How to Automatically Find Open Paths in Adobe Illustrator

A quick ExtendScript I use to automatically find all open paths in an Illustrator

If you’ve ever inherited a messy Illustrator file — one with dozens or even hundreds of stray open paths — you know how painful it is to find and clean them up manually. Whether you’re prepping for print, troubleshooting a laser cutter export, or simply tidying up vector art, open paths can be a nightmare.

Here’s a quick ExtendScript I use to automatically find all open paths in a document, highlight them visually, and zoom in so I can deal with them faster.

🔍 What the Script Does

This script scans every path in your current Illustrator document and:

• Detects whether it's open (!path.closed)

• Highlights it with a bright orange stroke

• Applies a dashed 15pt outline to make it visually obvious

• Selects all open paths so you can modify or inspect them quickly

• Automatically zooms and centers the view to the bounding box of the open paths

• Displays a count of how many open paths were found

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Here’s the full code:

function findOpenPaths() {
  var doc = app.activeDocument;
  var openPaths = [];
  var xMin, yMin, xMax, yMax;

  for (var i = 0; i < doc.pathItems.length; i++) {
    var path = doc.pathItems[i];
    if (!path.closed) {
      openPaths.push(path);
      var strokeColor = new RGBColor();
      strokeColor.red = 255;
      strokeColor.green = 165;
      strokeColor.blue = 0; // Orange for high visibility

      path.strokeColor = strokeColor;
      path.strokeWidth = 15;
      path.strokeDashes = [10, 5]; // Dashed effect
      path.selected = true;

      // Update bounding box for zoom
      if (xMin === undefined || path.left < xMin) xMin = path.left;
      if (yMin === undefined || path.top > yMin) yMin = path.top;
      if (xMax === undefined || path.left + path.width > xMax)
        xMax = path.left + path.width;
      if (yMax === undefined || path.top - path.height < yMax)
        yMax = path.top - path.height;
    }
  }

  if (openPaths.length > 0) {
    var zoomLevel = 1;
    var view = doc.activeView;
    view.centerPoint = [(xMin + xMax) / 2, (yMin + yMax) / 2];
    view.zoom = zoomLevel;

    alert(
      openPaths.length +
        " open paths found! They are now highlighted in orange and zoomed in."
    );
  } else {
    alert("No open paths found.");
  }
}

findOpenPaths();

💡 When to Use It

• Before exporting to SVG or DXF

• When prepping art for CNC, laser cutting, or engraving

• During production handoff to ensure clean vector paths

• Anytime you're working with messy path structures

🛠 How to Run the Script

1. Open Adobe Illustrator.

2. Open the Script Editor (File > Scripts > Other Script...).

3. Save the code above as FindOpenPaths.jsx.

4. Run it from the Scripts menu.

Your open paths will instantly glow bright orange and be easy to spot and fix.

📚 Reference

This script uses Illustrator's built-in PathItem.closed property to identify open paths. You can read more about it in the Adobe Illustrator JavaScript Scripting Reference.