Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
- or
2 results found
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Add ability to hyperlink text
Make text linkable to a url or email when exported to a PDF, like you can already do in InDesign.
Only being able to do this in a PDF means that if you make an update in Illustrator and export as a PDF again, you have to re-do all your hyperlinks.
136 votesWhile the bug with dropping hyperlinks added through Attributes panel while exporting as PDF was fixed in 27.6.1, the original request for adding inline text hyperlinks was never completed.
It’s now split into a separate request here.
Those who actively commented on the original feature request got added as voters already. If you think that ability to add, stylize, and customize hyperlinks in text is something you’d like to have — please upvote it.
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Add ability to hyperlink text (properly this time)
In June of 2023 the Illustrator team fixed a old bug with hyperlinks added through Attributes panel being dropped while exporting as PDF.
The team thought of it as a solution to this request: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/40418827 — and marked it as such.I do not agree.
The solution is nowhere final, done in the most basic way possible, merely a bug fixed, like if no-one in the team did try to make it useful at the level of today's standards.
— A partial text selection can't be made into a hyperlink.
— No widgets are given on the canvas to see if an object has a hyperlink assigned or not, and to open the link directly from the canvas (with or without a modifier).
— Attributes gives no way to jump to a previous/next hyperlink in the document.
— The 'browser' button uses the IE browser, not the assigned one at the OS level.
— If I cover an object which has a hyperlink assigned, with another object that has another hyperlink, the area they shared together is overtaken by the one which is below, and not according to their z-order.
— 'Polygon' image map option does not work, the object gets a rectangle area still. The sacred knowledge about creating polygonal image maps in Ai is long lost, and the only mention the official manual has about it is here (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/slices-image-maps.html) — but it never actually tells how to create these. Surely not via rectangular-only slices. It should just happen automatically, and it does not.
— What about automation? To have the links to be auto-tagged, like this solution for InD does (https://www.id-extras.com/products/hyperlinkpro/)?
— What about auto styling, like InD provides?
— Will we be able to fine tune the look of the Character’s 'Underline' option? Nobody places lines this close to text anymore on web.So yes, this should be made BETTER.
In June of 2023 the Illustrator team fixed a old bug with hyperlinks added through Attributes panel being dropped while exporting as PDF.
The team thought of it as a solution to this request: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/40418827 — and marked it as such.I do not agree.
The solution is nowhere final, done in the most basic way possible, merely a bug fixed, like if no-one in the team did try to make it useful at the level of today's standards.
— A partial text selection can't be made into a hyperlink.
— No widgets are given on the canvas to see…49 votes
4694 results found
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Export to generate video in Firefly
It improves workflow and integration with Adobe Firefly video generation.
1 vote -
Move artboards with the Selection Tool the same as Photoshop
In Photoshop, artboards can be moved simply by selecting the artboard name above the artboard. The same functionality would be useful in Illustrator, instead of having to select the Artboard Tool.
1 vote -
Use Bleed Size When Showing the Artboard Title And When Applying an Artboard Background Color
Use Bleed Size When Showing the Artboard Title and When Applying an Artboard Background Color
1 vote -
New artboard names cover other artboards when zoomed out
After zooming out from artboards, the names occupy other artboards.
2 votes -
Can we have better gradients when working in CMYK to Pantone?
Have better control with gradients when working with spot colors to CMYK. When using the normal gradient tool and working with Pantone colors to CMYK you get a nasty grey gradient. Currently you have to create two shapes, extend on of the gradients and set it to multiply. The new 2026 gradient dither feature does not fix this problem.
2 votes -
Please allow us to assign F# keys to Tools
I can assign the Function Keys to Panels, but not Tools in Illustrator, but I can in InDesign. I'm tired of accidentally typing a "v" when I want the Selection Tool in Illustrator. With InDesign, I've assigned the F1 key to the Selection Tool to avoid this, but I can't in Illustrator...why? Please allow!
2 votes -
Make permanent artboard captions displayed on top when using Artboard Tool / mode
In Ai 2026 (build 30) a new option was presented, 'Show Artboard name on canvas', in Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display, enabled by default, following this request:
Provide an option for making artboard names / numbers visible on the artboard (like when editing artboards), https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/40405873While it’s great and all, these new subtle captions replace the old 'label' ones we used to get when enabling Artboard tool / mode... and these new captions are rendered BELOW the artwork, even when I specifically want to deal with artboards, not artwork.
These should appear on top when using Artboard Tool, and I’d say these should be old-style labels with clear distinct backgrounds. Gray text of new-style labels is barely seen on gray backgrounds I use a lot.Why do we need to see the numbers and labels above art?
For this — Display artboard captions when exporting artboards, http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/48094511In Ai 2026 (build 30) a new option was presented, 'Show Artboard name on canvas', in Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display, enabled by default, following this request:
Provide an option for making artboard names / numbers visible on the artboard (like when editing artboards), https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/40405873While it’s great and all, these new subtle captions replace the old 'label' ones we used to get when enabling Artboard tool / mode... and these new captions are rendered BELOW the artwork, even when I specifically want to deal with artboards, not artwork.
These should appear on top when using Artboard Tool, and…2 votes -
Dynamic Bezier Stroke Corner Join
Illustrator offers 3 types of stroke corner joins: Miter, Round, Bevel (same 3 as Offset Path filter/effect do).
Miter one just extends the edges of a stroke with straight lines and then cuts the pointy portion off according to Miter Limit value. This works in a majority of cases when we need a sharp corner, but when curvy segments meet at an angle... the straight join becomes obvious.
Meanwhile, Ai has Join Tool.
Here, at the left side of the image a result of expanding a stroke, with a straight mitered join is rather obvious.
So I select the point where the straight segments meet, delete it, and then use the Joint Tool to... well, to join them, following the natural Bezier extensions of the segments.This gives me a better looking smoother join, with no obvious 'ah, that's a thick stroke expanded'. I can use this method when I have a handful of these... but it’s not convenient to treat hundreds of these, expanding your artwork.
Another solution would be to use inside/outside stroke alignment...
But:
1. it still doesn’t work for open paths — http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/33963553 (100 votes!)
2. it won’t be helpful anyway if sharp connections happen from both sides of a line, both at inside and outside oneSo — please introduce the fourth type of a stroke corner join. Make it fall back to just simple Miter if the curvature of the lines doesn’t allow for them to meet properly (or cheat by changing the curvature just a bit).
Illustrator offers 3 types of stroke corner joins: Miter, Round, Bevel (same 3 as Offset Path filter/effect do).
Miter one just extends the edges of a stroke with straight lines and then cuts the pointy portion off according to Miter Limit value. This works in a majority of cases when we need a sharp corner, but when curvy segments meet at an angle... the straight join becomes obvious.
Meanwhile, Ai has Join Tool.
Here, at the left side of the image a result of expanding a stroke, with a straight mitered join is rather obvious.
So I select the point…5 votes -
Turn off artboard names / labels when using Artboard Tool
When using the Artboard tool, the artboard label can interfere with the artboard content. Can there be an option to turn the artboard name off or move it to be above the artboard and not within the boundary?
3 votesTo hide the permanent captions for artboards, go to Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display and disable the new 'Show Artboard name on canvas' option.
This would restore the previous behavior with labels being displayed only when Artboard Tool / mode is active, and shown above the artwork.
This feature was added because of this request
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Shadow and other Stylize effect dialog boxes - Modernize!
Can you please make the Stylize (under effects) dialog boxes actually useful?
The up and down arrow .125 inch default is just useless, far too big of steps to allow any real control. Unless (maybe) you're putting a shadow under a giant object.
X & Y movement rather than direction… the whole thing is clunky and hasn't changed in a decade or more.
Try putting a drop shadow on any reasonable font size (for example), I find myself making changes in weird amounts (oh, .06 is too much, I'll change it to .052 and see if that works).
It's just painful to work with.
How about a slider?
Or, if you want to see a useful drop shadow interface, Photoshop has one! Use that. Perfectly functional.
Please, please make this a useful interface, I've been waiting for this since version 5.5. That's too long.Can you please make the Stylize (under effects) dialog boxes actually useful?
The up and down arrow .125 inch default is just useless, far too big of steps to allow any real control. Unless (maybe) you're putting a shadow under a giant object.
X & Y movement rather than direction… the whole thing is clunky and hasn't changed in a decade or more.
Try putting a drop shadow on any reasonable font size (for example), I find myself making changes in weird amounts (oh, .06 is too much, I'll change it to .052 and see if that works).
It's just…2 votes -
Can we please move the "Close all" button away from the "Save" button in the "FILE" dropdown menu
Maybe move the "Close" and "Close all" buttons to the bottom of the "FILE" dropdown menu, instead of having them sit so close to the "Save" and "Save as" buttons.
I have accidently closed various projects because of this.
1 vote -
Line distortion when vector tracing — joins between strokes distort instead of connecting smoothly
When using Image Trace or Auto Trace in Illustrator, the traced vector lines often distort at junctions where two strokes should meet cleanly. Instead of forming a natural join, the curves warp or bulge slightly, creating uneven intersections that break the flow of the line.
It looks like Illustrator is over-smoothing or misinterpreting the corner geometry at those points. A more accurate “preserve joins” or “maintain line continuity” option would help produce cleaner, more natural outlines — especially for minimal line art or hand-drawn illustrations.
4 votes -
Select > Object > Select All Symbols
Please? It would be handy to be able to select all symbols in one grab instead of doing them one symbol type at a time.
2 votes -
Enable continuous work while generating vector graphics
Currently, when generating a vector graphic within Adobe Illustrator, the entire application becomes unresponsive for approximately 30 seconds (or longer, depending on complexity). This forces users to wait idly without being able to continue their work, significantly disrupting workflow, concentration, and productivity.
I request that Adobe implement a background processing feature that would allow users to continue drawing, editing, or performing other tasks within Illustrator while vector graphics are being generated in the background.
Thank you!
Danny5 votes -
Make Select Art button more evident
I periodically see designers, with serious (albeit cheerful) faces, boldly clicking the 'round button' in Layers to 'select everything on the layer.'
And while the button indeed 'selects' everything on a layer, it also selects the layer itself — targets it really, for applying a layer-specific appearance.
Take a look at this GIF attached.
If I select Layer 2 (with the green squares) like this, and then apply the Round Corners effect, all the new squares in the layer will have round corners.
Sure, everything is visible in the Appearance palette.
Sure, everything is written in the pop-up hints.The round ones are for appearance. We need to click to the right of the circle instead, where the square markers are drawn — these are there to mark selection... AND allow selection.
It’s a very common mistake (like confusing windshield wipers and turn signals)...
And I think I know why it happens. I’m convinced that it is psychologically easier to click a circle — that looks more like a button, — than an empty space where a square appears (when clicked).
Recently some accessibility changes were introduced into Ai, and now things we can click in most panels gets highlighted slightly on hover — but not these square-to-be spots! Even when there are square markers there!So please make these more pronounced.
I love appearance dearly, but selecting all in a layer / sublayer / group is a far more common procedure users do. And discovering something called 'appearance' was the source of many problems with art’s colors is not a good way to meet this power.
I periodically see designers, with serious (albeit cheerful) faces, boldly clicking the 'round button' in Layers to 'select everything on the layer.'
And while the button indeed 'selects' everything on a layer, it also selects the layer itself — targets it really, for applying a layer-specific appearance.
Take a look at this GIF attached.
If I select Layer 2 (with the green squares) like this, and then apply the Round Corners effect, all the new squares in the layer will have round corners.
Sure, everything is visible in the Appearance palette.
Sure, everything is written in the pop-up hints.The…
6 votes -
Make the Intertwine feature a standalone tool in the toolbar
Can we please make the Intertwine feature it's own standalone tool, so If you are intertwining elements you can still edit and continue intertwining without having to restart, as it's currently impossible to go back to intertwining same elements when you have left the mode.
2 votesPlease share the file with the team. Send it over to sharewithai@adobe.com and mention the link to this very report — http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/50605484
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Absolute mode for Scale tool
Speaking of Transform Each new absolute mode, presented in one of Beta builds (removed for now).
While having it is great (especially in the finished state), Transform still relies on one of 9 reference points.
To set a custom transformation pivot/origin we need to use interactive tools... and they don’t offer absolute lengths.Here, take a look, a real example.
I need to scale this > shape to be exactly 20mm height — and I need it to be scaled exactly from the position I marked with guides — the bottom right corner of it.
Transform panel can’t offer me anything but three fixed positions. Sure, I can use one and move the artwork, using Snap to Grid. But sometimes it's just a very procedure — a selection is more complex than a single path, accidentally deselecting is quite easy, and reselecting with Undo is untrustworthy.
So I grab Scale tool, hold Opt/Alt and click the point.
In an ideal world I’d be able to toggle absolute mode and set 20 mm for my desired height...
In the world we are in I paste the current height (I copied in a previous step), type 20 (the desired height), multiply in instantly by 100 by adding two more zeroes (since inputs don’t support more than one arithmetic operation) and divide it by the current height value I copied beforehand (which is not always the case).This gives me the result I wanted... but it could have been faster with the absolute mode, don’t you think?
Speaking of Transform Each new absolute mode, presented in one of Beta builds (removed for now).
While having it is great (especially in the finished state), Transform still relies on one of 9 reference points.
To set a custom transformation pivot/origin we need to use interactive tools... and they don’t offer absolute lengths.Here, take a look, a real example.
I need to scale this > shape to be exactly 20mm height — and I need it to be scaled exactly from the position I marked with guides — the bottom right corner of it.
Transform panel can’t offer me…
3 votes -
'Reveal in finder' right-click images
Can basic image functions please get added to right-click menus. Both when right-clicking images, and when right-clicking images in the Links panel...
- Re-link image
- Update link
- Link File Info...
- Embed/Unembed image
- Reveal in Finder
- Reveal in Bridge
- Edit in Photoshop
I also made a single “Full Image & Link Overhaul” request that pulled all the smaller image issues together, but it seems to have been deleted. Can an admin explain why?
3 votes -
Création d'un simple trait à partir d'une typographie ou d'un logo en double trait pour en faire une gravure
Création d'un simple trait à partir d'une typographie ou d'un logo en double trait pour en faire une gravure sur CNC,
Idée : à partir d'une typographie classique : vectorisation de la police - passer en mode contour - déterminer la moitié entre 2 points - création d'une ligne centrale pour avoir un mono trait. Cela pourrait s'appliquer à un logo même avec un empattement variable2 votes -
Paste in Front / Back should be disabled while actively editing text
Ctrl+B and Ctrl+F are still available to paste objects while user is actively editing text. This should not be allowed.
Ctrl+V does some kind of text only paste in the active text edit field (this makes sense) but hitting Ctrl+B or Ctrl+F (by default, paste in back/front) these will ACTUALLY paste artwork whatever it may be in the location copied from, WHILE the user is in the text edit field. This could mean unexpected behavior and user may not realize they pasted something as it may not even have drawn on screen.
Editing text should be single threaded, and focused on editing text, or you're just going to limit the keyboard shortcut possibilities or confuse users.Ctrl+B and Ctrl+F are still available to paste objects while user is actively editing text. This should not be allowed.
Ctrl+V does some kind of text only paste in the active text edit field (this makes sense) but hitting Ctrl+B or Ctrl+F (by default, paste in back/front) these will ACTUALLY paste artwork whatever it may be in the location copied from, WHILE the user is in the text edit field. This could mean unexpected behavior and user may not realize they pasted something as it may not even have drawn on screen.
Editing text should be single threaded, and focused…3 votes
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