Why can't I erase a line in Adobe Illustrator CS3?

Question: Why can't I erase a line in Adobe Illustrator CS3!?

I'm fairly new to Illustrator and this happens sometimes where I'll go to erase a section of a shape or a piece of a line, except, after selecting the shape and attempting to erase the portion I want to, it'll jus' warp the line or shift it to the direction of the eraser strokes!. Why is this!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

eraser draws line of what you you want deleted like paintbrush and cuts out the border, , if you only want to remove line, select and delete, leaving open space,
Erase selection
http://www!.applelinks!.com/index!.php/more!.!.!.

Path Eraser tool / Eraser tool
http://livedocs!.adobe!.com/en_US/Illustra!.!.!.
check options for eraser,
!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Are you moving the eraser along the direction of the line or section of path, rather than across it!?Www@QuestionHome@Com