Fast Way to "Centreline" many complex outlined paths?

[Stephen Marsh]

For our "CAD" cutter, we need a single vector path.

We sometimes receive finished layout files with dies from various Esko systems that are outlined into two paths with a fill - rather than being a single path with a stroke. We are not supplied with the original CAD die/knife.

I know that I can select the Illustrator outer or inner path and then use the "path/offset path" command to offset half the distance between the two paths to create single path that splits the width of the line - however this is a lot of work when there are complex knife/die shapes to work with.

Does anybody have any tips or tricks?...or am I left to doing this the manual way if it is not practical to ask for better data?


Stephen Marsh

[Al Ferrari]

Have you explored using Illustrator Actions?

Al

[chevalier]

Basically what you are doing is what I do. There are a few other ways but they are every bit as burdensome. You should try to work with the people supplying the artwork and ask them to stop converting strokes. I usually argue/inflict inconvenience upon them until they make it right.

[Stephen Marsh]

Thank you for the confirmation chevalier. Al, do you have an action to share, or did you mean to try recording one to make this less tedious? Illustrator actions are really poor when compared to Photoshop, it is as if the programmers just did not put in the same work.

Back in the days of Adobe Streamline, there was a feature to autotrace via a centreline, rather than with a fill. In desperation I looked into Live Trace, however it does not offer a single centre line option as it's predecessor did (so much for progress). I also looked into the opensource Inkscape, with no luck in finding a faster solution.


Stephen Marsh

[Al Ferrari]

No I don't have one for that, so I meant record the way it works manually for you. And I agree that Illustrator's Actions are inferior. The two programing teams probably work in different buildings, or different campuses (campii?).

Al

[chevalier]

I wish Illustrator had a more open API or just had XML support like InDesign. I'd just create my own plugin for this (among other things) and profit from it.

[billw@mlode.com]

Stephen

I have made some pretty involved Illustrator actions to create imposition templates and then stepping templates. If you want to send me one of your files with instructions on what you want to achieve, I have a couple of long business flights next week and always love a graphics oriented project to help fill in the "sitting in a tube" time.

[billw@mlode.com]

Oops, forgot my email address

[Stephen Marsh]

Thanks Bill, I appreciate the offer, attached is the incorrect customer supplied knife (outlined-knife.pdf), created with a fill and a closed path.

Also attached is an in-progress version that I have fixed up with a single stroked path (single-path-knife-inprogress.pdf). This is the result that I am looking for so that the CAD cutter/creaser can follow the contour (the stroke is not important, it is just visual).

I would like to push this back to the source as I know that they should have the correct CAD file, however sometimes I have to deal with what I am given.

EDIT: Perhaps delete your email address from your last post so that SpamBots don't harvest it!


Stephen Marsh

[dpierce@packgraph.com]

Hi Stephen,
Do you still have Streamline and a mac to run it on? I remember centerline, could probably get SL installed on an old machine and try out your file if you'd like.
-Dan