When using the line segment tool to make asquare in illustrator CS I can't fill the square with col - Adobe Illustrator Windows

[eriktebo@adobeforums.com]

Sorry if this is a repeated question. I tried to search and didn't find anything.

When using the line segment tool in illustrator CS to make a square I can't fill the square with color using the paint bucket tool.

Please help!! I've bin working on resolving this issue for days now.

Thank you!!

[Jacob_Bugge@adobeforums.com]

Erik,

What you get with the Line Secment Tool is a bunch (4) of straight open paths. If you use the Rectangle Tool, you get a closed path.

After that, you can just click the Fill and Color squares in the bottom of the Tools palette.

[Teri]

Erik,

The line segment tool makes each straight line as a separate path, unconnected to any other paths. It is meant for when you want each line segment to be independent. You should really not be using it to create any kind of connected shapes at all. You should be using either the shape tools like the Rectangle tool and Polygon tool for simple shapes, or the Pen tool for arbitrary shapes. (Each click of the pen tool becomes a corner of the shape, then you click back on the first point to close it.)

In CS2, you can use the Live Paint feature to paint bucket fill regions enclosed by disjoint open paths, but that feature does not exist in CS 1.

If it is at all practical, I would recommend starting over and making your square with the Rectangle tool instead. If you already have an illustration that is composed of lots and lots of straight line segments and you need to make it fillable, then there are techniques for converting the enclosed regions to filled shapes using the Pathfinder commands. But that wouldn't be the advisable way to start on a new illustration.