[phooph]

I am working on two versions of a document which need a clipping mask. After much struggle I was able to get the mask to work on one of them, but the other will not apply the mask. I can do a work around by copying the one that worked and re-editing it, but I am wondering if there are any clipping mask wizzards who know how to whip Illustrator into compliance.

My daughter, who has been doing full time graphics work for years and serves as my tech support responded with, "I don't know, Mom. I have a lot of trouble with clipping masks in Illustrator myself so I can't help you."

Ruth

[himself]

Can you explain in more detail the steps you are taking?

Some things to consider are which element is topmost (the mask should always be on top, the object to be masked should be beneath it), whether the mask consists of multiple objects, how objects may be grouped, etc.

[phooph]

I have a complex image that is grouped and a clipping mask over the top of it. I have them both on their own layer.

[himself]

Originally Posted by phooph

I have a complex image that is grouped and a clipping mask over the top of it. I have them both on their own layer.

aaaahhh... the clipping masks needs to be on the same layer as the image it will be applied to. Also, if the clipping mask is made up of more than one object, you will need to convert it into a compund path ("Object" menu > "Compound Path" > "Make"). Hope that helps.

edit: to place the clipping mask above the image in the same layer, you can select the mask and choose "Bring to front," or choose the image to be masked and choose "Send to back."

[keid]

Hi all,
I am just abt to start to use these kind of prgrams but I don't know which would be the best for me.
Would you recommend for me the Adove Creative Suite or Studio MX?
Do these programs have the same functionality and therefore in direct competition?
- Freehand X Illustrator
- Dreamweaver X GoLive
- Fireworks X Photoshop

I will really appreciate any help.
Thanks a lot and Best Regards

[phooph]

Originally Posted by himself

aaaahhh... the clipping masks needs to be on the same layer as the image it will be applied to. Also, if the clipping mask is made up of more than one object, you will need to convert it into a compund path ("Object" menu > "Compound Path" > "Make"). Hope that helps.

edit: to place the clipping mask above the image in the same layer, you can select the mask and choose "Bring to front," or choose the image to be masked and choose "Send to back."

I guess that was confusing. I meant to say that I had the clipping mask and the object to be masked on the same layer. The mask was on top. Still didn't work.

[phooph]

Originally Posted by keid

Hi all,
I am just abt to start to use these kind of prgrams but I don't know which would be the best for me.
Would you recommend for me the Adove Creative Suite or Studio MX?
Do these programs have the same functionality and therefore in direct competition?
- Freehand X Illustrator
- Dreamweaver X GoLive
- Fireworks X Photoshop

I will really appreciate any help.
Thanks a lot and Best Regards

Adobe just purchased Macromedia and now owns Freehand, Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Macromedia has been more web oriented, although Adobe products are used for web design also. Time will tell what changes will be made. I have not used Macromedia products and cannot make a good comparison.

[d.fine]

If you're trying to clip several objects at once, you have to group them. The shape of the mask has to be on top of everything. You also have to check that the objects to be clipped and the mask aren't grouped, because that won't work (in case you're working with direct selection arrow).

[phooph]

To give you a picture here is the web banner I was working on:
http://www.kwmeads.com/Images/KWMeads4.jpg

The clipping path is the same shape as the edges of the border and the object being clipped is the globe. This is a jpeg of the one that worked. As you can see, the parts of the globe outside the border have been clipped off. The globe is a grouped vector image that is on one layer with the clipping path and nothing else. I was able to get this to work only once. Trying to do it in a second banner didn't work with same setup. I was able to duplicate this one and make changes to produce a second version but I had to throw away the original in which I tried to make a clipping path.