0

I have two objects, a rectangle and a flower pattern. They are overlapping. One is a group, the other is a rectangle. I would like to crop the flower pattern using the overlap of the two.

I'm getting the error: "The filter produced no results. Please select two overlapping paths"

They are clearly overlapped, so perhaps one of them doesn't count as a path. What does this error mean?

enter image description here

I have tried searching this issue and found multiple things that weren't helpful. I'm trying to follow these instructions: Illustrator: how to intersect shapes properly

Improve this question
1
  • Minus front does work, so it clearly knows how to intersect the two objects. It just doesn't like the intersect command for some reason.
    – Library Seph
    May 2 at 21:15

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Rather than creating a group for the flower pattern. Select it all and create a Compound Path (Object > Compound path > Make). And then try the Pathfinder command.

I'm not 100% certain this solves your issue, but it would be my first step.

Intersect expects to see 2 paths, not a path and a group. By creating a compound path, there will be 2 paths.

Improve this answer
4
  • That makes sense. Is there a reason that the error message wasn't something more along the lines of "one of the selected objects is not a path" or "only one path found"? I'm thinking of putting in a feature request for a clearer error message.
    – Library Seph
    May 3 at 15:03
  • The message is just universal standard when 2 paths aren't selected. Forgive me, but your suggestions essentially state the exact same thing just in a different way. It seems fairly clear to me.. the selection does not contain 2 paths. If you select 1 path and hit intersect, you get the same message. More detailed messages may be nice, but I don't think the app really needs the overhead of detecting what is actually selected. Once a user understands the operation/message they never really need to know the "why" again.
    – Scott
    May 4 at 0:02
  • I should note I've been a programmer for 20 years. It's a purely philosophical perspective, but I believe having to put an error message into a search engine in order to understand it is poor design. As for overhead, it could be a half hour of developer time and a nanosecond of processing, or it could be an hour of client time and this entire discussion. It doesn't go away by them doing nothing, it just get moved to client side.
    – Library Seph
    May 4 at 19:50
  • I don't really disagree. I'm merely aware that engineers don't determine what happens with Adobe products... the accounting and marketing departments determine areas of focus. Better defined messages don't garner new subscriptions. The message has been exactly the same since Pathfinder was introduced in version 7.0, decades ago.
    – Scott
    May 4 at 20:05

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.