[Illustrator CS4] Problems Cutting Holes with Compound Paths

[Flay]

Gah! I hate using illustrator and not knowing how to do the simplest things!

Okay, what I'm trying to do is create a hole in an object by making a compound path. The help on the adobe website says:

1. Select the object to use as a hole, and position it so that it overlaps the object to cut. Repeat for any additional objects you want to use as holes.

2. Select all the objects you want to include in the compound path.

3. Choose Object > Compound Path > Make.So that's what I did. This works with normal shapes, but the objects I'm trying to use are both letters which have been converted to outlines, and in this case it doesn't work. Both the objects I include in the compound path remain solid black, and when I attempt to change the colour of one, it automatically changes the colour of the other. When I try to isolate the inner path and delete it, it doesn't leave a hole in the larger object.

Clipping masks don't seem to work either. The Object I want to remain solid becomes clear, while the one I want to become the hole stays black.

I'm beginning to hate illustrator.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

Are the letters in teh same group?
Did you try every Pathfinder Option? (sometimes I need to do that do get things to work as I cannot always interpret the icons).

Almost sounds like you hit the first button but not the second button.
post a pick?

[CkretAjint]

Put the item you have in the background to the foreground, THEN cut it out.

Try that. :)

An pic would help vastly with this.

[Flay]

I've somehow managed to do what I was trying to do, based on your suggestions. I don't know how exactly... I grouped both the objects (which I hadn't done before - I had only joined them in to a compound path) and mucked around with the options in pathfinder, even though I have no idea what they do.

It worked, though, and that's what matters. Thanks. :)

[Flay]

I'd still like to know what caused this problem. Are there any windows I should have open in the screenshot to make things clearer?

EDIT: Hmm... Well, I took a screenshot with whatever I thought might be useful.

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5181/aiproblemscreenshot1.jpg

[CkretAjint]

Select both objects, in the pathfinder window, click on the bottom left icon, ungroup and delete the center object.

[Flay]

Thanks, I think that'll be very handy in the future.

[PrintDriver]

Selecting both objects then doing Object > Compound Path >Make should work in this instance.

[Flay]

Selecting both objects then doing Object > Compound Path >Make should work in this instance.

That's what I was doing initially. It wasn't working.

[PrintDriver]

Were both of your shapes closed shapes? Or did you have an open end point somewhere.

[Flay]

Were both of your shapes closed shapes? Or did you have an open end point somewhere.

As far as I could tell, they were both closed. They were created simply by removing the bowl from a capital D, so there's no reason why they shouldn't be.