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Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests

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31 results found

  1. Drag-and-Drop Swatches to Artboard

    This functionality wouldn't change the swatches palette it, but would allow users to drag a swatch to the artboard and drop it. You could tile several to create a tonal family or brand color set.

    Being able to scale them larger, arrange them, reformat the grid, turn the white gap off in between colors would improve color adjustment and comparing hues side by side. They'd function like the existing swatches panel in that you could have a shape or stroke selected and apply the color by clicking the swatch on the artboard.

    This would help in color exploration and creating…

    494 votes

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  2. Improve Graph / Chart tool

    Current graph tool in Illustrator has many limitations that need fixing. Following are some of the problems in Graph tool:

    • No value labels
    • Data window that requires you to remove characters such as commas
    • Resetting of chart upon making changes
    • Resizing issues (e.g. with bounding box)
    • Missing basic chart types like *****
    • No support for templates
    • Also the tool doesn't support making new chart types, such as attaching data to any attribute of the artwork.
    321 votes

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    203 comments  ·  Tools  ·  Admin →
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    Need More Info  ·  Yogesh Sharma responded

    Please share your thoughts on the following:

    1. Would it make sense to have a separate desktop app, just to create charts, and bring them inside Illustrator or InDesign? It may not be on cloud.

    2. Or would you rather have us work on building it within Illustrator?

    Thanks
    Yogesh

  3. Vector Halftones Effect (within AI and without third-party plugins)

    I would like AI to integrate a feature that can convert raster images and/or vector elements (gradients, sketches, shapes, anything..) into a perfectly shaped round dots Halftones Effect.

    As a matter of fact, it is already possibile to get something similar by applying the raster halftones Effect to the element and then Live Tracing it. But the result is something uneven made of irregular circles or shape. So it is not a precise function to take into consideration.

    The effect should be achieved without any third-party plugins or anything which is not already included in the full AI software release…

    191 votes

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  4. Illustrator 88's pen tool worked better than this one

    Please, please... does anyone at Adobe actually draw with the current pen tool? This is the main tool in your toolbox and it hasn't had a good flow since Illustrator 10. You should be able to draw and use modifier keys to change to the +, - and ^ with ease. Instead, the cursor flashes and gives you one teensy moment when any of those are available resulting in additional points being placed when you might, for instance, be trying to remove a point. The direction handles get in the way of reaching points. Segments are selected too easily when…

    91 votes

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    20 comments  ·  Tools  ·  Admin →
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    Need More Info  ·  Yogesh Sharma responded

    We would like to understand more about this request. Please me us know if you can talk to us on a call to demonstrate the issues in detail.

    Thanks,
    Yogesh

  5. Artboard background color needs to be user-assignable

    We need to be able to change artboard background color.

    Working on pure white is straining on the eyes and it's rarely appropriate for non-print projects (99% of my work). Having to draw colored rectangles, lock them or put them on separate layers, and then manage them when we resize or duplicate artboards is painful and tedious.

    Let's have an icon for it next to the artboard name (in the Artboard palette) where we can choose a swatch (including transparent).

    Let's support changing multiple artboard colors at once with multi-selection.

    Thank you!

    85 votes

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  6. Keyboard shortcut to fit artboard to selection

    Currently you must have content selected to fit it to art board in focus. This workflow adds extra interaction cost by having to remember to first select before hitting the drop-down menu to fit it. Selecting the content and art board and striking a key command would make this a lot more efficient.

    22 votes

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    Illustrator has two commands to fit artboards.

    One of them, 'Fit to Selected Art', requires a selection — obviously.

    The other one, 'Fit to Artwork Bounds' — does not, but works for the entire artwork.

    You can insert the one that you need in an action, using the 'Insert menu item...' command from the Actions panel’s flyout menu, and assign a hotkey to the action.

    However, I believe the request is not about a hotkey, but a way to let Illustrator to 'Fit to the contents of artboard' command? Please comment back to make it clear.

  7. Export for Screen Quality of export

    Not sure if it has been asked or discussed (spent way to much time searching for it and not finding it) but the "export for screens" exports terrible quality - mostly for jpg.

    The quality is jagged and blurry when exporting a large graphic with text that has been outlined. Yet, when I use the legacy export for the same width and size I want, the quality is far superior whilst still having a small footprint in size.

    Why is the legacy export, in any format, so much better than the "export for screens" that you have made default?

    Often…

    12 votes

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  8. Network drives support

    I can't believe what I read on this Adobe support page (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/illustrator-support-networks-removable-media.html) about using Illustrator files only on your LOCAL drive.
    How is it possible Adobe drove it's software into this nightmare?
    If we really can't acces and save our files on a local network drive then I am really done with it...

    11 votes

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    Need More Info  ·  Anish Kumar responded

    Hi,

    Apologies for the inconvenience caused. Please provide some information in order to reproduce the issue on our end. Please provide the below information –
    The version of Illustrator you are using ?
    Hardware details?
    Your operating system?
    Is this happening even with a small file?
    Can you please share the file with which this is happening every time you save on server?

    This will help us to investigate into the issue.

  9. Adobe have to improve the SVG exportation tool

    Adobe have to improve the SVG tool, because we need to create new document to be able export SVG CODE directly from Illustrator file...
    Will be better, if we colect files to export, and on this function, be able to export not just SVG file, but also the SVG code, to use diretly on CSS and HTML.
    Will be a great help to web designers.
    Cumpz :)

    11 votes

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  10. Exporting SVG icons to use for web overrides classnames colours get all messed up

    When you have multiple icons exported in SVG to use for web, once its introduced in the code their classnames get overridden and the colours get messed up of all icons.

    Our programmers are having to open each icon in text editor Atom/Sublime and change the name of the class names for a different and unique name to avoid overriding between files. It's quite frustrating and time consuming for them.

    6 votes

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    Need More Info  ·  Dirk Schulze responded

    Hi Guillermina,

    File > Export > Export As provides an option to create unique class names and IDs to avoid clashes when merging different SVG files into one document. In the SVG options panel select “Unique” under “Object IDs”.

    Does this address your issue?

    Greetings,
    Dirk

  11. Export symbols to SVG like as native path/vector

    It would be very coherent to have an option to configure a "break link" when exporting symbols to SVG, leaving it as a common vector.
    Currently, exporting symbols to svg creates a <symbol> element, leaving us with no freedom to manipulate every SVG as usual.
    Extra hint: Put the symbol name as ID of the converted object in vector.
    Since in Web projects, we need SVG with all its elements in native shapes/paths.

    6 votes

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    Need More Info  ·  Dirk Schulze responded

    Hi Adson,

    Thanks a lot for adding your feature request to Uservoice. Just to confirm, symbols are references by at the moment but you’d rather like to have the actual instance added directly:

    Turns to:

    Is this correct? What issues do you have with ?

  12. Keep object selected with switching from Shaper Tool to Smooth Tool.

    It feels redundant to re-select object (line, shape, etc) when switching to or selecting the smooth tool. This is especially disruptive because you can't select the item when using the smooth tool. It doesn't seem to be consistent for other experiences in the program.

    5 votes

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    4 comments  ·  Tools  ·  Admin →
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    Not sure if I get it.

    Are you sure you mean Shaper tool, not Shape Builder tool?

    Because Shaper tool does not make a selection of the drawn shapes. Shaper Builder though — does.


    How do you switch to the Smooth tool after using the other one?

    By default Smooth tool is placed in the same tool slot as the Shaper (not Shape Builder), and once you click-and-hold the tool slot to access hidden Smooth tool — indeed, the selection gets dropped.


    Can someone here record a short video of the issue?

  13. Brushes: anomalous effects

    Illustrator 2018 22.0.1

    Steps taken: Applying a pattern brush to a stroke, and adding an extra stroke around that in the appearance panel.

    Expected result: The stroke should only apply to the visible outline of the brush (see image), and no weird visual anomalies.

    Actual result: The stroke applies to both the brush as expected, but also to the original path (which should be invisible). There are also some anomalous gaps between the component parts of the brush, which should not be there.

    Furthermore, if you expand the brush you get a group containing the brush sub-paths (totally fine), but…

    5 votes

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    Need More Info  ·  9 comments  ·  Tools  ·  Admin →
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  14. Support for "9-slice scaling" in SVG

    SVG export breaks "9-slice scaling". This is understandable, since SVG has no such concept built-in.

    But SVG can do something like this. Or "4-slice scaling". See, for example:

    https://w3.eleqtriq.com/2014/03/the-holy-grail-of-image-scaling/

    I would like to see Illustrator's SVG export offer this feature, given that Illustrator does.

    At the very least, if implementation wont happen, or is delayed, please mention that 9-slice scaling is not working in SVG export in the docs and (for bonus points) as a warning in the export dialog box (in cases where the document uses this feature).

    4 votes

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  15. Change the layer an object is located on

    If you have a large artboard with multiple objects and layers it is really time consuming to organize your layers when all you can do is drag and drop. I think it would be useful if you could right click on an object and "move to layer" like you can in muse.

    4 votes

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    There is a way – let us know if this works for you.
    - Select the object(s).
    - Highlight the layer you want the selection to go to.
    - Object menu or right-click > Arrange > Send to Current Layer

  16. Make a default workspace for "Illustration."

    The software is called "Illustrator." Seems like there should be an "Illustration" workspace.

    3 votes

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  17. The ability to check an option for "convert lines to shapes" when I export different formats

    When exporting a file to SVG.... I wish there was a check box where I can specify it converts all lines to shapes on export to SVG... This way I do not have to do the conversion manually... and then revert back when I save ai version...

    Often I get messages that distract me and then I forget to revert back and accidentally save the ai version with lines as shapes... then my mast ai version gets messed up...

    3 votes

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    Need More Info  ·  Dirk Schulze responded

    Hi Steve,

    Thanks a lot for reporting the feature request. When you say shape do you mean you want lines to get converted to SVG elements? Does this apply to the other shapes like, ellipse, circle or rectangles as well?

    Greetings,
    Dirk

  18. Export to resolutions below 72 DPI

    Currently export to raster formats seem to have a 72 DPI minimum. For making thumbnail versions of art, it would be great to be able to export to lower resolutions. It is a drag to have to use Photoshop to do a job that it seems like Illustrator could easily do by itself.

    3 votes

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  19. Ability to precisely control the center of a radial gradient, its hilite angle/length

    Add more options to the Gradient tool, especially the radial gradient option. The ability to move the center of the radial gradient would be very useful for cartographers making maps and having the ability to show spheres (3-D circular objects) with a source of light northwest (or any other angle) of the circular object. The attached file should better explain the desired outcome. Your competitors (CorelDraw and Canvas) have had that feature for years, yet Illustrator is more often used for making maps than the other software packages.

    3 votes

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    3 comments  ·  Gradients  ·  Admin →
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    Need More Info  ·  Yogesh Sharma responded

    Hi Kazimierz,

    You can modify the center of the radial gradient. Just choose the Gradient tool (G) with the objects selected (and gradient applied). Drag it across the shape. The start point comes the center of the gradient.

    Does that work for you?

    -Yogesh

  20. Highlight the layer that is selected on the artboard

    When selecting an object, it's extremely hard to find the layer. Can the layer be auto selected/highlighted when selecting an object?

    3 votes

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    When one or more objects of a Layer are selected, the Layer gets highlighted and also indicates a selection. To locate the object in the Layer panel – see if this works. Select the object, click on the Layer panel flyout menu and pick ‘Locate Object’.

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