See through to make text transparent

Question

I am very new to Adobe Illustrator but I'm trying to get the hang of it. I have some text, say "Pizza" and I have filled the "P" with a black square so that there is no hole in it. Then, I have a shape on top of that square which I want to be the new hole in the "P".

So I have the following layers:

• On top: My shape
• In the middle: My square
• In the bottom: My text, "Pizza".

Does anyone know how I can make it so that I can see through my shape and all the way through the square and the text to the background?

Answer 1

Here is what I think you're trying to do:

All you need to do this is the pathfinder tool (Window >> pathfinder)

1. Select your word 'Pizza' right-click it and say "Create Outlines"
2. Ungroup the word 'Pizza' so you can select each letter individually, or use the white arrow to only select the 'P'.
3. Select your 'P' and the square. Select the Unite option (the first option in the pathfinder window). This will merge the 'P' and the square together as one shape.
4. Draw your new shape over the now filled-in 'P'.
5. Select the new shape and the 'P' and select the Minus Front option from the pathfinder window (the second option). This will take away the first shape from the second, giving you a "transparent window"

NOTE: Once your 'P' is a shape, you won't be able to use it with the text tool anymore as it's won't be recognized as a letter, but just a shape.