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If I turn on grid inside symbol, then it has no relation with symbol's coordinates and it's registration point, which is at zero. So I can't use snap-to-grid function correctly.

enter image description here

How to fix/overcome?

UPDATE

Extra sample:

enter image description here

A -- zero coordinate location

B -- grid line location

C -- snap to grid effect doesn't allow to position to zero since it snaps to grid, which is shifted relative to zero

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  • Not quite clear as to what you are trying to do. Can you provide more detail?
    – ckpepper02
    Sep 11, 2013 at 17:52
  • @ckpepper02 do you see that registration point does not fit the grid?
    – Suzan Cioc
    Sep 11, 2013 at 18:00
  • What happens when you snap the entire shape to grid?
    – ckpepper02
    Sep 11, 2013 at 18:06
  • Command-Y (or Control-Y) to enable Outline view?
    – beroe
    Sep 11, 2013 at 19:42
  • @beroe does not help: in outline view registration point still does not coincide with the grid
    – Suzan Cioc
    Sep 11, 2013 at 21:00

2 Answers 2

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When you converting you vector to symbol check "Align to pixel grid".

Convert vector to symbol

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Unfortunately, Illustrator uses a different method for snapping symbols to the grid than for regular objects. It seems that when it's a symbol and you have "snap to grid" turned on, it just tries to snap the bounding box of the symbol to the grid. Which is completely different from the snapping you see with other paths (they will snap to path or anchor points, which makes way more sense). So see how messed up this is: create a square on the grid with a line width of a few points. Then create a symbol of this, drag it around so you see how it snaps (probably not how you wanted). Then change the line width by editing the symbol (double-click it), then drag it around again. You will see it's snapping slightly offset now, because the bounding box has changed. Symbols just snap to their bounding box, as if Illustrator can't "see" the path points inside it anymore. This behavior makes it quite useless to use symbols on a grid IMO. My findings apply to Illustrator CS6, I'm not sure if CC versions behave differently.

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    I found a (clunky) workaround though: make sure you add a grid-sized rectangle around (should totally enclose your object, not intersect) your symbol, set it to no fill, and no stroke. Dragging this across your artboard will snap it to the (correctly sized) bounding box of the invisible rectangle.
    – zmippie
    Dec 25, 2017 at 9:50

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