Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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4780 results found
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Show the angle between two paths when dragging anchors
A new feature I'd like to see is a Smart Guides tool tip which shows the angle that is created between two paths, when manually dragging an anchor.
There could be the option of...
1. ... always displaying the relative angle.
2. ...only displaying the tool tip of common angles, such as 15, 30, 45, 60 degrees.In the attached mock-up, the bottom right-hand anchor of a square is being dragged to the right. The angle that is created relative to the top of the square displays as a tooltip, in this instance 33 degrees.
3 votes -
It would be helpful if you made allowable suggestions, such as, " paint in clipping paths not allowed, convert to paint group now."<
If you're not going to make your paint feature natural or useful, then you could provide allowable suggestions. Suggestions such as, " Paint in clipping paths not allowed, convert to paint group now," then you would click yes or no to convert. Instead, you have created an information loop Where your customers have a problem, you acknowledge the problem, and send your customers on their way to find their own solutions to solve that problem. A problem you have created in the first place. This would be a very helpful feature for you to add.
3 votes -
Allow snapping to objects that are masked out and also make opacity mask objects visible in outline mode
For example, if you draw a large box and place it completely inside a small box so that all four corners of the larger box are masked out, then try to drag a guide it will only snap to the smaller clipping mask, the guides wont snap to the larger box unless you hide or release the clipping mask. Also, as an additional feature I think it would be of benefit if when inside the opacity mask, when you go to outline mode you could then see the objects within the mask.
Supporting videos below
https://youtu.be/mdtJwudauVY
https://youtu.be/Z9qIvFQ9RBQ3 votes -
Fix the new "new file" interface – remove misleading "Art & Illustration" tab
I dislike the new "new file" interface. I chose to go back to Legacy and told other Graphic Designers to use legacy-new file also BECAUSE – the "Art & Illustration" tab is VERY MISLEADING. This is an RGB workspace, with low resolution. Yet, some people did not notice this and chose this instead of the "print" tab, as they should have. This can't be only our company that feels this is misleading to the artists. Just DELETE that tab. You already have Web, Mobile, that covers the RGB/low rez options.
or RENAME that tab, if easier. Maybe “DRAWING for SCREEN” would be a better representation of what this new page would be for. (I would NOT call it “Screen Drawing” because some people could assume that is for when you are using a Wacom to draw in Illustrator. trust me…I can picture this)
Also, WHY are you hiding the Raster effects ppi default info inside "more settings"? This is pretty important info to a graphic designer.
I attached directions I sent to my coworkers regarding this, so you can see issue.
Also, FYI – the more you add to illustrator, the glitchier it gets. Stop. It doesn't need anything else.
I dislike the new "new file" interface. I chose to go back to Legacy and told other Graphic Designers to use legacy-new file also BECAUSE – the "Art & Illustration" tab is VERY MISLEADING. This is an RGB workspace, with low resolution. Yet, some people did not notice this and chose this instead of the "print" tab, as they should have. This can't be only our company that feels this is misleading to the artists. Just DELETE that tab. You already have Web, Mobile, that covers the RGB/low rez options.
or RENAME that tab, if easier. Maybe “DRAWING for SCREEN”…
3 votes -
Save for web SVG
Seems like when I Save for web that I should be able to choose SVG and be able to manage export options from there. That way when I use a shortcut to save for the web it helps me skip several steps to export when I'm thinking about saving a graphic for the web.
3 votes -
Asset Export Alt-Drag
Why did you guys require that the existing functionality of dragging a group into the asset export panel now requires the addition of "Alt" - now i have to "Alt-Drag" an item, otherwise the selection breaks apart into all the groups. "Alt-Drag" should have been the keystroke for breaking the asset into groups, leaving the regular drag and drop as is - as people have learned that method already.
Were there user studies conducted that indicated that it was better to change the default behavior, and make the standard behavior do something different?
I have to relearn a mental model because of this.
I run the UX team for my large engineering organization, unless you have strong evidence to support changing preexisting UI conventions, I recommend you leave things as they are, and append new innovations to the the new keystroke
Why did you guys require that the existing functionality of dragging a group into the asset export panel now requires the addition of "Alt" - now i have to "Alt-Drag" an item, otherwise the selection breaks apart into all the groups. "Alt-Drag" should have been the keystroke for breaking the asset into groups, leaving the regular drag and drop as is - as people have learned that method already.
Were there user studies conducted that indicated that it was better to change the default behavior, and make the standard behavior do something different?
I have to relearn a mental model…
3 votes -
Provide layer info of linked file in Links panel! helpful when missing link is on inactive layer...
In multi layered files it is very difficult to spot a missing link if it is not on a visible layer. A simple mentioning of this in the info section would solve this
3 votes -
Show the options used for an action step recorded
In the Actions panel, most of the settings for some recorded tasks such as saving, exporting, etc. does not show up in the actions panel so I cannot even tell what file type the step is saving as. Is that intentional?
3 votes -
Line snapping to existing line overlapping it
Currently you can snap an anchor point onto a path or other anchor point. I would like to move a straight path/line, or rotate it, and have it snap onto an existing straight paths angle...right now I’m going into Ctrl+Y view to try and align the two lines but its tedious especially when doing this a lot in my design work...
3 votes -
Color labeling of library asset groups
I would like to see colored labeling of library asset groups just like having the ability to color label layers.
3 votes -
Keyboard Command for Expanding Objects
Please. It's so much more intuitive to press ctrl/cmd+a and expand using the keyboard. I work with other peoples files all the time so being able to easily expand their files to make them work is critical.
3 votesYou can assign your own hotkeys via Edit > Keyboard shortcuts, including Object > Expand, Expand Appearance, and object-specific Expand commands (Blend, Shape, Envelope, etc.)
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Save PDF to file size [Target File Size]
It would be very helpful to have a save to File Size option when saving illustrator files (and inDesign Files).
Smallest and Highest are nice to have, but when eMailing a PDF, these two arbitrary sizes can be useless.
As a general rule 10MB is the max size attachment for an email.
Rather than selecting SMALLEST saving it to determine the file size, then Saving it again and going into compression and guessing how much more resolution one can eek out of the compression it would be nice to have a "Target File Size"
I'm guessing this might require some background processing, which could slow down the whole saving process a little. this might be bothersome for some people, so if this could be implement, it should be done so with a turn off option.
It would be very helpful to have a save to File Size option when saving illustrator files (and inDesign Files).
Smallest and Highest are nice to have, but when eMailing a PDF, these two arbitrary sizes can be useless.
As a general rule 10MB is the max size attachment for an email.
Rather than selecting SMALLEST saving it to determine the file size, then Saving it again and going into compression and guessing how much more resolution one can eek out of the compression it would be nice to have a "Target File Size"
I'm guessing this might require…
3 votes -
Circle tool unexcpected results CTRL + SHIFT
using the Circle tool and cntrl + shift produce unexpected results, i excpect some it to create a perfect circle hitting both the starting click down and realease locations like only hitting ctrl dose when creating ovals .
- normal circle tool creates ovals
- holding shift creates circles
- holding ctrl creates a oval from 2 points holding both dose not create a perfect circle from 2 points.
3 votes -
Zoom Tool Controls (Fit to Screen)
Can we make the Zoom Tool have the same Control settings as the Zoom Tool in Photoshop? I design in Large Scale Canvas Files. I like to design Art for Shirt Prints/Broadcasting Graphics for Entertainment Usage/Graphics for Sports Teams.
This means a lot of Re-Scaling Images after put into the documents. When I Re-Scale the images and go to position them. I need to Zoom In onto the destination of the image's positioning.
After I position that image. I can go back to Full-Size Image. But, I have to go to my Magnifier % at the bottom of my program to adjust the scale of the image in my work space?
Why can't I just have the Zoom Tool active and do "Right Click > Fit To Screen" like I can in Photoshop?
If there was a way to bring the Zoom Tool Settings from Photoshop over to Illustrator. This will make for easier navigation in the work flow of your projects.Can we make the Zoom Tool have the same Control settings as the Zoom Tool in Photoshop? I design in Large Scale Canvas Files. I like to design Art for Shirt Prints/Broadcasting Graphics for Entertainment Usage/Graphics for Sports Teams.
This means a lot of Re-Scaling Images after put into the documents. When I Re-Scale the images and go to position them. I need to Zoom In onto the destination of the image's positioning.
After I position that image. I can go back to Full-Size Image. But, I have to go to my Magnifier % at the bottom of my…3 votesIndeed, Illustrator does not have 'Fit to Screen' option in the context menu for the Zoom tool.
But it provides other ways to do that:
View > Fit Artboard in Window (Cmd/Ctrl + 0)
View > Fit All in Window (Opt/Alt + Cmd/Ctrl + 0)
If you are interested in Zoom to Selection command, please vote here: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/31427962-zoom-to-selection-fit-selection-on-screen-with
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Align between guides option
The option to align between the two closest guides would help greatly when working on a multi-column document. Currently the only way to align to a single section of an artboard is to draw a box and align to that. Aligning to guides would streamline that quite a bit
3 votes -
Print option to select which artboard(s) to rotate
I have an illustrator file open with 2 artboards in it. I am trying to print them both on 1 page (double sided). I can do that, however, I am having problems with one side of the page being upside down. Is there a way to fix this; other than manually flipping one of the artboards 180 degrees prior to printing?
My thought would be to have a feature in Illustrator (& other Adobe programs) in the print dialog box under the orientation section. Utilizing the auto-rotate checkbox, if you uncheck it you could have an option to select which artboard(s) to rotate (currently all artboards are rotated at the same time)? I know we can select certain artboards to print, so would it be possible to add this in where we could select which artboard(s) to rotate? I understand that 1) this is easy to ask, but harder to implement & 2) you might feel like the issue is a printer issue, but I feel like it could be solved in Illustrator & I have not found anything in my printer settings that can fix this problem either.
I have an illustrator file open with 2 artboards in it. I am trying to print them both on 1 page (double sided). I can do that, however, I am having problems with one side of the page being upside down. Is there a way to fix this; other than manually flipping one of the artboards 180 degrees prior to printing?
My thought would be to have a feature in Illustrator (& other Adobe programs) in the print dialog box under the orientation section. Utilizing the auto-rotate checkbox, if you uncheck it you could have an option to select which…
3 votes -
Eyedropper needs to sample the flattened color, not the object that I click on
Many many times, when I use the eyedropper, I wish that it was sample the actual color of what I am seeing on the screen, rather than whatever the top object is that I have clicked on. For example I might have a number of layers of transparency, or I might want to click a particular value in a gradient, but the result only gives me the color of the object that I clicked on. Is there a way that you could hold down a modifier key and the eyedropper would instead select the color of the displayed pixel that I clicked on? Incredibly useful!
currently I have to make a screen grab, and then paste it, and then sample from the screen grab. Lame.
Many many times, when I use the eyedropper, I wish that it was sample the actual color of what I am seeing on the screen, rather than whatever the top object is that I have clicked on. For example I might have a number of layers of transparency, or I might want to click a particular value in a gradient, but the result only gives me the color of the object that I clicked on. Is there a way that you could hold down a modifier key and the eyedropper would instead select the color of the displayed pixel that…
3 votesYou can hold Shift to to sample the flattened color. -
Option to "protect" Type when Scaling/Rotating/Mirroring etc
Please add a "protect" button in the Type-menu. That way, when scaling, rotating, mirroring or similar, only the position point of the Type will be affected, but all other type-measurements (size, horizontal scale etc.) will remain unchanged.
See attached before / after-image with this option turned on.
(This is already a great feature in Adobe's Data-illustrator App.)
3 votes -
Different background colors for Presentation Mode
Press (B) for Black, (W) for White, (G) for Grey
3 votes -
Please make unlinking symbols available via scripting
As a motion designer I often transfer graphics from Illustrator to After Effects using Overlord from battleaxe.co
Unfortunately the developer can not access unlinking symbols via scripting so this process still has to be done with a workaround. Especially with projects that involve a fair mount of symbols (like infographics or UI design) this would be very convenient.
Thank you!
3 votes
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