Cut out of a shape using an object

Question

I'm new to Illustrator and I'm trying to do something which I would think would be relatively simple.

I essentially have a red square and a "W" text layer above it. I'd simply like to cut out/destroy all intersecting paths out of red box so as to "cut out" a W from the box.

I'm totally new at this. How can I do this in Illustrator?

Answer 1

To do what you want and remove all the intersecting paths outside of box requires several steps.

First you want to put the text behind the rectangle (not in front), convert it to outlines, then group them and the rectangle together.

Then, with the entire group selected, pick the Effect | Pathfinder | Minus Back submenu item to apply it to them, which should result in the following:

Hope this helps.