doesn't that automatically disappear when you create the clipping mask? i thought that's kinda the point of clippins masks.

Not having used Illustrator in many years, is there a reverse selected option that you can then delete everything else?

yeah they are supposed....

yeah but i need to cut down on the file size of my document...i got lots of clipping masks and all of the points not visible could be 86'd and save me some problems later

its difficult to say which would be easier not knowing what it looks like but

yes the pathfinder palette will fix this - it may take some time and you should do all of this on another layer

or you could just take what you want to get rid of open it in photoshop - get rid of all the outside stuff and then turn what you do want into a bitmap then import back into illustrator and live trace it - and place it where it belongs

you could also just try reducing the points from (i think) the object menu. just be careful, though, as it can change what your artwork looks like.

I think I normally expand the clipping mask then flatten the transparency

man i wish it was as easy as photoshop...just change the path to a selection and inverse it and hit delete. they really should take the best parts of both programs and combine them into one.

*invert

tesco you have made my life a lot simpler. Thank you! worked like a charm

wait this works... merge the objects that have a clipping path then expand

oh did it? haha I just tried it and it didnt... clipping paths have a mind of their own

both ways probably work, thats the beauty of adobe, multiple solutions to problems

Why do you need to get the file size down? If it just to e-mail it sometime you can turn of the layer and it will reduce the size of the file. Then they can turn the layer back on when they get it.