We have long kept an asset folder named The__PIT that has 1 copy of every file that has ever made it through Production so that if we bring up an InDesign IDML or INDD from any time in our history, ALL links are immediately restored using "Relink to Folder...". We need this same functionality with Illustrator. I understand that InDesign is a data based software and Illustrator is not. I also see that Illustrator does retain the file name though (which, as is noted in many other similar requests, does nothing as far as selecting a match within a CC Library)... Anyhow, isn't this enough info already to incorporate a one at a time "Relink to folder..." task? Definitely faster than relinking one at a time through a chooser. And still could be done all at once with a delimited internal array of multiple selected file names.

ThePIT has been one of my favorite additions to our workflow. It keeps duplication to a minimum (asset either filed or in ThePIT), repopulates assets whether the indd is from 2009 or 2020, and it allows us to archive all our indd's as idml's which are like 20x smaller & we never have to worry about relinking thanks to "Relink to Folder..." & The__PIT!

Illustrator layouts are becoming more popular at our agency and to have this functionality added to Illustrator would greatly improve efficiency, get all team members to adopt the same workflow, and free up tons of space compared to dev that is package based.

Our agency isn't large enough and doesn't have enough free people time to merit a full Adobe DAM solution. We are small & nimble AND outputting 5x the content we were capable of 5 years ago with the same number of staff, thanks in part to The_PIT and some other scripts and procedures I've implemented.

My agency closely guards the workflow methods I've enacted as they give us a clear advantage over other agencies. Our clients say as much.

Diminishing the gap in cross functionality between Adobe applications is crucial. The same features will never equate to the same usage. The Adobe apps are differentiated as much by personal preference, if not more, than anything else. It's only when a project in an app can't do something that's possible in another & moving the elements to the other app doesn't help either that the software shows its weakness. You can't copy and paste or drag and drop a placed graphic with a broken link from Illustrator to InDesign and retain a link that could be resolved by "Relink to Folder..." You can't do "Relink to Folder..." in Illustrator. There's no efficient resolution.

As to why I wouldn't just select "Relink..." and browse The__PIT...
That folder has thousands of files in it, it takes a seriously long time for the files to display in Finder. And sometimes, either by fault of OSX or Adobe's browse, the files don't display at all. You get the same result in InDesign if you try "Relink..." BUT with "Relink to Folder..." it's nearly instant. Even a document with more than 100 images. I guess it's the difference between Browse and relink compared to the data action of "GET in this folder, the file named this" which happens with "Relink to Folder..."

Please respond with comments.

A simple object position swap tool.

I make data/scientific figures with AI. I do a lot of ordering and aligning of objects, often I have 4-5 scatter plots generated in R and I resize and align them in AI. I often want to reorder them after I have gotten the alignment perfect, so currently the most efficient process is clicking on each individual object and writing down the x,y coord. for each and then typing these in for each object. A simple button to swap objects based on their x,y coordinate (wherever the ref point is set) would save me a lot of time.
Thanks, Reed

My idea consists in making it able for us to select text only, but with the arrows, like we have now, but doing it selectively.

I'll try to explain:

If we make a freehand selection (area selection) over some portion of the work, everything that is not locked and that that selection overs is selected, right? Despite being it the Black or White Selection Arrows.

However, I can go to the Menu>Select>Object>Text and it selects ALL text from the artboard. I can also go to a layer and click on the circle on the right and get all of those layer elements selected, either them being text, vectors, images, etc.

With this «new» Arrow, for example a subset of arrows and this being placed there, a Arrow with a «T» next to it, when we click and drag with that arrow over our artboard, only those elements get selected, in this case Text, because it is the arrow with a «T». This arrow can be set to select «selectively» other stuff, colors, to add to swatches (just thought of this one right now), vectors, but differently of the regular ones, that select everything below the click and drag selection, just those vector objects, or images, or whatever we can specifically say that is different by its own.

We can use it to give conditions, usually in the top bar below the menus, if we want to select text, and, for example, size or font, or vectors, lines, closed paths, etc, images, if size this or that, or colors, then add them to swatches if then some sort of OK is given.

I believe this as a lot of potencial!

Feel free to comment! Thank you!

In the Photoshop Action panel there's "Insert Conditional" allowing you to set logical conditions for action behaviour. Illustrator should have this too. It's neat.

It's useful for making action behaviour more inteligent and relevant to the document, eg. doing one or another thing depending on whether the document is landscape or portrait, colour mode, etc.

Another way it can be used is to create toggle buttons for things that Illustrator doesn't currently have shortcuts for (eg. Scale Strokes & Effects). Presently you have to create two separate keybindings for each action, whereas the conditional allows you to toggle with a single shortcut.

I would like to align objects (art, text, groups, etc.) to the immediate opposing side of another object. In other words, align the left side of a square to the right side of a square that is right beside it. Yes, I know the smart guides will snap to objects in this manner, but on a large document I want to be able to align multiple items without having to zoom to a microscopic level to check that the art has indeed snapped accurately (which it doesn't always do). With an align option, I will be assured that the objects are indeed aligned properly.

For years I have been frustrated with how anytime I want to edit fills or strokes, Illustrator seems to ALWAYS have the wrong choice forward in the tools panel! It seems to always know when I want to edit strokes, because it always has fills ready to edit in the foreground swatch and vice-versa! All these years I just felt is was some sort of voodoo thing, but I finally realized why this happens to me the majority of the time. I use Select>Same>Fill Color, Select>Same>Stroke Color, Select>Same>Stroke Weight all the time. The main reason I make those selections by targeting them in that manner from the Select Menu is because that is what I am getting ready to change in the artwork. So, if I choose Select>Same>Fill for instance, it would really be nice if AI would automatically switch the active swatch to "Fill" as well... and so on. This is not always the case of course, but 90% of the time that is what I am wanting to do. So it would be nice to at least have a Preference setting to enable that option for those 3 selection commands and maybe hold down the Alt Key when choosing to give the opposite swatch priority. This would save a ton of clicks!

Hello,

My school is considering purchasing a laser cutter/engraver to be housed in the Library for all students to use, and I understand that we will also need to purchase software such as Adobe Illustrator. The problem is that many of our students use Chromebooks, which really don't have a hard drive. We're not in favor of just having 1 or 2 Windows machines sitting by the cutter/engraver, mostly because that limits usage. Is there any other option? Does Adobe offer a Chromebook-compatible software? Or, is there any way that a student could design something in another program, then import it into Adobe Illustrator to send it to the cutter/engraver?
Or is it possible to use Adobe Illustrator on a Chromebook?

If there's no other option, is Chromebook compatibility coming soon?

Thoughts?

Thank you!

These are various recommendation to simplify preferences in all Adobe Applications.

• list groupings (ie General, Type, etc.) in alphabetical order
• or list groupings in logical order
example for the first three - General, User Interface, Performance...
• re-review all preference settings and reduce or simplify (Slices has two option?)
• incorporate a search function to provide the user the ability to quickly locate a specific preference (refer to Apple's System Preferences Search capability.)
• make preference category lists universal in title and order for all Adobe applications when possible

The reason is, I wish to work and not have to take time to find preferences. Additionally, I have to reset preferences each time a major update is installed.

Thank you.