Posted by Egg Bramhill

What were you smoking back then Mike?

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If that was all I was doing, I wouldn't have had a flashback looking at the GIF ...