Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
715 results found
-
Please let list of scripts displayed in File > Scripts get updated
When I add or make changes to Scripts folder, I have to relaunch AI to make it see changes. How difficult it would be to add an option there to auto-update it, or just to add command 'Update scripts'?
21 votes -
Make units and grid settings to be bound to file
I work for screen and print media simultaneously in different files
I work in metric units.
I need to have 'mm' for general-stroke-type in design for printing and 'px' in other file for screen.
I'm so tired to change units every time I Ctrl+Tab between them. By hand, every time!
Ctrl+Shift+U change only general units, and I have to skip all picas-inches I never use.
I have to Ctrl+K, click Units and drop down three menus every time I need to see units I need in file I need!
PostScript is cool, point reassigned as a strict fraction of an…21 votes -
Collapse unfolded actions
When actions is played, they got unfolded.
If you have a lot of actions (not in button mode), you'll have to collapse them by hand, each one.So I propose this:
1. Make 'Collapse all' command in palette menu
2. Make option 'Don't unfold actions when played'And why there is no context menu for Actions Palette?
20 votes -
Reversing order of objects
Sometimes it's useful to change order of selected objects, making bottom-most go topmost and vice versa.
I understand possible complications — what would AI do when selected objects have other unselected objects between them (meaning order)?
For example, I have these objects in Layers:
A
1
B
C
2
3
I select 1,2,3 and do proposed 'Reverse order' command.
I expect order to become this:
A
3
B
C
2
1
I see two fitting places for this command: Layers palette menu or Object > Arrange
It's scriptable, but I would like to have it by default.20 votes -
Be able to copy link name like Indesign to find missing links.
Be able to copy link name like Indesign to find missing links. Have to manually type names with lots of number codes for missing links from others, would be much easier to be able to copy the name llike Indesign.
19 votes -
Add numeric controls over ALL features of gradient
Relative position of gradient inside path.
Origin position.
Center position.19 votes -
Allow to set key object inside compound path
When you isolate a group, you can set any part of selection inside this group as key object just by clicking it with Selection tool. This is great — I can align objects inside group, yay.
But why I can't do the same inside isolated compound path?
Why can't I align parts of my compound path using another part of same path as a key object, as I can do inside groups?
Please, fix this.See attached animation.
19 votes -
Option to put Properties Panel at the top of the workspace.
For those of us who find it more convenient for the Properties to be at the top of our workspace, we should be able to click and drag the properties panel into the default space along the top of the window.
19 votes -
Customizable zoom levels for mouse wheel zoom
The current mouse wheel zoom (ALT + wheel) only navigates between zoom presets, making it incredibly difficult to use since the scale factor only doubles/halves most of the time. This is especially true when using touch mouse wheels (e.g., Microsoft surface mouse).
A setting that switches between this mode and a finer grain zoom (e.g., +/- 10% of current, possibly user-preference defined) would make this much more useful.
19 votes -
Allow more math operations than one and support fractions input
It's handy when in Illustrator you have units set to picas and you input pixels just by adding the px, but not so handy when you need to add a fraction and because you don't know you have to calculate the value first, instead of for example typing 1+9/16 and not 1.5625.
Other example is when you're setting guides or dividing grids: you need to break a space in x times or create a pattern.
CorelDraw has it and saves a huge chunk of time.19 votes -
The ability to increase the text size of any menu, panel or dock item. Some of us are going blind.
Give users more flexibility with the program interface please. This will help a lot of people with eye strain.
19 votes -
Curvature Combs and Tunni lines
Two ideas, both aimed at creating smoother curves:
curvature combs:
an additional visual aid that could be enabled/disabled via hotkey or option on a panel that assists the artist/user in evaluating whether a curve is continuously smooth, or whether it needs adjustment. See this blog for a quick coded breakdown:
https://observablehq.com/@jrus/curvature-comb
see this webpage for more traditional curvature combs with lines perpendicular to the curved path, in proportion to the path's curvature at that point:
http://www.bluesmith.co.uk/evaluateComb.htmTunni lines:
an additional assist/handle for helping a user more precisely adjust a curve (or multiple curves), both symmetrically and asymmetrically.
See this example…
18 votes -
Cancel button in progress bar window
What I figured out right now, is that you can't really press Cancel when you accidentally launched a complex process.
Applying filter, saving, complex transforming — it just won't respond no matter how quick you are and how strong you push that mouse button.
Is there any way that Illustrator will hold a bit of it's attention to actually letting users cancel what they want and make this button a bit less decorative?18 votes -
Increase contrast between selected font and other fonts in Font list in Character palette
Not long ago the contrast between current font and other fonts in list in Character menu was quite sufficient (see image 1). Now it's barely visible (image 2). It makes locating current font in list rather difficult.
Please reconsider colors chosen.
18 votes -
More toggle buttons in top row
You know, AI has a lot of options that can be turned on and off.
And some of them switched on and off quite often: snap to grid, guides, smart guides, edges, corner widgets, bounding box...Of course, all of them can be accessed via View menu, but uou just don't see them there! Users need no only SWITCH them, but KNOW what current state is.
Are my guides are turned off or I've deleted them or moved occasionally?
I want to draw a complex thing — is my grid's snap is turned on or I need to do it…18 votes -
Last used script
Please, add a command inside File > Scripts (above the line) to execute last accessed script. A have tons of these and not all of them are bound to shortcuts and smarty palettes. Sometimes I have to apply same script several times and have to dig in all 4-5 folders inside to get right one.
And, please, make it shortcut-able.
18 votes -
A big persistent Color palette offering RGB and HSB and Grayscale at a glance.
When making Illustrations, I switch between RGB / HSB and Grayscale all the time. I have a 30" screen - room enough to show all mixers all the time.
Please make this possible.18 votes -
Grid or Guides Calculator
Have a make grid or guides feature with a grid calculator that was artboard dependant.
- as in I could have different grids on different artboards
- proportional grids
- vertical grids and guides as well as horizontal
The amount of time I take having to set up grids, by drawing boxes and dragging in guides, to do my layout is enormous.
It is such a fundamental part of graphic design, I feel like it should really be embedded in illustrator. I have noticed that the new Photoshop has it. Also indesign has it. But really i need it more in illustrator.
(…
18 votes -
[View / Outline] low-contrast mode
Hi,
It would be really helpful for those of us working in low-light environments to have an inverted/low-contrast option for the 'Outline' view.
As it is, working on an all-white screen is very fatiguing. Having a simple switch to change the display from light to dark would be a welcomed QoL improvement.
I've attached two images showing how I see this implemented.
When "invert" is active I'd prefer the background not be pure-black but a dark shade of grey (shown as #1E1E1E here).
Another option could be to make the alternate mode adaptive, where the color scheme matches the users…
18 votes -
Multi color guides
I use templates with several close guides. When zoomed in its sometimes difficult to tell which guide I'm at. If the Make Guides selection could have an additional drop down with a choice of 3 or 4 colors, if would help prevent mistakes.
18 votes
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