Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
4797 results found
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Enable Gradient Annotator on strokes
When we are in Full screen and Want to edit Gradient on the Stroke It would be Great to be able to Enable the Annotator on to Change/Edit or move the stroke Gradient colors
23 votes -
Improve Trim Mark Settings When Exporting PDFs
Posted using Illustrator 2025 (29.4)
In the Japanese printing industry, it is common practice to require both corner crop marks and center crop marks when exporting PDFs.
Currently, in Illustrator’s PDF export settings, enabling the “Trim Marks” option only adds corner marks. To include center crop marks, users must also check the “Registration Marks” option, which results in registration marks being added as well.
However, these registration marks are generally disliked and considered unnecessary in Japanese print workflows. There needs to be an option to add only corner and center crop marks without registration marks.
InDesign allows users to…
22 votes -
An option to ignore strokes when using Fit to Artwork Bounds or Fit to Selected Art commands
Illustrator now always fits the current artboard respecting strokes and raster effects, as if the 'Use Preview Bounds' option is on.
However, disabling this option does not change the behaviour 'Fit to Artwork Bounds' or 'Fit to Selected Art' commands — strokes and shadows are still considered to be the bounds to fit.
This is not what a user wants in many cases, and geometric bounds are preferred instead.
We need Illustrator to either respect 'Use Preview Bounds' option — as Symbols do — or have another set of option for fitting command, to separately control strokes and effects.22 votes -
Edit a Brush like a Symbol, on canvas
To edit a brush stroke, we have to do the following:
1. Edit the panel
2. Grad the brush and drag it onto the canvas
3. Edit
4. Alt+drag it over the original brush
5. Think about applying changes to existing art if the brush is already usedMeanwhile, editing a symbol looks like this:
1. Double-click a symbol
2. Pass the warning (or disable it once)
3. Edit a symbol
4. Double-click on the canvas or hit Escape to finishLooks like almost the same length... but clicking is faster than dragging and aiming. Why no use the same…
22 votes -
Bring back "Object lasso tool"
Was present in earlier AIs. Helpful for non-marque selecting. Increases efficiency.
22 votes -
Touch Type improvements
Touch Type is a nice tool that is still unfinished.
- Can’t select several glyphs at once (not by Shift+clicking, not with a marquee)
- Can’t constrain rotations to 45° by holding Shift
- Can’t constrain movements to axes by holding Shift
- Can’t select a glyph when it’s even partially obscured by another one next to it
- Can’t reset selection to original states via on-screen controls
- Snap to Glyphs obviously doesn’t work with it (imagine if it would have)
- There is no way to apply changes to one glyph without shifting all glyphs to the right…22 votes -
Ctrl+click the swatch to mix it with the current color
There is a small thing in Corel Draw, that AI could benefit of too.
If you have an object selected and click in a different swatch with a Ctrl held, it adds a bit of clicked color to your current one, blending them.Like if you have a yellow CMYK 0-0-100-0 and Ctrl+click in 0-100-0-0 magenta swatch, you will have 0-10-90-0, 0-19-81-0, 0-27-73-0, getting more like the clicked swatch with each click. Same in EGB Very convenient for adding color reflexes and picking a color in general.
22 votes -
Improve Shape Builder by adapting the Corel’s Smart Fill functionality (Paint Bucket)
Whoever came up with the idea of the Shape Builder, they did utilize not that popular Live Paint in a great way. Make it even better!
Steal and add to Ai the Smart Fill from Corel Draw (see the GIF attached). You don’t have to create a live paint, you just click over the intersection, just like Shape Builder does, and you have your new shape over the original paths. Steal it and make it better — CorelDraw doesn’t understand click and drag here, and it’s less comfortable to set a color (while Ai won’t have any problem here). Like…22 votes -
Escape key should deselect any selected object
This would be extremely useful when you are zoomed in and a lot of objects are filled in your screen and there's no empty space around to click if you ever wanna deselect an object. Please map the escape key so that it deselects any selected object.
22 votes -
Break apart blocks of text into separate text objects: by lines, words, characters, outlines
As done in Flash, I need to be able to paste in a block of text and "break apart" the single text object to several separate text objects. Ideally each time I click break apart, the action will break the text down further: by lines, then words, then characters, then to outlines. This action should be assigned a shortcut to quickly cut up text that has been pasted in from outside Illustrator.
I spend a lot of time pasting in label text for infographics and diagrams, and then cutting and pasting repeatedly to separate the labels out for positioning.
22 votes -
Effects Preview Checkbox Has No Effect After First Check
Version 24.0 (64-bit)
When applying an effect to a path in Illustrator, checking the "Preview" checkbox will preview that effect, but unchecking the box does not return the path back to its original shape. To test:
Use the pen tool to draw a multi-segment shape.
Select the shape
Click Effect->Distort & Transform->Roughen
Click the Preview checkbox (the effect should be applied)
Click the Preview checkbox again (the effect will not be removed)I've tested this with most of the previewable effects in the Effects menu and they all behave the same.
22 votes -
Import PDF comments in Illustrator
The option to import PDF comments in InDesign is a great feature.
Adding this feature to Illustrator would be a great solution for people working in the packaging world.22 votes -
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 votesIllustrator 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.
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Allow freeform gradient points to leave boundaries
In the freeform gradient tool if points are dragged outside of the boundaries it deletes the point. Instead I think it would be better if the points worked outside boundaries to allow for smoother gradients.
See example on how a freeform gradient would appear if points could used outside of the borders (you can currently do it by using a clipping mask but it would be easier if it was built into the tool)
22 votes -
Allow transitions between freeform gradients control points to be linear
Originally named 'Freeform gradient shows RGB values when you work in CMYK space' and based on this message:
https://twitter.com/Vonster/status/1056247934855991298?s=1922 votes -
Remove Export Size Limit for PDF (200") or at least match it with the current maximum artboard size
I have designed a 206 Feet Wide banner Designed at 1:12 Scale (206") in illustrator, I am Literally Unable to Send it for Printing, Because i Can't Export it to PDF because its Exceeding 200"...
Illustrator itself can't design something Greater than 227 Inches, While more WORST thing is the Export to PDF file Size Limit, which is currently set to 200". Why to Leave Scaling on Printer RIP, Why Not send a Print Ready File. So if there's something wrong, we could catch and fix it, rather get it Printed.
The problem can be with the Repeated Background Pattern,…
22 votes -
Increase contrast between selected font and other fonts in Font list in Character palette
Not long ago the contrast between current font and other fonts in list in Character menu was quite sufficient (see image 1). Now it's barely visible (image 2). It makes locating current font in list rather difficult.
Please reconsider colors chosen.
22 votesThe contrast is much better in recent versions
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Last used script
Please, add a command inside File > Scripts (above the line) to execute last accessed script. A have tons of these and not all of them are bound to shortcuts and smarty palettes. Sometimes I have to apply same script several times and have to dig in all 4-5 folders inside to get right one.
And, please, make it shortcut-able.
22 votes -
Keyboard Shortcut to select locked objects
When needing to move a locked object, you currently only have the option of "unlock ALL" whereas sometimes you may have many things locked that you do not want unlocked - only one or two things you want to move.
It would be helpful if by holding a button (Say Alt or control) this would allow you to select locked objects, move or alter the object, and once you deselect it continues to be locked.
22 votesIn latest versions you can enable 'Select and Unlock objects on canvas' option in Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display section.
This adds small lock icons for each locked object you can toggle right there without the need to unlock everything first.
This is not exactly the solution you asked for, no hotkeys involved (and there are no modifiers left to allow this), but it does the job.
Does it work for you? Please leave a comment.
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Alt+click in Appearance hides all effects except clicked one
Sometimes I need to isolate one particular effect and work on it.
I always try to alt+click it, like I do with layers in Photoshop, but fail, of course.
Why not to add this in AI?22 votes
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