Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
4709 results found
-
Illustrator support on Huion tablets
Illustrator is not compatible with huion tablets. The cursor moves when pen moves but no ink comes out when press down. This works in ALL other products (e.g photoshop) except illustrator. Several people have reported this issue.
22 votes -
Reversing order of objects
Sometimes it's useful to change order of selected objects, making bottom-most go topmost and vice versa.
I understand possible complications — what would AI do when selected objects have other unselected objects between them (meaning order)?
For example, I have these objects in Layers:
A
1
B
C
2
3
I select 1,2,3 and do proposed 'Reverse order' command.
I expect order to become this:
A
3
B
C
2
1
I see two fitting places for this command: Layers palette menu or Object > Arrange
It's scriptable, but I would like to have it by default.22 votes -
Bring back the ability to create a new artboard with a click of Artboard tool, just like it used to work in earlier versions
Bring back the ability to click to set the location of a new artboard. With 2018, I have to find wherever a new artboard appears and move it to where I want it.
In 2017 and prior, I'd just click to make a new artboard where I wanted it.
22 votes -
Reveal in Finder (for MacOS) / Explorer (for Windows) option for document tabs, like in Photoshop, Acrobat
On Macs, "Reveal in Finder" Option currently reveals in Finder you "Command + click" the file name at top of window — however this option is not available when window is tied to the application frame.
Completely missing in Illustrator for Windows (even though exists in Photoshop and Acrobat).
22 votes -
Add Reference Point to "Convert to Shape" effect
When using the convert to shape effect, it would be useful to be able to specify a reference point to the dialog, about which the effect can transform. For example, the current implementation distributes the effect from the centre across the height/width axes. A reference point would allow you to add extra dimension to the left/right/top/bottom (as required) and would be extremely useful in UI construction, among other things.
22 votes -
Cmd + H should hide Illustrator on Mac
Yes, CMD-H should be standardized across all of your programs. And kindly take Freehand out of its vault, study its pen/curve tool(s), and make Illustrator's pen tool work as well as Freehand's did.
22 votes -
Option to turn Overprint Preview on as the default preview in Preferences
I'm doing a lot of package design for flexo printing, always struggling with overprint preview accidentally turned off. This is also a massive issue in conventional offset printing, especially with white accidentally set to overprint (e.g. when changing colors of many objects from black to white at once, or similar situations). This option would be a huge relief.
22 votes -
Ellipse tool, circle pie, Shift snap to angles
Make the pie feature of the circle support snap to angle.
Example
https://i.gyazo.com/bbf718e29c9eb4af8af65a8d837de353.mp422 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…
21 votes -
Allow to see and edit colors in a selection, just like with Selection Colors in Figma
Figma displays a full list of colors used in a selected art in its right sidebar: https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042553434-View-and-adjust-colors-in-a-mixed-selection
It allows quickly evaluate the selection, edit colors right there, even swap — without the need of using bulky Recolor. Illustrator can't offer the same quick tool, neither in Color panel nor with the Properties.
Please make this possible in Ai, and make it better.21 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…
21 votes -
Consider a document as 'unsaved' (dirty) when a linked image gets updated
Illustrator think that updating a link is not an operation.
This leads to problems with documents that use PDF-compatibility option.Imagine you have an already saved document that have some linked images in it. You open it in Ai and then Edit a linked image in Photoshop. Make some changes in the image, save them in Ps, go to Ai and agree to update the link...
But Ai still considers the document as non-'dirty', as if no changes were made.
You can’t save the document and re-write the PDF content, to see these changes appear, say, in the InD document,…
21 votes -
Spring Loaded tools
Over in Photoshop, it's possible to hold the single-letter shortcut for activating a tool, and to then release the key to return to your previously-used tool.
In many ways, this is not useful in Illustrator, but in several, it's invaluable. The Zoom tool, in particular--I'd like to be able to hold Z, adjust the zoom, and release Z to be back on the selection tool (or whatever i was previously using).
The Hand tool already works this way: Take out a tool like Selection (v), and then hold spacebar to get the Hand tool. Drag the canvas around, then release…
21 votes -
New artboard adjustable spacing
When the New Artboard button in Control panel is clicked, an artboard is created next to the current one. The spacing between these is not tweakable (unless you choose to create more than 1 artboard, to get the field with the spacing active, tweak it, and then change the number to 1 again).
I work in metric units, on 10×10 millimeters grid. The space between artboards’ edges is 7.056mm. Yeah, I know, it’s 20 points, sure, but why should I care about points when units are millimeters? Why can’t I use a value that makes sense to me?
Furthermore, it…
21 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…21 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…21 votes -
Allow us to customize/choose features/controls/order in Control panel
A Feature that can be used by any Tool or Panel which is most common (like Fill & Stroke), that should not be active in the both (Control Bar & Properties Panel )sides at a time.
When Text Object is selected by Arrows.
If you have selected Text by using Arrows/Selection Tools, you should have good options in the Right Click's menu, like Spell Checking which is logical according to selection.
It would be also better if these features will be added in Control Bar by replacing redundant Features Like Fill & Stroke which can be used by Panels and…21 votes -
Custom Bleed amount for each Artboard
Custom Bleed for each Artboard
Sometimes I have alot of different arboards.. Business cards and Banners.. the business cards need 1/8" bleed but the banners need 1/4"
being able to customize bleed per artboard would be very helpful
21 votes -
'Reverse Order' option for Transform Effect
When you set several copies in Transform effect, Illustrator makes them stack under original art, 'going backwards'. Sometimes it's better to have an opposite behaviour, with copies stacking up, 'towards' viewer.
Please add this checkbox near 'Copies" field.
21 votes -
Make live hint with color values for the Eyedropper tool
Right now clicking with Eyedropper results in a blind result: until it's clicked, there is no way to predict what will be picked exactly. Why not to show properties to be picked in floating thingy next to the cursor? PS does it great in separate panel, why AI can't steal that?
21 votes
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