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Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests

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53 results found

  1. Clip to key object

    Illustrator allows to set a key object in a selection with a click. The object gets thick edge and can be used for aligning and distributing operation, to stay in place.

    This simple way of marking an object is used only for these, and it’s a waste.
    We need to be able to use key objects for other operations as well.

    For example, why not allow users to clip into the key object, if it’s set? Currently we would have to move it above other objects in a selection, reselect them together, and hope we didn’t mess it up... or…

    8 votes

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  2. Intertwine with Live Paint objects

    It feels like a rare thing to do, but no — this is exactly what I needed recently, and it is forbidden, of course.
    I had to expand my Live Paint group :(

    Please make sure all special plugin objects can work with each other.

    8 votes

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  3. Make clipping process easier, more like in Photoshop and Affinity Designer

    Could you simplify the clipping mask process making it as in Affinity Designer or invent your one please
    Thanks

    7 votes

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  4. Transparency Masks should appear in layers panel like Clipping Masks

    I like how Clipping Masks show up in the Layers panel as a "<Clip Group>", which you can expand to see the object being used as the mask and the object being masked. However, Transparency Masks do not show up at all in the Layers panel; you have to remember to open up the Transparency panel to see and interact with them. In a document with a mix of Clipping Masks and Transparency Masks, this is really confusing and makes the Transparency Masks easy to forget about. You should make the Transparency Mask show up in the Layers panel like…

    7 votes

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  5. Clipping Mask with complex objects

    I'm trying to clipping mask an object not that complicated (1000 points) and Illustrator says it's to complex (really?). But if I do a "paste inside" with Indesign, Illustrator allows the Clipping Mask.

    It's crazy since Illustrator should be the right software to work with multiple points vector.

    7 votes

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  6. Masking objects or their parts - simple and fast.

    Masking with "Make clipping mask" is often practical and fast. Great! Thank you.
    I am asking you to modernize this method of creating a mask:

    1. new option: Invert Mask
    2. When I want to mask a part of an object quickly, but in only within the shape of my mask. For example, a hole in the facility.

    3. new option: Add or create an "Opacity Mask" from the object above.

    4. Such a practical shortcut to create a mask of the "Opacity Mask (alpha canal)" type from a selected object, eg with a griadient. Now, creating an Opacity mask is overly complicated.

    5. Separate…

    6 votes

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  7. Improve intertwine for gradients on strokes and effects

    Improve intertwine to allow gradients along a path before intertwine is made, then fully implement drop shadows to overlap intertwined segments. See attachment explaining workaround I produced along with high res rasterization to show where result is better than Illustrator display on monitor.

    5 votes

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  8. Make Intertwine Edit mode telegraphed better

    Intertwine edit mode is not telegraphed clear enough.

    No custom markers (like Live Paint has) for its bounding box (there is NO bounding box at all, when Edit is chosen), no isolation happens (while it perhaps should, to signal the 'lasso' tool won’t grab anything unnecessary), no breadcrumbs strip above, nothing.

    No zones are displayed, but it’s another request’s topic.

    5 votes

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  9. Masked image active area limited to mask shape

    Hi, it would be such an improvement in usability if a masked image was only selectable within the mask shape. Currently the entire image is still 'active' and when you click any part of it inside or outside the mask it can be selected. This means when you have multiple masked images close to each other (especially when a tight crop is used, meaning a larger part of the image is hidden but selectable) there are overlaps of images that require locking of individual images or reordering of arrangement to put images in front or behind one another just to…

    5 votes

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  10. Ability to create Layer masks in Ai that can be used in Ae

    I would like to have the ability to create masks in Illustrator that carry over to Ae. It would make the process much faster and more streamlines to build it all in illustrator before I transfer over to Ae for animation.

    4 votes

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  11. Masks should be applied to single objects with a simple right click

    Masks should be applied to single objects with a simple right click. It's so cumbersome (and quite frankly, very outdated principle) to have to create a white object, select two objects, then 'create mask'. No one does this anymore. (look at Sketch)

    We should be able to simply right click on an object and set it as a mask. Then anything that is above that mask or in that mask's group layer, should be masked out.

    Which brings me to another point, layers in illustrator are so bad. Why for the love, has the layer structure not been updated since…

    4 votes

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  12. Keep edit Intertwine editable after pressing Ctrl+z

    When Ctrl+z is pressed to undo an intertwine, the whole object is unselected as an intertwine and cannot be edited as an intertwine, without pressing edit in the intertwine menu.

    This does not occur in other tools like live paint, after pressing Ctrl+z, the object remains selected as a live paint object and remains editable.

    If possible, please add this feature.

    This is valuable to me, because it speeds up my workflow, as it makes Illustrator more consistent.

    3 votes

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  13. Allow transparency mask for new 3D function

    I've used the transparency mask function combined with symbols and 3D (Classic) for a long time to create complex objects with ease. This is such a great combination, and it would be wonderful if you could keep the possibility to use transparency masks with the new version. This is not the case today, see provided image for explanation.

    3 votes

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  14. Allow clipping paths to have complex appearances.

    Currently, a clipping path can only have one stroke, one fill, no effects, no brushes, no multiple fills/strokes. Well, it can have all the fills, strokes, effects, and other stuff your heart desires, but only one fill and one stroke will be displayed.

    I would really like this to change. I use a lot of complex appearance stacks and working around this makes things complicated.

    To make this play nicely with existing art, there probably needs to be a switch somewhere for backwards compatibility with existing art that may have a lot of complex appearances on clipping masks.

    There also…

    3 votes

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  15. clipping mask broken in illustrator 25.1 update

    When working with clipping masks there is a bug where clipping mask doesn't show up until you select and unselect the clip option.

    3 votes

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  16. Add Clipping Mask Feature Similar to Corel Draw's Powerclip

    Please make clipping mask like Corel Draw's Powerclip.

    2 votes

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  17. When pasting into photoshop, masked objects should be defined by / constrain mask size. Objects / pixels outside the mask should be ignored.

    When pasting a masked object from AI to Photoshop, the size of the object is determined by everything inside and outside of the mask. It should be determined by the size of the mask only. Photoshop interprets the clipboard size based on the entire object size rather than the masked size. The result is that the desired final cropped artwork is pasted pasted too small.

    I believe this is a bug or design error. I am pretty sure much (much!) older versions of AI didnt do this.
    I dont know of a scenario where the current action would be desirable.…

    2 votes

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  18. Make Illustrator understand the Mask component of SVGs.

    When importing SVGs into Illustrator, the application does not seem to be able to interpret the native SVG masks used. Attached are two SVGs. One is the original one, and the other which ends with "illustratorfromsvg" is how the SVG looks in illustrator.
    You can open both in your web browser. Notice how the hair of the woman in the SVG that's been opened in illustrator does not cover her shoulders. If you look at the original SVG you can see how the hair is supposed to "mask" her shoulders.
    I have explained this more thoroughly in this…

    2 votes

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  19. Draw inside object filled with free form gradient

    The moment you attempt to paste artwork into an object which has a free form gradient, the gradient fill disappears and can only be retrieved if you perform undo or unclip the pasted artwork.

    I honestly would love to be able to draw inside or paste into artwork filled with a free form gradient without the free form gradient disappearing. Please note that am not talking of workarounds here…

    2 votes

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  20. The new behavior of art being clipped when it goes over the artboard bounding edge an option to turn on or off in preferences

    The clipped art over an artboard edge should be an option to turn on and off. Some users do not want this behavior all the time and if it were a preference, the user can control when it should get clipped.

    2 votes

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