drawing lines with arrows on one or both ends

[s***@adobeforums.com]

I am somewhat of a newbie so please bear with me. I have searched this site and the web but cannot find an answer that makes sense.

I do a lot of drawings that need lines with arrows on one or both ends. PowerPoint, and a few other programs, do a fantastic job of this. They have a "draw line" tool that can be easily configured to have arrows or not, as needed. And when I drag either end all that happens is the line gets longer, the stroke does not scale nor does the arrowhead get larger.

I know I can add arrowheads to a line using effects or filters. Neither allows me to adjust the angle of a curved line. I mean that if I change the angle of the final point in the line, the one to which the arrowhead is "attached" the arrowhead does not change its angle as well.

In short, drawing lines with arrowheads seems to be so much harder in Illustrator that in far less powerful programs like PowerPoint.

Am I missing something? Is there a plug-in that makes this easier and faster than adding arrowheads manually to every line?

Thank you.

[J***@adobeforums.com]

[Teri Pettit]

I mean that if I change the angle of the final point in the line, the
one to which the arrowhead is "attached" the arrowhead does not change
its angle as well.




Are you saying that if you change the angle of the path leading into the final anchor point, you want the arrowhead to not change its angle? Or are you saying that you want the arrowhead to change its angle, but it doesn't?

[s***@adobeforums.com]

Sorry for the fuzzy phrasing. I mean I DO want the arrowhead to change angle exactly the same way that I change that last point of the line.

For example, maybe I draw a slightly curvy line connecting two items in a drawing and I place an arrow on one end. Then I realize that my connecting line doesn't approach the second object at the right angle. So, it's easy to change that angle, just use the appropriatte selection tool to choose the end point and then use the handles (might not be the right term) to "bend" the curvy line to the desired approach angle.

All that is well and good. But, the arrowhead I had placed at the end of the line is now at a very odd angle, it did not turn to match the change I made in the curved line.

I hope that explains it better.

The key issue is in drawing lines with arrows. The two-step approach in Illustrator is very slow compared to drawing lines in, for example, PowerPoint where it is incredibly fast and easy. I am well aware they are programs with very different purposes and audiences. However, I wish Illustrator had some of the ease of use that PowerPoint and other programs offer.

[Teri Pettit]

But, the arrowhead I had placed at the end of the line is now at a very
odd angle, it did not turn to match the change I made in the curved line.




??? It does when I change the curve. Here is a screen shot of where I put an arrowhead live effect on a path, duplicated that path 3 times, and then adjusted the angle of the endpoint in the three copies:



It is true that the "dead" filter doesn't adjust as you change the original path, but that's the whole difference between filters and effects, that effects stay live, and filters don't.

[S***@adobeforums.com]

Perhaps a bit of a hijack here, but what I find annoying about arrow-heads is that they are placed with the anchor point in the middle of the arrow, rather than on the vary point of the arrow. This makes it very difficult to place an arrow with the point exactly where I want it.
Am I just not using the correct arrow head, or is there some way to adjust where they are placed?

Further; I find that arrow heads seem to have a white outline if the line thickness is below 1 point?

SteveJ

[J***@adobeforums.com]

Steven, look here:

<http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?128@@.3bba427c>

[S***@adobeforums.com]

Thanks... guess I should have searched the site first.

Yikes though.... that's a pretty complex procedure for something that should be simple (it was in Corel anyway...). Not as bad a work around as I've seen for other things though... ever tried to get graphics onto a 3D model in Pro/E?

I'll echo Jake Janovetz, I was really hoping for a simple option to place the point on the end of the line.

SteveJ

[J***@adobeforums.com]

Thanks... guess I should have searched the site first.




Steven, you are welcome; I believe it would have been hard to find that thread through a search: it ended on 5 May and is in bottom of the Archive, and will be gone in about 20 days. I remembered the thread, and I found it through my own archive.

[r***@adobeforums.com]

Hi everyone. I also use arrows quite a lot and find Illustrator's arrows function quite cumbersome. Can anyone tell me an easy way to change the style of an arrow head after asigning it to a line? When I go back to 'add arrowhead' it only gives me the option to add a new arrowhead, and places it on top of the one I already put on. It would be far easier if the add arrowhead option was in the stroke palette as a drop down menu for the start and end arrows, that you could chop and change easily.

[Teri Pettit]

Rebecca,

If you have applied the arrowheads using the live effect (Effect>Stylize>Add Arrowheads), you change the arrowhead the same way you edit the options of any existing effect, by going the Appearance palette while the object is selected and double-clicking on the row where that effect appears. (These instructions are in the warning dialog that comes up when you apply an effect to an object that already carries that effect.)

If you applied the arrowheads using the "dead" Filter instead of the live effect, you can't change it. That's the difference between live effects and filters.

[S***@adobeforums.com]

Rebecca:

Click the arrowhead instance in the Appearance palette and then you can change it. steve

[r***@adobeforums.com]

Ah, OK. I will have a go when I am next using it. I must admit, althought I think I know Illustrator quite well, having tought myself how to use it, I think I am missing out on some basic knowledge! I didn't understand the difference between live effects and filters. Thanks.