You can combine several paths or shapes into a compound path or shape. Create a compound path or shape when you want to do any of the following:

•Add transparent holes to a path

•Create open boxes

•Apply a gradient that span multiple paths

•Crop a image across letterforms

A special type of compound paths are character outlines, where the transparent holes within some text characters, such as o and e are automatically preserved, when you convert characters to editable letterforms using the Text to Outlines command. Using the Text to Outlines command always results in the creation of compound paths.

 

 

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