Skip to content

Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests

← Adobe Illustrator

When entering a new feature request, please provide:

  1. Description
  2. Why is this valuable to you?

How can we improve Illustrator (desktop)? Vote or share a new idea — one request per entry, please.

(thinking…)

Enter your idea and we'll search to see if someone has already suggested it.

If a similar idea already exists, you can support and comment on it.

If it doesn't exist, you can post your idea so others can support it.

Enter your idea and we'll search to see if someone has already suggested it.

  • Hot ideas
  • Top ideas
  • New ideas
  • My feedback

185 results found

  1. Enhancing the Convert to Shape Effects

    The Rectangle, Eplise and Polygon tools had been updated with dynamic properties in CC 2014.

    That will be huge to have these properties added to the "Convert to Shape" Effect and to add the Polygon and Star tools to the "Convert to Shape" list.

    It will allow more Advanced Appearances and Graphic Styles.

    –––

    +Adding the Reference Point:
    https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-feature-requests/suggestions/32052073-add-reference-point-to-convert-to-shape-effect

    9 votes
    0 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  2. Extend the transform effect into a tool which lets you design each generated copy!

    Extend the transform effect into a tool which lets you design each generated copy!

    2 votes
    8 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  3. Add Convert to normal map filter / effect

    As It's already existing in Photoshop, and as there are some Photoshop filters applicable in Illustrator, I was wondering if we can get the "convert to Normal Map" filter directly in Illustrator.

    It may be useful and more efficient than using AI + PS to generate some Normal maps based on vector graphics.

    Many Thanks

    7 votes
    3 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  4. Procedural textures for fills, like crosshatch, stripes, etc.

    It would be nice if there was a procedural texture fill available. Something like CorelDRAW has, but completely procedural so that file size doesn't bloat. The more parameters the better so we could create many varying textures/colors/patterns/etc.

    7 votes
    1 comment  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  5. Alt+click in Appearance hides all effects except clicked one

    Sometimes I need to isolate one particular effect and work on it.
    I always try to alt+click it, like I do with layers in Photoshop, but fail, of course.
    Why not to add this in AI?

    21 votes
    0 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  6. Add Preview tick to 'Free distort' effect dialogue window

    Using 'Free distort' is very inconvenient, because it works in small dialogue window that doesn't show actual artwork.
    'Preview' tick could solve this problem (although I'd rather prefer 4 interactive points.)
    AT LEAST! It should be live long ago, without separate dialogue!

    23 votes
    2 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  7. Adding 'Gradient Feather' function similar to InDesign would be great.

    It makes masking in Ai a lot more convenient.

    27 votes
    7 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  8. Transforming 3D effects

    For 3D effects such as 'Extrude and Bevel', 'Revolve' and 'Rotate', transformation behaviour is incomplete. For instance:

    Scale Strokes and Effects doesn't cause the extrude depth to scale.

    Flipping the object only flips the path and not the 3D effect.

    Both these things should transform as expected...

    7 votes
    1 comment  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  9. Add Reference Point to "Convert to Shape" effect

    When using the convert to shape effect, it would be useful to be able to specify a reference point to the dialog, about which the effect can transform. For example, the current implementation distributes the effect from the centre across the height/width axes. A reference point would allow you to add extra dimension to the left/right/top/bottom (as required) and would be extremely useful in UI construction, among other things.

    21 votes
    4 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  10. Add numerical control over light sources in 3D Extrude & Bevel Effect Options

    When applying and tweaking 3D Extrude & Bevel Effect, user has to manipulate light by precise mouse twitching over the small sphere.
    It should be at least twice as big to provide fine control (I won't note this as separate request), but there should also be numerical fields to control the lights' position over sphere — angle, elevation, choose any.

    Also, why Depth and Height values there are immune to document Units settings? 56.96pt is nonsense to me, while 20mm makes sense.

    19 votes
    0 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  11. A way to fill shapes with brush textures (paint bucket)

    An ability to use a paint bucket to manually fill shapes with textures such as the watercolor brush, or an ability to pick swatches and textures within the fill panel.

    9 votes
    0 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  12. Warp Effect Not Working

    I've noticed that ever since upgrading to Illustrator CC 2018 (22.0.1) that the Warp Effect doesn't seem to work properly. The Arc and Arch effects will work, but applying any of the Flag, Wave, Fish or Rise effects won't change the object at all.

    9 votes
    4 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?
    Resolved (Comments Open)  ·  Ashutosh Chaturvedi responded

    Thank you to all who shared their files. We do not support flag, fish effects on a straight line with just two anchor points. The feature is implemented to work on the line segment which is not straight.
    Please refer to the attachment for supported and non supported scenarios. Should you have further query please email us on sharewithai@adobe.com

  13. Glow hard line

    the glow selection effect to be able to have some form of HARD line which is what I think most of us want to be able to put around a photo clipping so that the background and the product photo can live together. so basic a stroke setting

    2 votes
    1 comment  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  14. Turn off effects in outline mode

    I never really understood why effects are loaded in the background in outline mode. Why is it necessary to load an effect when you don't even see it? I thought the purpose of outline mode was for when the artwork have become heavy and takes longer time to load. The usual reason why my artwork becomes so heavy is because of all the effects I use. I wish I could switch to outline mode for quick edits instead of having to wait for the effect to load every time I do a tiny adjustment. Effects should be turned off in…

    7 votes
    6 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  15. Ability to create object clones

    This idea is inspired in mograph features of Cinema4D.
    It would be great to have an instance (or clone) of an object so that when you alter the shape of the source object, the clone alters automatically.

    This would also be a powerful simmetry tool as well but much more flexible since you can position the clone wherever you want.
    You would be able to clone it several times in a grid and alter all clones by fixing one single object (similar to what can today be achieved with Transform menu, but with much much more flexibility and control).

    It…

    1 vote
    2 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  16. Allow to create both circumscribed and inscribed ellipses with Convert to Shape effect

    When using the convert to shape tool / ellipse:

    Select circle imported from PDF that has 100's of points around perimeter. Use convert to shape, ellipse option. If I set the tool to "relative", and the value to zero "0", then the converted shape should match the original. Instead, the shape is larger, because it is using the size of the box inscribed in the circle instead of the diameter (or width and height). Please fix this.

    4 votes
    2 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  17. Square wave live effect.

    Gears. Crenelations on castles. Zippers. These are a few things whose border can be described by a square wave. Or by a rectangular wave.

    But you can't do this easily in Illustrator. Oh, you can add a dotted line to a shape - but that's an awkward workaround. How about a new live effect?

    effect->distort & transform->crenelation would bring up a new live effect where you can apply square waves to whatever object you're affecting.

    Suggested parameters:

    • size - similar to the size parameter in roughen/zigzag, this would control how far the generated path deviates from the original path
    • pulse…
    10 votes
    1 comment  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  18. A tool to drag and make objects 3D

    A tool that would be used to click and drag an object into varying aspects of 3D, rather than guessing and drowning in menus with the normal 3D effects.

    1 vote
    1 comment  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  19. Numerate / Numbering / Sequential numbers / Number sequence / Auto-serialize

    As a function of the transform tool, or perhaps a tool in it's own right, a feature to numerate copies in sequence and/or apply fully scanning bar or QR codes. E.g. raffle tickets, concert tickets, coupons, vouchers, etc.

    This would be invaluable as a time-saving measure, and allow an artist/designer to keep something like tickets completely in-house. I've been working with Illustrator for 15 years, and to my knowledge there's no feature that does anything like this. When I design concert or raffle tickets I have to use a 3rd party vendor, pretty much just for the bar code and…

    7 votes
    4 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

  20. Arc Warp effect and envelope distortion presets skew vertical lines

    The Arc upper / lower warp effect isn't very good! It distorts too much!!!! Please improve!!!! It's been like this for years.

    2 votes
    2 comments  ·  Effects, Appearance, Graphic Styles  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?
1 2 … 6 7 9
  • Don't see your idea?

Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests

Categories

Feedback and Knowledge Base

(thinking…)