Stray Points

What is a “stray point”?

A stray point is an anchor point that remains on the artboard even though it contains no text, no line, and no path.
It is basically an empty point left behind by mistake. (These are not checked during our data review.)

How Stray Points Happen

1. Accidental click with the Text Tool

If you:

• Select the Text Tool (T)
• Click once on an empty area
• Then switch tools without typing anything
• → Illustrator creates an empty text object (a single point) that stays in the file.

2. Accidental click with the Pen Tool

If the Pen Tool (P) or Line Segment Tool is clicked unintentionally, Illustrator may create:

• A tiny single anchor point, or
• A very short line you didn’t intend to make.

3. Leftover fragments after editing

If you delete part of a path, you may unknowingly leave behind one small point.

Why Stray Points Are a Problem

Stray points are tiny, but they can cause several issues:

• RIP/processing errors
• During the printer’s data processing (RIP),unexpected points may cause errors or slowdowns.
• File size increases unnecessarily
  
  

Incorrect selection area:

When you select all (Cmd/Ctrl + A),you may see the selection box extend far beyond your artwork due to a stray point sitting elsewhere on the canvas.

Instead of manually searching for small points, use Illustrator’s built-in cleanup tools.

1. Go to the menu:

Select → Object → Stray Points
Illustrator will automatically select all stray points on the artboard.

2. Press the Delete key to remove them.

Tip: Run this after outlining text
If you outline your text first (Type → Create Outlines) and then run
Select → Object → Stray Points, you can catch and delete leftover empty text objects (“ghost fonts”).

Final check

After deleting, run:
Type → Find Font to ensure no unused font data remains.