Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
320 results found
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Allow large format canvas for outdoors/billboards design without scaling
Using Illustrator (or InDesign, for that matter) to make outdoors/large printing projects is a huge pain - many times the production team (which is usually NOT the same team that designed the thing) doesn't read properly the instructions, and then errors happen.
Also, other older software packages don't suffer from that kind of artwork / artboard size limitations.
5 votes -
Artboard dimension pop up box when using Artboard tool.
Would love for the Artboard tool in the tools panel to operate like the rectangle tool so that when you click inside the work space it pops open a box to input
desired dimensions instead of dragging to desired dimension.5 votes -
Ability to change resolution when setting pixels as a unit
I use Illustrator for UX design, and thus I use pixels for the dimensions. However, the resolution of most modern screens, in mobile phones, and other devices, is not the default 72 ppi. Thus, when I switch between units, the pixel size does not equal what I get in millimeters. (For usability issues, e g mm based letter height is crucial.)
I know Photoshop is more of a pixel oriented tool, but doing vector graphics and using Illustrator is an advantage in terribly many places. (There is a reason for Sketch being a popular replacement...) Adding a way to customize…
5 votes -
Position elements relative to artboards.
Since several improvements to artboards are in the pipeline, I think It would be worth considering positioning elements relative to the top left corner of the artboard. I haven't found a good use for keyboard entry of x and y positions. Positioning elements relatively would make it relatively easy to maintain padding / grids across multiple artboards by entering an exact value.
5 votesTo allow the artboard-relative positioning, you should switch rulers from global with View > Rulers > Change to Artboard Rulers command (or from the context menu for the zero point of the rulers on canvas).
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Layer freezing
When doing very complicated artwork, sometimes Illustrator's live preview starts to become impossibly slow. Distorted dense fill patterns, lots of art brushes full of translucent shapes, complicated high-res bitmap effects… I can do some stunning things with these but I’m reluctant to use them, because I need to have fast response time in my drawing tool.
Currently, layers can be locked, or unlocked. I would like to have a third mode: 'frozen', where the layer is locked, and a bitmap of the entire layer is cached. This bitmap is then used for rendering the preview, until such time as the…
5 votes -
Make a way for Scale Artwork with Artboard mode to NOT scale strokes and effects
It’s good to finally have Scale Artwork with Artboard option (http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/31500847), but I really wish for it to respect Scale Strokes & Effects option.
For now Scale Artwork with Artboard behaves as if it’s always enabled... I realize scaling strokes is natural for this mode, but the current way means if we need to scale an artboard, but NOT scale the strokes — we can’t do that.
It almost feels like it should be a separate option specifically for it.4 votes -
Preview of the Artboard Sizing
If we could see what the sizing of the artboard would look like before we click the create button, because sometimes it's just easier to test there before starting an entire new document! :)
4 votes -
Change the scale of the document's rulers
As you've just done for the dimensioning of objects, I'd like to be able to change the scale at which I draw my document by right-clicking in the ruler. I work in technical illustration and draw images of very large machines (20 to 150 m). I have to use CorelDraw (which has always had this function) and copy them into Illustrator to rework them.
4 votes -
Clip to Artboard [similar to Figma/XD]
Can we please get a "Clip to artboard" Option in Illustrator, acting similar to the one to be found in XD or Figma? This would help a lot when working with multiple style frame inside one document.
4 votes -
Ability to change default unit of measurement
Please add the ability to change the default units for documents. I work in print and it's frustrating (and annoying) to have to change the units from points to inches every time I create a new document.
4 votes -
新規作成時のドキュメントウィンドウの全画面表示について
アプリケーションフレームをOFFにした状態でドキュメントの新規作成をすると、ドキュメントウィンドウが全画面で配置され、左右のツールパネルの下に潜り込んで表示されます。
毎回ドキュメント全体を表示させるのに、ドキュメントウィンドウをドラッグしてサイズを小さくし、パネルとの重なりをなくすひと手間が入ります。
※ツールパネルはフロート状態ではなく固定しています。Photoshopのように（またはイラレでアプリケーションフレームを使用した時と同じように）ツールバーやパネルに重ならないようにドキュメントウィンドウを表示する仕様にはならないでしょうか。
またはそれができる設定はあるのでしょうか。4 votes -
Allow the GRID to only be on the canvas, allowing the outer space to be used at the same time for element while building a project
Allow the GRID to only be on the canvas, allowing the outer space to be used at the same time for element while building a projects. ALSO allow a slider to dim down the lines and a line width slider for the lines. This way its fully customizable for the user.
4 votes -
Remove the 'Drawing Area' (dark grey area behind artboards)
The 'drawing area' behind artboards limits where you can place items (especially masked items that fall off this area), it limits the number of artboards, and limits how freely and where I can place multiple artboards. It also has no purpose at all as far as I can see.
4 votes -
Resize all artboards independently and by percentage with preview
Resize all artboards and all artwork on boards at the same time by a percentage (currently feature is artboard only and by pixels only, unless I am missing some checkboxes somewhere?) -- each artboard would be independent. Like the same shape feature when selecting artwork and choosing Transform > Transform Each -- but for artboards. Would love a preview before committing!
4 votes -
Simple little change: Remove tiny shadow behind new artboard
I've noticed this for years... whenever I create a new document in Illustrator--no matter the size or mode and without any bleed settings, the artboard has a tiny grey "drop shadow" behind the artboard. See ATTACHED. It does not affect art and never prints, but more times than I can count I've found myself zooming in and attempting to select/delete it, thinking I left some sort of unwanted element behind while I was working. Or I see the faint "border" and think my graphic elements aren't fully aligned to the page edge, when the actually are.
4 votes -
Adding Scale next to Units in Preferences
I would like to be able to work with scales. For example sometimes I design large objects that don't fit the working area and using scales would be much easier to have a real idea of the dimensions of the object. I would like to be able to choose scales 1:5, 1:25, 1:50 and see the scaled dimension in "Properties/Transform" .
4 votes -
Option to place the origin of the artboard at the center of the artboard
I would like the option to place the origin of the artboard at the center of the artboard, so that objects can be placed at the center just by setting the position to zero please. This would also make it a lot easier to mirror object to other sides just by making their position negative or positive.
Thanks in advance,
Tim4 votes -
Keep guides and elements in new document profile
I know we can create new document profiles with custom size and custom swatches and use the profiles to quickly create new new custom documents with repeating specs.
However either I am doing something wrong or I've missed something, but the guides don't get saved along the artboard size and swatches. Surely keeping the guides should be possible within the same technology? Would love to see this improvement.
I have searched everywhere for a solution to always having to open an illustrator template file as a workaround.
Thanks :)
4 votes -
Alt+click to create an artboard and open artboard dimensions
Alt+Click in artboard work space to set location AND open an artboard dimensions dialog box. At present we have to draw an artboard and then go edit the dimensions. Currently its 2 clicks and a couple of drags, instead of just one click with the proposal above.
Also most other tools have "Alt+Click" features enabled, think "square" "rotate" "scale". etc.
4 votes -
Show gridlines in outline view
If "Show Grid" is activated, in Outline View, the grid is mostly invisible. It only leaves very subtle dotted lines along the major grid lines, but the subdivision grid lines aren't visible.
It would be nice to see some faint lines of the subdivision grid lines in outline view so when I'm zooming in very close, those lines don't disappear.
4 votes
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