Pattern orientation 1

[Lyell]

I've created a pattern tile where the design is around the edges. When I fill a space with this pattern, the image I want is now visible as though it were in the center of the tile.

I can create the pattern I want by orienting the x,y coorodinates to points to half the width and height of the tile. However whenever I copy/paste the pattern, it reorients itself to the x,y coordinates of the page I'm copying to (and for a couple of reasons, I can't change this page's orientation).

Is there any way I can fix the pattern to the orientation I want and be able to copy/paste without changing that orientation? I was hoping that flattening the original pattern would do the trick, but it doesn't seem to.

[I'm currently using CS4 but I don't have a high level of expertise in AI.]

 

[apepp]

...the x and y coordinates of the original pattern won't carry over to another document with a different x and y...

...i've found no way to achieve what you need other than to object > expand the pattern, then copy and paste. Problem with this method is you are committed to your pattern as individual elements, so some forethought is required before choosing that one...

...another way and arguably more productive, in some situations, is to save your pattern as native .ai format (with pdf compatibility enabled in the save as dialog)...

...then file > place the .ai as a linked element, that way you can alt/option click the pattern to "edit original" and make modifications...

...if you want to commit to expanding patterns from the placed .ai file, you can embed it via the links palette flyout menu (or the top tool bar embed button), then choose object > expand, you may have to clean up the outer areas of stray shapes that extend the clipping mask, but that will depend on the project you are working on...

Andrew

 

[Lyell]

Thanks, Andrew -- expanding the pattern will work well for this project; and I've saved your other comments for other situations.

Beaucoup appreciation, as always,
Lyell