Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
800 results found
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Allow to customize the Contextual Task Bar
I want to be able to customize the Contextual Task Bar, add the functions I need to the panel (tools, menus, actions, scripts, etc.). Please add a configurator like in the toolbar.
19 votes -
Make Snapshots for History panel
I'd like to be able to TAKE SNAPSHOT
Then a History panel would show each snapshot, rather than hundreds of moves and tweaks.
A undo/redo shortcut modifier to step back or forward through snapshots.
A trash can on the history panel to remove a snapshot.19 votes -
Add Cut At / Connect / Remove Selected Anchor Points commands to 'Object > Path' menu
In Control panel we have three buttons for a point partial selection:
Remove selected anchor points.
Does the same as a menu command Object > Path > Remove Anchor Points, and this command can have a hotkey assigned toConnect selected end points.
Does the same as a menu command Object > Path > Join, and has a default hotkey. Why Ai uses both 'Join' and 'connect' for the same operation, and also has 'Join' tool, which does a pretty different thing — is an UX mystery.Cut path at selected anchor points.
There is NO a menu command for…
19 votes -
Make title bar of inactive window look different from an active one
On Windows there is no way to tell Illustrator window in focus from inactive one, even when a corresponding option in OS preferences is on.
And every time Ai is not in focus you can’t use hotkeys.
Please make at least something dynamic to tell if the window is in focus! Like it was before. Icon changing color at least.19 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…19 votes -
Make keyboard shortcuts work for different input languages
I'd love to see an update that lets me use the same physical keys for shortcuts while I have a different keyboard than English selected.
For example, the backslash key () is used for the line tool. But when switching to German, the same physical key returns (#) and in Romanian we have a (â).
I wish that all shortcuts activated by the press of the physical keys work as intended in the interface regardless of the language currently active so I don't have to switch so much between languages just to have my shortcuts work again.
This could work…
19 votes -
Add 'Release' button for Envelope distort object in Control bar
Control bar is still the best thing to control various aspects of selected art. You try to transfer some of those to Properties, but 'Release' button (as long as 'Expand') is still nowhere to be found (only deep in menus or on hotkeys, already taken).
19 votes -
Make an option to show points' handles when part of the path is transformed live
I often modify part of the path or single point with basic tools. For examples, it's quite convenient to select one point and rotate it, if I want to change the angle of it's handles, or scale it, if I want both rotate and scale. Unfortunately, AI hides handles when I drag my selection with a chosen tool. It makes sense in general, but I would like to have an option not to hide it, so I could see where my handles are all the time of transformation.
19 votes -
You can't enter isolation mode when nothing is selected
Sometimes I want to create artwork without messing up with existing one, and without locking/hiding anything (because it's require for other operations).
Sane way is to enter isolation mode and start there.
But NO, AI won't let you isolate empty space! And I have to create one thing (trying to not auto-connect to existing paths), then isolate it and finally draw in peace.
If you afraid that many users will double-click nothing and struggle understanding what has happened, make it an option.19 votes -
Refine (not revert to previous) zoom to selection
Now, 'Zoom to selection' zoom AND centers.
I think that zoom to selection should not center at all by default (and, of course, there should be an option to add centering to zoom). The selected art should stay where it is located in view, until zoom level is big enough so object will go outside current view — only then AI should move view to fit the art.
And there should be a tick 'Only for zooming in'.
19 votes -
Add ability to use fractional values for resolution everywhere
AI is used worldwide. Despite PostScript, based on points, based on inch, being de-facto a standard for most users, many people use metric system.
English inch, as you know, equals exactly 2.54cm.
This gives us, metric users, mantra for translating PPI into PPCM: 254ppi=100ppcmBut if we need lower value, such as 10 or 20 or 30 ppcm (working in scale with huge designs, such as ad bus wraps), we can't use it, because AI doesn't allow to enter fractional values anywhere inside! We can't use 50.8, 25.4, 76.2, Ai would round it to 51, 25, 76.
This will give…19 votes -
Option to put Properties Panel at the top of the workspace.
For those of us who find it more convenient for the Properties to be at the top of our workspace, we should be able to click and drag the properties panel into the default space along the top of the window.
19 votes -
Effect dialogs need sliders
Illustrator's stylized filters need a more practical and dynamic UI.
Currently, stylized effects such as Drop Shadow, Feather, Inner and Outer Glow have an outdated UI and are not dynamic.
I remember that Gaussian Blur was not in the past either, but Gaussian Blur was updated years ago and these stylized filters were not.
I believe that these stylized filters deserve a more practical, faster and dynamic way of being adjusted, and I took the liberty of creating a UI suggestion inspired by the current Gaussian Blur UI.
What do you think, would it be possible?
18 votes -
Add an option to hide the Search/Filter field in Layers
Search/Filter is cool, but some prefer to not have it.
Other panels allow to choose components: we can pick sections to display in the Character panel, we can show or hide the search field in Swatches, etc.However, the panel does not have such an option in its flyout menu.
Please add one!18 votes -
Sync the order of Align and Distribute menu commands
Hey, we now have Object > Distribute commands! No more actions wraps to bind these to hotkeys!
However, why is the order is swapped? Align menu has Horizontal commands first, but Distribute has them at the bottom, under Vertical.
One can object it’s just like the Align panel has them, and this is not the legacy behaviour you better keep, really. Please sync these.
18 votes -
Customizable splash screen
Adobe marketing team decides what to display as splash screens. Sometimes the choice is great, and sometimes is not, much more often, to some of us.
And since the Illustrator splash screen is what we see often, and it obviously influence our thought and mood, we’d like to have options to customize it.
We can access the image ourselves, all of them are stored along with other version for different resolution screens at
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 2022\Support Files\Contents\Windows\aiccsplash.png (on Windows)
and packed in the application in Contents\Resources\ (on Macs),
but this feels like a hack.What if we…
18 votes -
Search for tools by name when editing the toolbar
When editing the tools that are in the toolbar we are confronted with a big panel full of tools. The recent update that categorizes them and allows for a grid view is very helpful. However, I still find myself scrolling down and up trying to find the particular tool I would like to add to the toolbar because it's so easy to miss it. If there were a little search bar at the top where we could type the name of the tool we are trying to locate to pair down the options it would be a much nicer/quicker experience.
18 votes -
Delete all saved selections
There is no way to quickly delete all the saved selections (displayed in the bottom of the Select menu, once you saved them via 'Select > Save Selection...').
You have to do it one by one, which is a torture.Also you can’t just right-click a name of it right there in the menu and say 'Delete' — because you have no context menu for top menu items. You do not like context menus in general.
18 votes -
Workspace Management (Update/Save Current Workspace, etc.)
Please can Adobe implement a proper Workspace Manager in Adobe Illustrator that is identical to Adobe InDesign.
Currently if you want to replace a Workspace you have to type the name of the Workspace in so that Illustrator asks you if you want to replace it? In Adobe InDesign you can select the Workspace from the drop down so there is no need to type anything in.
I hope Adobe can make their Workspace Management the same across all their applications.
18 votes -
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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