Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
4728 results found
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Asset/Object export needs more options
I wanted to export multiple assets/objects with their artboard position and quickly realized they will get cropped and there isn't an option to change that.
The possible naming is also quite limited. Every professional program should have wildcards for naming files.
It boils down to missing batch features. I found a developer who gave it a try once (TomByrne IllustratorSmartExport). That's everything the batch export could and should be and it should be an official inspiration for how the export in Illustrator should look/feel like. Unfortunately it's not longer under development and the core functionality is broken. Still it's a…1 vote -
Migrate Pattern fill to iPad
It would be great to have that computer feature as well on that device as not a lot of people do not have Ai on all of their devices
1 vote -
Force swatches when directly opening an image
When we drag-n-drop / open an image into Illustrator, a new document is created with an artboard created to fit the image (when possible), and the image is put there.
The Swatches panel in this case is empty (as well as Brushes, Symbols, Graphics Styles).
While it makes sense (image have no presets stored within), for some users it’s extremely irritating — they treat this workflow as a way to quickly create a new document based on an image, with the fitting document profile used (even though if they have no idea about document profiles — thanks to the modern…
7 votes -
Show Live Shape controls for grouped objects as before
The shape option in the Transform panel is lost when grouping or compounding rectangular or star shape objects.
This is very difficult to use because it used to be possible to change the shape object's radius all at once, even when grouped together.
2 votes -
Display Active Modifier-Key Command on Screen when holding Control, Shift, or Alt
When holding down any combination of Ctrl, Shift, or Alt, Illustrator should display on-screen text indicating which command is being invoked.
Moving or duplicating artboards requires the artboard toolbar to be selected, and then Shift+Ctrl+Alt keys to be held at once in order to drag a duplicate artboard parallel to the original. A simple on-screen text saying "Drag artboard, Drag parallel, Drag with Contents" or similar would help users intuitively understand which hot‑key action is being triggered, especially when working with multiple modifier keys where memorization can be challenging.
This can be used not just for artboard commands, but all…
3 votes -
Crashes on opening any file when minimized into dock
Illustrator 29.6 - macOS 15.5 - macmini m2pro
Opening .SVG file the app crashes. At second try open file correctly. Tried many different SVGs...
1 vote -
Smoothing options for drawing tools like in Photoshop
Please add a customizable “tension delay” or “string tension” feature to the Pencil, Paintbrush, and other drawing tools — similar to Photoshop Painter’s input lag option — so that strokes mimic smooth, flowing tension, as if a string or spring is gently guiding the cursor.
Additionally, include the ability to adjust stroke width dynamically within the Pencil and Paintbrush tools, allowing for more expressive and controlled line variation.
Why this is valuable:
- Enables smoother, more controlled freehand strokes — ideal for illustrators seeking precise, fluid lines.
- Adjustable tension slider lets users fine-tune responsiveness to match their drawing style.…2 votes -
Preserve Text Formatting when using Paste
I would like to suggest adding an option to preserve text formatting when pasting content.
I’m aware of the Place Text feature, but it doesn’t fully meet the need of retaining the original formatting from copied text.This functionality would be especially helpful for my work, as I frequently design leaflets that include both English and Arabic text. Having a paste option that maintains formatting would save time and ensure greater consistency in my projects.
I would greatly appreciate your consideration of this feature. Thank you for the excellent work you do in developing Illustrator.
1 vote -
Add an option to hide the color spectrum bar at the bottom of the Color panel
I would like to request an option to hide the color spectrum bar located at the bottom of the Color panel.
For users who input colors using CMYK or RGB percentages, the color spectrum bar becomes an obstruction. This is particularly problematic when switching to a smaller panel docked below the Color panel, as the spectrum can display with an excessively tall vertical height. Having to manually resize the Color panel every time just to make the color spectrum smaller is cumbersome.
Please consider implementing this feature.
2 votes -
Path Eraser tool option to keep the path closed
Maybe while holding Opt/Alt, could be a good way to do it.
I often use the Pencil tool, especially Smooth option while holding Opt/Alt, to clean points when there are too many of them and it works well on curves but not on straight lines (they become wavy).
Sometimes I use the Path Eraser tool, but as its name tells it, it erases the path and then I have to select points and Ctrl+J to join. I just want an option to give us the choice to keep the path closed or not. It would require many less steps to…1 vote -
Make it possible to select objects using a path.
It would be very useful to be able select individual objects in a document using a path which touches each of those objects or lies entirely within the path, or both, with each option being selectable by the user.
4 votes -
Stop covering the document tabs with expanded docked panels
If I dock panels to sides of the application frame, expanding the ones from the top panel groups will cover the document tabs, like the GIF shows.
In a situation when it’s important to know what is the current document (they can differ slightly) this is especially irritating.Please nudge them down a bit!
6 votes -
Allow to exclude handles from being snapped to grid
I remember it being a bug, when handles were not snapping to grid... but sometimes it’s actually useful! Currently we have to undo, disable the grid, and tweak the handle.
There should either be a hard option we can toggle (preferably with an ability to assign it to a hotkey), or a hotkey to toggle this behavior on the fly, the one we can tap while dragging and disable snapping for this operation only... or both!Please take a look at this related request as well:
Introduce a tolerance for Snap to Grid / Pixel, so that snapping happens only…6 votes -
Make an option to never enable Knockout Group for new blend objects
Illustrator insists on checking "knockout group" on my blends, I never want this, I always have to go in and turn that off every time I make a blend of a couple of objects with complicated appearances. Gimme a switch for that behavior.
2 votes -
Allow to actually drag-n-drop swatches on canvas to create a Swatch Info object
Von Glitschka originally requested this here — http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/40192993 — but instead we got a buried menu command we can’t assign to a hotkey (here’s a request about this: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/49612313)
Please allow to create these with the actual drag-n-drop!
Make it so we can hold a modifier key while doing this to have a dialog (and do it silently by default instead).
Allow to add dragged swatches into the existing Swatch Info objects, highlight the exact positions these are going to be added, on canvas.5 votes -
A faster way to recolor copies of a pattern swatch
Pattern Variants - Let's say I have 4 colours (for ex, red, green, blue, yellow) and I want my pattern to exist in all 4 colours (a complete red, a complete so on)
What we usually do - copy the colour code > duplicate the pattern swatch > go into the colour swatch and select the pattern and change its colour > then press done and rename
What if we find a way to cut down these steps and find ways to make quicker variants of each colour?
If you have any better tips and tricks for changing pattern colours…
1 vote -
Keyboard shortcut to cycle through 'Change Case' states
Allow users to assign a keyboard shortcut to cycle through 'Change Case' settings. This was available on previous versions of Ai, and is a basic functionality that seems to have been removed for absolutely no reason.
2 votes -
One click flatten button, to Expand text and strokes for print/sharing
Hi everyone,
I'm a computer graphic design teacher at NABA. While teaching Adobe Illustrator, I’ve found it challenging to explain the concept of Expand Appearance and how to properly flatten text and lines for final output.It would be incredibly helpful to have a one-click solution that automatically handles proofing—expanding appearances, flattening both text and lines—and clearly indicates that the AI or PDF file is ready for print or delivery.
I hope this suggestion makes sense. Many thanks!
1 vote -
Centralized Notification History
Currently, Notifications are eliminated when cleared. This is a problem if you accidentally clear a notification that you want to read later. Often a Notification can be a reference for something that you forgot that hasn't been documented yet.
Please resolve this issue by making Notifications like e-mail, where you have read notifications and unread notifications. This allows us to manually delete notifications at our convenience, but refer back to them when needed.
Either that or allow us to bookmark notifications for later use. This would require an entire Bookmarking system and seems a little much when you already have…
2 votes -
Move items inside/outside hidden and locked layers.
I want to move items in and out of locked and/or hidden layers.
I use the lock and hidden options to not accendently modify them on the canvas, but I do neet to rearrange them in the layers, or need a copy of an item.6 votes
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