How long till you find the problem? Brush of my nightmares!

[donamai]

This could be the easiest thing to find out but it seems that my head can't stand the hair pulling anymore.

I am trying to find out why I am getting an error mark "symbol" like the one I am showing in my image. I have asked around, searched and it is taking me time to find the solution.

The problem: I can't use the brush because it does not let me draw anything. When I use the pencil it works fine but when I return to the brush I get the symbol that I can't use it.

I have checked for layers locked or anything locked and also the views but nothing is locked.So far the only solution I find is to copy everything to a new document....I know it is not easy when you don't know what to do but time is a factor we can't spare so your help would be appreciated and shared. What is the best way to "unlock" the brush from working?

see image here (http://www.geocities.com/heartblindsheart/illustratorerror.TIF)

Thank you!

[alcbevtesting@alltel.net]

I too have seen this. I have one brush stroke made and played about with. Then I cannot draw another. As I was just practicing I just opened a new doc and continued but this would be a problem for continued artwork.

So sorry no answer from me. But here is a cool tip I learned that might be of use once the problem is resolved (By others here?!) Check out: http://veerle.duoh.com/ for this tip hidden in her latest great tutorial.

Draw the brush stroke and apply a thickish stroke weight. Object>expand appearance. View Outlines. Direct Select inner stroke and delete. Return to preview mode and play with the new artwork. Apply gradients and a new stroke to the outside if desired. Thanks Veerle!

P.S. If you do not get an answer here send a note to Veerle - she knows her brushes for sure.

[AdobeAce]

Hi Gary,

I finally got around to looking at this tutorial.

Cool!

Ace

[donamai]

Thank you for your reply Alc. Though I appreciate your way of solving this problem I am determined to find out what causes it! I don't think is a bug or an error I believe it is the way certain tools are set when you get into different modes or views.

It is one of those things that you would like to know how to solve because it drives you crazy when it happens. So if anyone knows the solution or if I end up finding it I will post it; meanwhile I will continue asking and digging for more.

Any help would be appreciate it!

[Scott Weichert]

Do you have a brush selected in the Brush panel? You'll get the "don't" symbol if there's no brush selected for use.

[alcbevtesting@alltel.net]

I think Scott is right. I had the reverse situation. I had used the brush and later drawing shapes left me with jagged strokes. Could not figure why until I realized a brush must have been selected. So likely if no brush selected you would get that "no-go" symbol.

[donamai]

Thank you for your message Scott. I sure appreciate the help but guess what? To find the solution I have to create the problem this time. Isn't that funny? When I first had the problem, I just opened a new document and copied and pasted the artwork onto that new document. Then the brush worked fine. The "no-go" symbol disappeared and it let me use it again.

The weirdest thing is that I did not close the document I was working on, the one in which I was having the brush locked, and I started using the brush again and it did work. I went "aaaaahhhh! this is strange" I was ready to look for the answer but I let go of it at that time.

Then this week it was the same case again and so I want to find the solution to the problem if it bothers me again. Like I said in my previous message, I don't think that it is a bug or an error otherwise most of the other tools would not work but they do work.

Now, it is strange to try to find the problem by repeating the same things that caused the problem in the first place. This thread will open indefinitely until I find the problem AND the solution!

Hope everything works out!....I know it is just a minor problem but hey! if I can save a few steps and minutes to solve it in the future it would be worth finding the truth and nothing but the truth wouldn't you say?

Take care!

P.S. In regards to your questions Scott How do you deselect a brush from the brush palette? I tried clicking outside of the same palette but the brush was still selected. I know, I am a novice on illustrator but I will get there!

[alcbevtesting@alltel.net]

When I had the brush set it did seem "sticky". It took me awhile to get it off. So the answer to the best way of unselecting it would be useful.

[Scott Weichert]

De-selecting a brush is fairly impossible. To do it you must delete all the brushes in the brush panel/palette, then grab the brush tool. You'll see the "don't" symbol then. However, once you've used a brush, any brush, you can't get back to the "don't" symbol. AI will default to the last brush used. And deleting all brushes will also delete the brush stroke on any object. I don't know why you would do this when working, but it may be helpful to see why the "don't" symbol appears - no brushes to select.

The issue happens when there are no brushes loaded in the brush panel/palette. If the brush panel has at least 1 brush, AI will default to the first brush listed in the panel.

[donamai]

I think you have had the solution for me Scott. Yesterday when I was using the the brushes again it happened to me again. Ah the no-go symbol. What was the problem this time? Well, all I can say to be partially sure is that I noticed in the brushes palette that none of the brushes where selected. It usually when you draw something the brush selected with a frame blinks for the amount of time you are using it on the artboard.

So I can say that this could be the problem that is giving all this questions to solve. I will definetely keep an eye on it as I use the brushes now more than before.

I know is becoming a long journey for me but it the problems is worth solving why not! years from now when illustrator is is 20th version this will seem ridiculous to even look at but out of everything we new we always learn there is always an error we may not know how to solve. Right?

Now I wonder Scott, if this no go shows up when you don't have any brushes selected what could cause for the brush palette to act like that when it knows that when the brush tool will be used again it will still need to have the brush selected? Anyway, just a curious questions no big answer for it if necessary :-)

[Scott Weichert]

There is no feasible way to have have brushes in the brush panel but no brush selected. At least in CS3. I haven't tested earlier versions.

The don't symbol appears where there are absolutely no brushes in the brush panel. In that case, there's no brush at all for the tool to use. Next time it happens see if your brush panel is empty. I'd suspect it will be.

With AICS3 the brush tool will always default to a brush if there is one in the panel. So seeing the don't symbol is more rare, but obviously not impossible. I don't see it as a "problem." at all. It's very logical in design. The only thing that may be more intuitive is a help tip or pop up asking the user to select a brush or load brushes in the brush panel. However, 99% of the time a user is opening the default document profiles, which all contain brushes so the don't symbol will never appear. It takes specific steps to make the don't symbol appear. Chances of seeing it are far less than any need for a pop up or alert in my opinion. And once you understand why it appears it's never an issue again. The help files do cover this topic I believe.