Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
553 results found
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Unify point tangent, angle\length\direction
Short rationales:
Point Angle - I need a way to control the exact angle of point handles to unify them across a design. Currently the only way to control the angle is to constrain it to vertical, horizontal, or 45 degree angles.Point Handle Length\Direction - If you grab a point handle and make it a different length or direction than the handle on the other side of a point, there is currently no way to re-unify them besides re-drawing the curve.
There is also no also no way to scale handle length along the direction or angle you’ve already…7 votes -
Add values labels to the graph tool
Please, add the value labels feature to the graph tool.
Currently, it is possible through a weird code and design symbols. Although graphs are not supposed to have value labels, clients are all the time asking for that. Adding one by one, by hand, is time consuming.
Since Adobe bought Freehand MX, you could open its code and learn from there.
7 votes -
A new tool that copies exactly the color that's seen by the user on the screen through transparent objects
Currently, when I like a certain color that's formed through the combination of 2 or more transparent objects (or objects with blend modes applied), I can't copy that exact color. The eye-dropper tool simply copies the color from the topmost object. I often find myself taking a snap of the display and then paste that image within illustrator and copying the color I want from that image.
Request: I'd like a tool, similar to the eye-dropper, but instead, it picks the RESULTANT color(s) that is displayed through transparent objects or even objects with BLEND-MODES applied to them.
I've attached an…
7 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…
7 votes -
Move selected anchors by coordinates
In InDesign when you select some specific anchor points on a path with the direct selection tool, and want to move them x- or y-wise, you can enter the value and hit return to make the selected points move accordingly. Or you can move them by dragging them.
Here is what it looks like:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gk9qk6eqvdvn41p/indesign_points_moved.mov?dl=0If ypu try to do the same in Illustrator, it works as long as you drag the anchor points by hand, but if yo try to do it by entering x- or y-values the whole object moves, not only the anchor points selected.
Here is…7 votes -
Free transform should function the same as photoshop free transform
Free transform function in Illustrator is good, but to have another function that acts the same way as Free Transform in Photoshop would be really helpful.
7 votes -
Easier way to do charts and graphs
PLEASE come up with an EASY and SEAMLESS way to export excel charts into Adobe Illustrator! Please! I have over 153 bar and pie charts I have to create from a pivot table in excel, which is arduous and time consuming. The chart feature in Illustrator is awful and confusing to use as well. I’ve been doing charts the same way for years by copy/pasting from excel into illustrator and having to remove about 10,000 clipping paths. Surely there is something you can that will make it easier to do charts. An extension? Maybe play nice with the @micsrosoft developers?…
7 votes -
Graph Data Label Decimal Exision
Previous versions of Illustrator's graph data labels matched the decimal points defined in the "Cell Style" field. The current version of CC removes any zeros at the end of the label - e.g. "3.00" is changed to "3", or "4.20" is changed to "4.2".
According to Adobe's Customer Care, this is an intended behaviour - but could it be an optional one? Having to manually append zeros to hundreds of labels is not an appealing prospect.
7 votes -
Please support for CAD functions
Pleased support CAD functions natively in illustrator like CADtools or CAD-COMPO, I consider that these functions are very important.
7 votes -
Correct direction of the object rotate function
When rotating objects in a positive angle direction, objects SHOULD rotate CLOCKWISE
When rotating objects in a negative angle direction, they SHOULD rotate COUNTER CLOCKWISEIllustrator seems to be BACKWARDS from all other programs I have ever used...
7 votes -
Curvature tool doesn't work for path in Text on path
I have drawn a curve using Curvature tool.
I've made a text follow this curve.
I want now to edit this curve with Curvature tool, but I just can't — AI won’t highlight and selects points in this path with this tool anymore.Kinda same happens with editing path in blends with Curvature tool — I have to dance with Ctrl, clicking, isolating, and then, after some combination of woodoo, AI finally sees points and allows to move them with said tool.
7 votes -
Offset Path - allow creation of non-joined segments
Would save a lot of time if Offset Path could create paths with or without joining them.
As it is now there are times when it's useful to have auto-joins and many times that it's not. Personally I end up spending a bunch of time deleting the joining path segments as I rarely use them in my workflow.
A simple solution would be to add an on/off toggle for [Join] right above the join type combo.
As well, per other requests, please can the panel remember the last-used settings for [Preview] on/off?
Thanks!
7 votes -
Transform by Reference Line Numerically
I would love to see a "Transform by Reference Line Numerically" feature where user draws a line across an object in any direction, then is able to specify the size they want. This is helpful for raster images where there is no actual vector line to accurately resize to. I use embroidery digitizing software and this is a cool feature. Wilcom Software Transform by Reference Line Numerically.
I've included a screen shot of the Wilcom Manual to hopefully explain better than i can articulate.
7 votes -
Please give us better Transparency tool like in CorelDraw and Affinity Designer
I'm fighting between working in Affinity Designer and Illustrator, AD has much better drawing tools, it's faster than Ai, but I love the familiarity of Ai. If you can give us better Gradient and Transparency tools like in AD that would be amazing! It would help speed up the coloring process when making more realistic artwork. See Screen shot from AD.
7 votes -
Contextual Pie-menus, like Radiant menus by Wacom
creating a contextual "shortcut" menu overlapping layer to access quickly Tools. This is a kind of Radiant Menu developed by Wacom on their tablet for example or Alias marking menu. This should really improve workflow ergonomics.
7 votes -
Retain length of handles when modifying curves and length of path when moving anchor points.
I'd love an option to retain the length of a handle for an anchor point. It would be nice to keep the curvature equal on both sides of an anchor point. There are many times I would have liked this option to create symmetrical graphics.
Similarly, I'd also like the option to retain the length of a path when moving an anchor point. Sometimes I use lines/paths as arms of characters. If I need to change the position of an arm there ends up being a lot of guess work modifying the path.
7 votes -
Add an option for Curvature tool to prioritize the currently selected path
Curvature is one of the more recent tools Illustrator introduced (well, in 2014... time flies). Unlike older tools, it tries to be smart. One of this 'smart' behaviors is an ability to both select and edit paths. It prevents us from placing the next point of the currently selected path right above an existing unselected path — the tool treats it as an attempt to select the latter.
There is an existing request to tweak the continuation tolerance, similar to what Pencil has: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/34578331
But to be fair, I’d love more options for the tool in general. So far it…
6 votes -
Allow to snap to points of a compound shape with Dimension Tool
It turns out Dimension Tool can’t snap to points of a live compound shape — the cursor displays a 'forbidden' icon and a click does nothing.
The tool should treat the shape as every other tool does and allow to snap to all points (including those to be removed on expand) and intersections, and stay live when the shape is modified (when possible, until the topology changes too much to maintain the connection).
Thanks to René Andritsch for the discovery.
6 votes -
Option to add dimensions to current layer
I enjoy the new dimension tool but find it annoying that it creates a whole new separate layer. Maybe my workflow is unconventional, but it would be nice if the dimensions could just be added to my print instructions layer instead of a whole new layer just for the dimensions. I make a lot of diecuts and find myself still using old methods to create the dimension lines due to it always putting them on another layer.
6 votes -
Allow Image Trace to create smooth gradient fills instead of banded areas
Allow Image Trace to create smooth gradient fills instead of banded areas
6 votes
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