Join Command - Having Trouble Using

[warai]

I'm a real newbie to Illustrator. I'm using the trial version of Adobe Illustrator CS2 to see if I like it enough to purchase. One of the first big problems I've been having is the inability to join two endpoints of a line together.

So far, I've at least gathered that it's impossible to join more than two line segments to a single point (or is it?), but sometimes it seems like Illustrator won't even let me join two endpoints of different lines together. It gives me the following error message:

"To join, you must select two open endpoints. If they are not on the same path, they cannot be on text paths nor inside graphs, and if both of them are grouped, they must be in the same group."

First of all, what is an "open endpoint," precisely described? I've tried searching on Adobe's website and on numerous support forums, but I can't even find a description of what an "open endpoint" is supposed to be. How am I supposed to be able to use the join tool without knowing whether or not the endpoints I want to join are open?

I'm not sure how to check to see if the endpoints in question are "on the same path" (on the same conjoined line?), on text paths (I don't know what a text path is), or inside graphs (what kind of graphs do they mean, and what constitutes "being inside" one of them?). I also don't know much about "groups."

If all that sounds like too much to try explaining to me, then I would at least appreciate an explanation of an "open endpoint," or a reference to a place that definitely has the information I seek. Thank you very much.

 

[apepp]

...this is about text paths...

http://northlite.50megs.com/illus/textpath.htm

...this is about join paths together...

Joining paths:

1) Use your white arrow tool (A) to draw a bounding box around the ends of all your unclosed paths, or press shift and click the end nodes you wish to join. This might work best in Outline Mode (COMMAND (on MAC) or CTRL-Y).
2) Press COMMAND (on MAC) or CTRL-J to join them all.

Removing Stray Points:

1) Choose Select => Object => Stray Points
2) Press Delete

PS, you're new to Illustrator, but once you get experience with the pen tool, you'll never create unclosed paths again. It's just a matter of getting used to using it. If you're using more shapes and pathfinder tools, then you get used to picking out the necessary paths and trashing the rest, usually from the layers palette. Remember, if you ever want to view what's on an individual layer, you can always ALT-click on the icon.

 

[apepp]

...some useful videos here too:

http://www.layersmagazine.com/features/cs2-videos.php

andrew

 

[warai]

Those videos were pretty neat. However, my question of "what is an 'open endpoint'?" remains unanswered. Could someone please enlighten me?

 

[moriaorc]

An open endpoint would be the last point that you have on a line segment; it will have a single line coming into the point, but no line leaving it. I use the join command by selecting the two points I want to join with the direct selection tool. This can get tricky if you are trying to select points and your line has several points very close to the last point (the open end point) on your line segment. You can check this by zooming in as far as you can go on the point, and the zooming out step by step to see if any more selected point show up. You will be able to tell the difference; a selected point will appear as a very small filled in square on the line segment, a non-selected point will show up as an open square "dot".

Hope this helps.

 

[warai]

Thanks for your explanation! So, it would seem that an open endpoint is just what I would have called a regular endpoint. Why does Adobe bother calling it an "open endpoint" in the first place, though? Are there such things as "closed endpoints" that are somehow different?

 

[moriaorc]

Well, Illustrator does not call them "closed endpoints" as far as I know, but that would be a point along a line segment, so that the point has a line entering and a line leaving (this btw is the limit for vector points, you can't have a point with three line segments). So you are correct in calling it simply an endpoint.