Contract shapes?

[janthyer@adobeforums.com]

Is there a way in Illustrator (like there is in Photoshop) to easily and automatically contract a shape? In Photoshop you go the the "Select" menu and pull down to "modify-contract" and you can then "lop off" a uniform number of pixels all the way around the perimeter of your object. That is the function I would like to be able to do in Illustrator. Any suggestions?

Thanks. I'm using Illustrator 10 on the PC.

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

OBJECT-->PATH-->OFFSET PATH

use a negative amount.

[B. Philippus]

The drawback to using Object>Path>Offset Path, is that you will create a new object in addition to the original. I prefer using Effect>Path>Offset Path, after which you can adjust the effect by using the Appearance palette. If desirable, you can expand the appearance to make the change final.

[janthyer@adobeforums.com]

Hi Bert and Philip

Thanks for your responses but I couldn't get either of these methods to work. I was trying to contract some type that had been converted to shapes. So I tried a simpler shape, a rectangle, but even then it did all sorts of weird things like changing a rectangle to an oval! I tried negative numbers and positive numbers; eensy, mid-sized, and big. Nothing worked. What now?!

Thanks for your efforts.
jan

[Philip_Peterson@adobeforums.com]

Interesting point Bert. Jan try a smaller negative number. Especially if you are starting with text, you might want to start with a really small number.

[B. Philippus]

Jan:

Here's the dialog box for Offset Path:



1. This is the offset amount, and you can enter numbers here in any unit, which Illustrator will then translate into the main unit that's set in the prefs. If you want points or pixels, just type "pt" or "px";
2. This is the corner shape you'll see, either rounded, cut-off or pointy;
3. This is the "pointyness" of corners, when set for miter;
4. Always turn on preview.

Keep in mind, that the amount of offset should be pretty small to keep the image from developing odd artifacts. Also, realize that a lot of fonts, especially cheap ones, have odd paths and anchors that can really upset the offset.

I usually enter the offset amount in points, partly because it's a nice small unit, partly because that's the unit generally used for strokes. You know approximately what a 3 pt stroke looks like, versus a 10 pt stroke, so it'll be a good guideline. A 5 pt offset will push the path out to the outside edge of a 10 pt stroke, as a -5 pt offset will put the path on the inner edge of a 10 pt stroke.

Bert