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Adobe Illustrator - Expand Appearance, Expand and outline Stroke

10/4/2015

A question that gets asked many time in Illustrator is What is the Expand Appearance, Expand and Outline each do. Why is it there? What is each used for and why are some of the options not available?

Here's an explainer: (is that a word?)

When you draw a line, you can add a stroke weight and color to it (above).

In Preview mode (COMMAND + Y) it looks like a single, thin line.

When an effect is added to the line, in this case Effect > Distort & Transform > ZigZag, you can see the straight line as the path with the effect of the zigzag effect applied to it. But in Preview Mode (COMMAND + Y) it is still just a line. The effect is just that, an effect and the base line does not reflect the effect.
You can see the blue highlighted path does not match the appearance of the line.

This is how the ZigZag line looks to Illustrator. The effect is applied but in Preview, its just a line (right).

When you select the line with the Effect on it, then choose Object > Expand Appearance (above), it will convert the line into the actual shape of the effect. (Right).
It is no longer a straight line, the line now matches the appearance that you see, thus the term Expand Appearance.
Keep in mind it is still a line. The stroke weight and color can be changed easily and edited and end caps applied.

At this point the Expand Appearance in the Object menu is now grayed-out and no longer an option.
But the Expand is an option. (below)

Since the Effect or "Appearance" has been expanded and the line in Preview Mode matches what you see on screen, the only option left is Expand.
Expand will take the line, convert it to a shape and it will no longer be editable as a line. (Right)

The Expand feature works the same (on a line or path) as the Object > Path > Outline Path.
It takes the line and outline it into an editable shape as shown by the blue highlighted path.

Here is a quick over view of the 4 states; shown in Normal View Mode and then in Preview Mode to compare.
1: Line
2: Line with ZigZag Effect applied
3: Line with the Expand Appearance applied
4: Final Expanded or outlined Line.

That should shed some light on the matter of Expand Appearance, Effects, Expand and outline commands.

Happy Illustrating.

39 Comments

Daniel link

2/18/2016 04:05:53 pm

This is the shortest and the best explanation of this! Lots of waffle on the Adobe forums from people who didn't have a clue...

Jason Hoppe

2/18/2016 09:21:34 pm

Thanks Daniel! I know it is hard to get the right answer on these, I put this together to help people really figure this out as many people are just not clear what each really does.

Shah Alam

10/13/2018 09:40:36 am

Really helpful than some hell written by others. Clearly outlined. Thank you so much

Lindsay link

4/1/2016 12:39:27 pm

I second Daniel's comment "shortest and the best explanation" - I no longer feel clueless. Thank you!

Carlos

5/16/2016 12:04:12 pm

Explainer may not be in Webster's, but if an explanation is as good as yours on the subject of Expand in Illustrator, then it should be in. As for myself, I am going to start using it with that meaning.
A person who explains things so clearly should also be an Explainer. Let's see what Webster's have to say twenty years from now.

5/16/2016 09:58:55 pm

Thank you Carlos, that sounds like a great descriptor!

Mathijs

5/16/2016 11:30:31 pm

Nice exdplanation, very clear. But why Illustrator does it so. Why not immediately expand the appearance of a line?

Dana

8/7/2016 12:07:44 am

Thank you so much for this!

Jay Spindler

8/12/2016 12:43:20 pm

I am a seasoned freelance graphic designer. I've had some known clients.
That being said, I have a noob level question. Something that has been haunting me forever:
How do I expand a Transform>Effect>Distort & Transform>Transform without expanding the strokes?

I make a symmetry on one side of a logo or silk screen/embroidered artwork, and then I want to Transform the other side. That works out great until I want to expand it and sort out some asymmetrical details and rework some lines on the Transformed side. I always end up with fully expanded strokes on both sides.

Really annoying and time consuming.

Jason hoppe link

8/12/2016 01:05:13 pm

Hi Jay, thanks for asking about this. It is common problem and it can be frustrating! Here is what you do to Expand a Transform>Effect>Distort & Transform>Transform without expanding the strokes and turning them into shapes. Select your "transformed" shapes and go to the Object Menu and choose Expand Appearance. This will transform the shapes into what you currently see and then it will no longer be an effect. You will now have a group of shapes that will still retain their strokes. Hope this helps! ~ jason

3/2/2017 09:47:16 am

I figured out why my Expand Appearance wouldn't work to Expand the Appearance and not the actual Strokes. The Strokes need to be at their basic vanilla state. A 1pt stroke with no added effects other than a Transform by degrees and copies. So a spoked wheel set of lines instead of one vertical one that has its key anchor dead center of Artboard. That will allow the
Expand to happen and preserve the line rather than lose the line and be left with an expanded ex-line vector shape. After that, I could just replace the line attributes individually. So thanks for your help. If you could expand on this in the main thread for the others here, that would be great. This was driving me nuts forever.

Madeleine

12/22/2016 01:29:05 am

I have to agree with everyone else - finally a short, simple, accurate explanation of these tools, which Adobe themselves don't seem to have a clue about. Thanks!

Aleks

1/8/2017 06:53:28 am

Thumb up! One of best explanations I read so far!

projetor

1/19/2017 11:31:12 pm

wow, really understandable, thx a lot, the other explanations are very confusing. I made a logo on illustrator and the logo is not looking sharp enough on a webpage, specially on retina screens. Beside of converting shapes to path, use RGB mode and PNG is this the answer "expand" to achieve real sharp logos on a webpage?

Khursand

3/4/2017 09:05:48 pm

Thanks a lot man!

Celeste Cochran

4/25/2017 09:25:01 am

I have to agree with others in this thread. Those two options have had me baffled for a good while and the explanations I have found thus far, on the web, made things no clearer. You, however, did! It makes perfect sense to me now. Thank you!
Baffled no more (about these features, at least).

Ahmed Mosaad

4/29/2017 01:25:38 pm

Love it! straight to the point.

Jaime Viñas link

6/27/2017 06:47:25 pm

Hello,
Ditto on the way you explained these concepts.
However, I am stumped on something I'm hoping you might have a solution for:
I have a circle wich I stroked at 45pt. I then selected 'Dashed Line', where the dash is 0.04 and the gap is 4.49.
The effect achieved is that of very thin lines radiating like graphic sun rays. Very cool. When I go to 'expand', instead of just the lines, the result I get is that the lines become connected to each other. Ruining the simple 'radiating' effect (this is very hard to explain). I would leave it alone, except that I want to delete a section of the stroked circle so it becomes a 'C'. I just read that back, and it sounds very confusing, but it's the only way I can think of explaining it. Thanks in advance for any advice you could provide.

6/28/2017 07:55:16 am

I see what you mean, it give weird “piano keys” look and the lines are no longer straight or joined in any consistent manner. I would use a very thin straight line and rotate it around to give that same look.

Jaimr Viñas link

6/28/2017 12:54:08 pm

Thanks Jason!

Mayiladan link

7/11/2017 05:37:59 am

wow ! great visualisation.

Darlin Gray link

9/14/2017 03:53:04 pm

As usual, you knew EXACTLY the little thing I didn't to finalize the artwork I'm creating. Thank you, thank you, thank you Jason!!! 🙌🏻 🙌🏻 🙌🏻

Dianne Diwata

9/25/2017 10:02:32 pm

I love this and it made sense. Thank you!

I am curious though,

I made a cursive font using a brush tool. I then used Expand Appearance > Unite. I saw the difference. However, when I tried to use Expand, it did not show any difference. I only have a fill without a stroke.

I am unsure if this is just right when I am making SVG files.

Jaye_K

3/4/2018 10:54:19 pm

I noticed with a line using a linear gradient depending on the stroke type (3 options) the expand vs expand appearance option differs.

1. apply gradient within stroke: expand
2. apply gradient along stroke: expand apperance
3. apply gradient across stroke: expand appearance

Why option 1 allows you to change gradient colors after expand application and not 2 & 3?

I prefer to apply gradient along stroke and be able to edit colors afterwards. Is that possible?

I created a line that overlaps and I want to keep gradient (along stroke) transition & option to change color.

3/4/2018 10:59:38 pm

I noticed with a line, using a linear gradient depending on the stroke type (3 options) the expand vs. expand appearance option differs.

1. apply gradient within stroke: expand
2. apply gradient along stroke: expand appearance
3. apply gradient across stroke: expand appearance

Why option 1 allows you to change gradient colors after expand application and not 2 & 3?

I prefer to apply gradient along stroke and be able to edit colors afterwards. Is that possible?

I created a line that overlaps and I want to keep gradient (along stroke) transition & option to change color.

line overlap visual example: like breast caner awareness symbol.

3/7/2018 08:02:43 am

Hi Jaye, here are the reasons why Expand or Expand Appearance comes up...

1: If you have a stroke, and choose expand, it will outline the stroke and the stroke will become a closed shape. The gradient is not affected since the expand only applies to the stoke, not the gradient applied to the stroke.

2: If you have a shape with a gradient fill, it will break the gradient fill down into steps, or separate boxes of color which is why Expand Appearance comes up since it is trying to mimic the appearance of the gradient.

3: If you have a stroke on the shape along with a gradient fill, Expand appearance will be the only option available. The stroke will become a shape, the fill will become separate boxes of color to Expand the Appearance.

Hope this makes things more clear!

badge-m link

3/13/2018 04:15:29 pm

Completely new to illustrator and I totally feel much less like a newb. thanks jason.

<3

Jean link

3/27/2018 08:03:36 am

Tutorial is very clear, thank you very much for this. I also subscribed to the newsletter at the top of the page for more tips on how to use Illustrator :)

oath

4/29/2018 09:43:43 pm

Thank you.
I understand better now.

Nizamuddin Shaikh link

7/11/2018 03:19:49 am

Excellent blog. It removed my confusions. Thanks.

Adriana link

8/4/2018 11:16:36 am

Which os better when?
(Expanded vs Outlined)

Aleksandar

8/10/2018 01:25:02 pm

Yup, this is just another 'Thank you!' comment for the most concise explanation about these options that I continually used but had no idea how they work :)

Tara Gill link

9/10/2018 09:19:49 am

I’m happy to be the explainee!

Thank you for your democratic and open help. I always learn something.

paul

10/28/2018 08:19:47 am

brave, but false ...
tehre is no 3. mode ... after 2. you will see the 4. mode: Final Expanded or outlined Line.

jason hoppe

10/28/2018 08:34:44 am

# 3 most certainly appears when you use the EXPAND from step # 2

To skip step # 3 use Object>Path>Outline stroke and that goes from step 2 to step 4.

Brave indeed!

GigglingGalaxy

1/21/2019 11:38:00 am

AHHHH! SO SIMPLE! THANK you so much for this!!

Ash link

3/9/2019 06:34:30 am

What a Legend!!

GBP

4/3/2019 09:33:46 am

Jason,

Thank you for thoroughly explaining Expand and Expand Appearance features and each of their functions.

Iyke, Vic

5/21/2019 03:41:02 am

Thanks Bro. This is really generous of you, I've finally found the answer to something bugging me for a long time now.

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