Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
184 results found
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Feature Tours and Tips pop up windows keep showing up even after selecting "Skip Tours"
Turn them off. So annoying and get in the way or work.
148 votes -
Support 16 bit images / iOS 11 Screenshots distorted
Screenshots made in iOS 11 are distorted when open or used in AI. Distortion persists during export to pdf.
AI 21.1.0
macOS 10.12.6
MacBook Pro 2017All other tested Image Softwares displayed the screenshot correctly (Photoshop CC, Preview, Chrome, Safari)
90 votesThis particular issue of images from iOS screenshots getting distorted in Illustrator has been fixed now.
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Nix the Stupid Blue Share Button
Get rid of the stupid giant blue "Share" button in the toolbar. It's very distracting because it looks like I constantly have a notification. And I will never use it. We've been all through this with Acrobat already!
32 votesAs per the comment, go to 'Preferences > User Interface > Share Button' and select 'Match Brightness' — it will no longer appear blue.
To achieve the same in Photoshop, try toggling 'Neutral Color Mode' in 'Preferences > Interface'.
If you still wish to just have it gone for good — please upvote this separate request.
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Create a layer from a selection or an artboard
Have the ability in Layers palette to create "New layer from selection" or "New layer from artboard"
31 votesAn indented way to achieve this now is to create a simple action.
1. Create an action
2. Select some art
3. Create a new Layer with a button in the Layers panel
4. Object > Arrange > Send to Current Layer
5. End recording
Actions are great for automating various routines we have in Illustrator, and this is just one of them. If you think it still should be a native operation instead (or an action to be included in standard Actions pack) — please vote and comment.
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Preview Mode
Like InDesign, incorporate a preview mode to show only the content inside of the artboard to see the final preview.
28 votesThere are two separate commands that offer this, as stated in comments:
View > Trim View
View > Presentation Mode
Read more about these here
Feel free to add comments if you need something else
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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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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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Quick Command for Trim View
Quick Command for Trim View. I alternate a lot between normal view and trim view but have to stop to select trim view every time.
19 votesYou can assign your own custom shortcut to this command via Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. Toggle 'Tools' to 'Menu commands' from the dropdown and search for 'Trim View'.
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Add reference point locator for symbols
Symbols only have registration point. Fine, store it. Use it as default for scaling-rotating and so on. But why I can't set reference point for transforming it as I want, and as I can for EVERYTHING else?! What, AI can't calculate it's left top coordinate or what? Why can't I flip it over the left edge, for example? Why can't I even COPY it's top left coordinate?
Shh, calm down.
18 votesThis can be done with Transform panel’s flyout menu — disable 'Use Registration Point for Symbol' option.
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Add option to Always update links
Sometimes I make a lot of changes within linked images. AI always asks if I am to update links, and I'd like to have this dialogue temporarily switched off (but enable it later)
18 votesAs per Neeraj: it is possible to control the update behavior of links — automatically or manually. Go to Preferences > File Handling & Clipboard > Update Links.
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Aligning to a certain object
The Align tools in all Adobe programs is a wonderful feature. However, in Illustrator when you Align objects it changes the position of ALL of them. In other programs, it tends to be the last object you select takes the dominant position - aligning all others to it. In Illustrator it doesn't seem to matter the order you select, it just aligns it to the nearest center point (thus moving ALL the objects). The Lock feature doesn't help as you cannot select a locked object to align with/to.
17 votesYou can align to an object you choose to be the key one.. Click the object you want to use as a key the second time and Ai will use a bolder edge to highlight it.
More details here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miVLI8rwO1o https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/moving-aligning-distributing-objects.html
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Live preview of gradient (while dragging)
Whenever I'm using the gradient tool I wonder why I can never see the appearance of the gradient while dragging it. resulting in having to tweak it at least a couple of times before I'm content.
16 votesIllustrator now displays the appearance of the gradient interactively when you drag it, but only when GPU preview is on.
Make sure it is on in Preferences > Performance > GPU Performance, that you View > Preview on CPU / GPU Preview is correctly toggled, and that you are not using Overprint Preview.
If the issue still persists with all these checked — please comment back.
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Chinese text hyphenation alignment for punctuation marks in Illustrator text box
Punctuation marks justified alignment on textbox.
Need to automate the text alignment in the textbox for Chinese characters.
Because it is very time consuming to do manual kerning for each characters reiteratively, whenever there is amendment to the text in the box.15 votesAs per the comment within, this can be resolved like this:
1. In Preferences > Type > enable Show East Asian Options
2. In Paragraph panel choose Avoid Head and Tail, Strict
Please comment back if it works or not for you.
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Ctrl+Scroll to zoom instead of Alt+scroll in Windows
Can you please add an option or something to change the zoom shortcut from ALT+Scroll to CTRL+Scroll?
Because in Windows the ALT button activates the app menu which is pretty stupid! Or at least disable the activation of the app menu with the ALT button.For example I zoom in using ALT+Scroll and now I want to select the Type tool using T on the keyboard and I get the Type drop down menu from the top (see attached screenshot).
And as you can see this can become very frustrating especially when spending hours in Illustrator!Btw please don't suggest…
15 votesEnabling 'Force Enable Pinch-to-Zoom on Touchpad' option in Preferences > General makes Ctrl + Scroll for zoom work
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The ability trim or extend a line using another line. Like the one they have in Autocad
The ability trim or extend a line using another line. Like the one they have in Autocad
13 votesIllustrator allows this today with Shape Builder tool.
You need to hold Opt/Alt and either click or brush through the excessive portion of the path, and Ai will trim it to the next intersection or between intersections. Works with selected objects only.
The precision of the tool is limited and bound to internal grid of the document. There is a bug report about this you might want to upvote.
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Expanding Intertwine creates too many identical copies and doesn’t optimize them
If you expand an intertwine object (with the global Expand: Object command, since it does not have its own specific Expand), the one with a lot of zones, you get a ton of overlapped clipping containers with a reordered copies insides, one per each zone used.
While technically it’s OK, the amount of copies can be just absurd.
Some copies are identical and differentiate only by the location of their clipping masks. Perhaps Ai should track these copies and clip then not with separate masks, but a single compound path mask, when possible?The degradation is not so graceful with…
11 votesIntertwine now tries to optimize the number of clips created when expanding.
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Customize Transparency Grid Size and Color...
It would be nice to customize the transparency grid's color and relative size.
11 votesIt is possible to do in Illustrator as well — not in Preferences, but in File > Document Setup dialog (Cmd/Ctrl + Alt +P) — because these settings are local for a document and not global. Same exact controls.
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Bring back the previous Illustrator CC toolbar
Bring back the previous Illustrator CC toolbar. After years of having the AI tools in a particular spots, now they're all over the place and hard to find and the Edit Toolbar is a cluster#$%& of madness. Bring it back!
10 votesWe have not removed the previous toolbar, it is just that it is not the default. Please use the Window menu > toolbar to get back to the advanced toolbar
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Warp Effect Not Working
I've noticed that ever since upgrading to Illustrator CC 2018 (22.0.1) that the Warp Effect doesn't seem to work properly. The Arc and Arch effects will work, but applying any of the Flag, Wave, Fish or Rise effects won't change the object at all.
9 votesThank you to all who shared their files. We do not support flag, fish effects on a straight line with just two anchor points. The feature is implemented to work on the line segment which is not straight.
Please refer to the attachment for supported and non supported scenarios. Should you have further query please email us on sharewithai@adobe.com -
Copy the style of stroke when using eyedropper tool
When I use the eyedropper tool on a stroke with arrowhead, the full style does not get copied - only color and weight (not arrowhead). I think it is expected for the arrowhead to get copied too, just like the color AND font get copied when you use the eyedropper tool on text.
9 votesAs mentioned in comments, arrowheads are strangely the part of Appearance and not the basic stroke, and to get it copied you should tick 'Appearance' in Eyedropper tool settings (hit Enter when the tool is chosen). Then everything works. Please comment back if it does not for you.
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