Finding objects in Illustrator: Make advanced searches easier
4 minute readOne of the Astute Graphics’ more impressive panels is FindReplace Art. But its size and capabilities shouldn't make it intimidating. We’ll walk through how to build your search parameters to improve your selection techniques in Adobe Illustrator.
It’s ideal for when you need to find objects in Illustrator that aren’t available via the Select > Same menu.
Ensure you have the FindReplace plugin installed. In Illustrator, you’ll find the panel under Window > Astute Graphics > FindReplace Art. You can try Astute Graphics free for 7 days…
Starting with the top of the panel, choose what kind of object you need to find. For example a path, group, or symbol. Then choose where to look. The current artboard, the entire document or in the current selection.
Now add Attributes for your chosen object. You could look for:
Type of path: whether it’s open or closed.
The Point Count: min/max number of anchor points.
Match the same Geometry: which is extremely useful if you’re looking for a specific vector shape that Illustrator’s Global Edit option isn’t always able to find e.g., a shape has been reversed/reflected.
Plus many more to choose from.
Once you’ve picked the attribute you want to use as the start of your search, click the magnifying glass to highlight the first result, or Shift-Click the Magnifying Glass icon to highlight all results.
Need to dive deeper? You can add more attributes to refine your search. For example in the image below, we are looking for: All paths with a geometry of a heart, with any fill color that is not white.
What about finding small objects? FindReplace can do that too. It may be that you have AI-generated artwork, or you’ve used Pathfinder’s Merge feature and are left with small, scrap, artifacts. Maybe you are about to laser cut this design, and you can’t afford anything small scrapping the process. Let’s dive into how we can find them with FindReplace…
In this example we have an AI-generated image that has been image traced in 16 colors. FindReplace Art has found 3440 objects with a length between 0 and 10 pixels. You may wish to Select All with the Marquee icon, or Delete All with the Cross icon. Warning: Image traced artwork can often be built with paths abutting each other, so deleting small artifacts can make ‘holes’ in your work.
In this next example, we have a Stock image that has all the strokes expanded into fills. FindReplace Art is searching for any Compound Subpaths with a Length between 0px and 15px. In the zoomed-in section you can see the object highlighted is a closed path that has no area, i.e., the two sides of the path overlap directly on top of one another. Paths like this can add unnecessary information to your design artwork and increase file sizes.
FindReplace Art gives you a level of control that goes far beyond Illustrator’s native selection tools. By combining multiple attributes and refining your search criteria, you can quickly locate and manage even the most complex or hidden objects in your artwork. Whether you are cleaning up traced images, preparing files for production, or tracking down specific shapes, mastering advanced searches will save time and help you work with greater precision.
