Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
4797 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 -
A big persistent Color palette offering RGB and HSB and Grayscale at a glance.
When making Illustrations, I switch between RGB / HSB and Grayscale all the time. I have a 30" screen - room enough to show all mixers all the time.
Please make this possible.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 -
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 -
Group Overlapping Objects
A very casual and time-consuming operation, especially because we lost Object Lasso (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/44462988-bring-back-object-lasso-tool) — drag a marquee around objects, hit Gtrl+G, drag another, group again... repeat dozens of time, especially if you draw icons or something similar for stocks.
What if Illustrator was able to do it for us?
Scan the selection, search for overlapping objects and create groups?What if it could do that in two modes: simple, by intersecting boundaries, and advanced, when true outlines being checked?
What if it could do that with a tolerance also? Like if object are, say, 10 pixels apart, group…
21 votes -
Add Fit to Artboard option to Rectangle Tool
In the current situation, enter the size of the Rectangle by writing numbers or drawing it manually
My suggestion is to add a feature inside the Rectangle box (Fit to artboard)
I think this feature will save a lot of time
For clarification, see the attachment
21 votes -
Curvature Combs and Tunni lines
Two ideas, both aimed at creating smoother curves:
curvature combs:
an additional visual aid that could be enabled/disabled via hotkey or option on a panel that assists the artist/user in evaluating whether a curve is continuously smooth, or whether it needs adjustment. See this blog for a quick coded breakdown:
https://observablehq.com/@jrus/curvature-comb
see this webpage for more traditional curvature combs with lines perpendicular to the curved path, in proportion to the path's curvature at that point:
http://www.bluesmith.co.uk/evaluateComb.htmTunni lines:
an additional assist/handle for helping a user more precisely adjust a curve (or multiple curves), both symmetrically and asymmetrically.
See this example…
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 -
Ability to change the Canvas size after a new document is created (normal to large and vise versa)
The new expanded large canvas size is great, but I think there should be an option to change the canvas size from the standard one to the expanded large one after a document is created instead of having to create a new document.
21 votes -
An option to ignore locked layers with the Eyedropper tool
At the moment, if you have a locked layer above the layer you are working in, the Eyedropper tool selects colors and properties of the top layer — the locked layer — instead of the (unlocked) layer you are working on.
This causes frustration as every time you want to eyedrops something, you have to make a bunch of layers invisible first.
If an option could be added to the Eyedropper tool, such as "ignore locked layers", this problem would be gone completely and working with Illustrator would be a lot smoother and faster.
This could be an option under…
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 -
Adjusting gradient on ONE selection adjusts ALL other objects with the same gradient
When I select ONE object with an existing gradient and then try to adjust it, it will change ALL objects that have that same gradient. Extremely frustrating.
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 -
An option to disable "Save as PDF compatible" as default when saving .ai files
I do a lot of large signage projects with a lot of imported large PSD files. For years I have pulled my hair out waiting for these files to save, even though the images were linked and not embedded. I finally discovered that if I turn off save as PDF compatible when I save the AI file, it saves a lot quicker! Please turn off the save as PDF compatible default when saving. AI files that are large.
Also when turning off PDF compatibility in an AI file, it would be nice to still have a finder preview.
21 votes -
Delete artboard(s) with content
Be able to delete artboard with content. One or many pages.
21 votes
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