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I'm using Adobe Illustrator CS6. I can get you pictures if you need but here goes.

I had a logo that I cut in half by removing anchor points, leaving me with just the left side.

Then I selected all the anchor points along what will be the new center line using the Direct Selection tool. Then I tried to align the anchor points in a perfect vertical line using the Horizontal Align Right option in the Align tab.

Then, I selected the entire path. Went to the Appearance tab, clicked Layer and then applied a Distort & Transform > Transform using the X Reflect.

Everything worked beautifully except I have this very fine white line down the center of the image now. How do I get rid of it?

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  • Images would be very good!
    – benteh
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 13:11
  • Zoom in and make sure that the line actually exists. Illustrator sometimes renders things kinda funky. If that's the case, and it bothers you you can also select both sides and use the pathfinder tool to unite the two sides together.
    – Hanna
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 15:58

4 Answers 4

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(Looking at sample file.) You get a white line because the white object is not aligned with the back objects.

Align the left edges of all objects if you wish the reflection effect to be flush to the right. -- line was a guide.

Upon further examination, it appears to be more an issue with smooth points being used where hard corners should be and the fact that the anchors on the right do not all line up. In addition, there are several stray anchors.

  • First, select all and choose Object > Path > Cleanup tick all 3 boxes you see there and click OK. This will remove the stray points.

  • Next, select all the anchors on the right of the image... Only the right-most anchors.

  • Click the Convert to Corner Point button on the Control Bar. This will set all those incorrect smooth point anchors to actual corner points.

covert to corner

  • Then set the Align Panel (or Control bar) to Align to Selection.

enter image description here

  • And lastly click the Align right button on the Control Panel.

alight right

This will ensure all the anchors on the right side of the image are in perfect vertical alignment and eliminate the white gap.

You may still see a hairline rule of white but as you zoom in, that will disappear. This is due to anti-aliasing... read here for more on that.

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  • Okay, I didn't realize there was a white object, how can I select it?
    – Dex
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 22:20
  • Fantastic Instructions. For some reason it still is not working for me. I did the cleanup but still found a number of overlapping anchor points, which I deleted manually. The gap is now smaller but does not disappear completely when I zoom in to 6400%. New file after your instructions: copy.com/WkrNe4vVfBQ7Mrku
    – Dex
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 23:42
  • That's simply an anti-aliasing line (see link in my answer). If you go to Preferences and unchecked Anti-alias artwork.... the line disappears. I'd also suggest you apply the effect to the Group rather than the layer. The line will not be present then either. You really should avoid layer targeted effects as much as possible. They can't be expanded and can often cause confusion and issues later. There's no viable reason you need to apply the effect to the layer as opposed to the group. While Adobe allows effects on layers, I've never found any need to apply them there.
    – Scott
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 23:47
  • You're right. Thanks for the help. I'm pretty confident in PS, but AI a whole new beast to me.
    – Dex
    Commented Feb 7, 2014 at 0:00
  • Glad I could help :)
    – Scott
    Commented Feb 7, 2014 at 0:04
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Perhaps the two anchor points aren't absolutely exactly lined up? Just asking because you said you 'tried' to align them manually. If you have a newer version of Illustrator (starting with CS4 I think) you could select just the two anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool (white arrow) and using the alignment tool, align them exactly.

Or it could simply be a display problem. If you zoom close in, does the white line disappear, stay the same or get larger? If it gets larger then the anchor points aren't perfectly aligned.

To definitely get rid of it you should close the path and make both halves one object, either by selecting two open points and joining them with Ctrl+j, or if they definitely are perfectly aligned, by using the pathfinder palette.

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If I understand you correctly, this is how I would accomplish it, being sure that the lines are straight:

Consider this blob the logo:

enter image description here

Make a shape - here a box - that covers the bits you want to keep, select both, then go to object -> clipping mask -> make:

enter image description here

Voilá, you have half a logo you can continue working with:

enter image description here

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Okay, now that you have posted the file I see what's wrong.

You have an actual space there in your image.

Here's how you fix your issue:

  1. Select your image
  2. Right-click and select Isolate Selected Clipping Mask
  3. Now select either the left or right side of your image and move it so that the gap is closed.

That's it! Your image will no longer have this gap.

You may experience a thin line that "appears" to be there but is in fact not (you can test this by zooming all the way onto the line.)

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  • Your answer seems easiest to follow but I'm still having issues. Using the Selection Tool (V), I click on the black area, but I only see the option Isolate Selected Group. It also does not select the detail at the tip of the nose. If I do select it by holding shift and clicking, the only option I get is Make Clipping Mask.
    – Dex
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 22:33
  • @Dex, mine may be different as I'm using an older version of Illustrator. You'll probably want to select Isolate Selected Group -- in regards to the nose just make sure you have that selected as well, or simply group it with its respective side.
    – Hanna
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 22:35
  • For some reason I still can't get it to work. When using the Selection Tool (V). I do still see a slight white space around the edge no matter what I do.
    – Dex
    Commented Feb 6, 2014 at 22:48

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