Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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- Why is this valuable to you?
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4759 results found
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Absolute Optical Kerning when scaling....
I understand show optical kerning works and that smaller type will have relatively more space between glyphs than larger type. However, this results in a problem for those of us who, due to Illustrator's canvas limit (See 227, #downwith227), must design at scales smaller than 1:1.
For that reason, I would like to request that there be an optional type of optical kerning implemented which does not add extra kerning as font size decreases.
3 votes -
Less Application Chrome
Illustrator could have less application chrome.
- Ability to remove scrollbars and status bar
- Ability to disable "Application Bar" while "Application Frame" is selected (Controls take the place of the Application Bar)
- Adjustable-height panels e.g., a Swatches panel that's sized according to the number of swatches, not some fixed height
- Mac-native full-screen mode that hides the macOS menu bar (without having to toggle AI's view mode)
etc etc etc etc
3 votes -
Add a way to protect chosen colors in Recolor while randomizing, and allow to limit chosen colors to different libraries, all in one session
I use the Recolor (color mixer/wheel) daily. I have come across a couple features missing.
Feature Request 1:
- I use the 'randomize/recolor' tool to scroll through a self-made palette and recolor prints with several colors.
- When I've come across a semi-acceptable mix, I can't lock in the colors I like.
- To hold those colors, I have to save and close the color mix window, then reopen and 'lock' those colors
- This adjusted feature would allow me to 'lock' the couple colors that are working for the print, while being able to scroll through options for the remaining colorsFeature Request 2:
- I often use Coated Pantone + Cotton Pantone books simultaneously.
- If I open a print in CMYK, I will use the color mixer, open the Coated pantone library, and allow the mixer to find 'the closest color' to the CMYK's I've selected.
- The issue comes when I know there's a closer color in the Cotton pantone library for 1 or 2. I can't use this 'life hack' again for 2 or 3 remaining colors, if I want to hold onto the coated swatches.
- Again, I can save, close, and re-open the color mixer, but that's annoying.
- I would prefer to keep the option to open and apply a library to ALL swatches in the mixer, like now. BUT also be able to individually choose a separate library for each swatch if I want.I use the Recolor (color mixer/wheel) daily. I have come across a couple features missing.
Feature Request 1:
- I use the 'randomize/recolor' tool to scroll through a self-made palette and recolor prints with several colors.
- When I've come across a semi-acceptable mix, I can't lock in the colors I like.
- To hold those colors, I have to save and close the color mix window, then reopen and 'lock' those colors
- This adjusted feature would allow me to 'lock' the couple colors that are working for the print, while being able to scroll through options for the…3 votes -
The ability to save a direct selection
Sometimes geometric transformations require a complex selection of certain vertices on one or more objects. Losing the selection because of a misclick is so common and frustrating... One should be able to save current selection to recall it if lost. This little buffer can be really very temporary, i.e. stop working if object topology has changed in the meantime. It would already prevent frustration on many occasions.
3 votesIllustrator allows to save, load and managed partial and full selection with Select > Save / Edit Selection commands.
UI is archaic, but it does the thing you want.
Please leave any comments regarding this feature here.
As for having a selection operation as an undoable operation — there is a separate feature request for this you can vote for: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/34934953
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Using the very top menu bar to hook panels
It's frustrating to have artboards covered by panels, it could be great to use the first top bar to hook the panels like AE.
3 votes -
Develop an even better tool for illustrator like Zeplin
Can't you develop a tool like Zeplin or Sketch Measure for illustrators? For a long-term support illustrator users feel very disappointed!
3 votes -
Alignment Hierarchy and Auto Align to Artboard
Alignment should work (Like most other design software) where there is a Parent/Child hierarchical relationship. Currently only "Align to left, and top" behave this way. Align to Center causes the two objects to meet halfway between their artboard positions. This is has been a major issue for years.
- Touch Parent object (anchored in artboard position)
- Holding Shift, Touch Child object
- Selection alignment task
- Child moves to parent
In addition, the selection of "Align to Artboard" should be an automatic default state for single or grouped objects. There is no need to have a selection for "Align to Artboard".
3 votesAs per the comment, this can be done by clicking one of the selected objects to define it a key, to make all other object in the selection to align to this key.
Other apps rely on order of selection, and this is something users request to able to toggle here: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/39711583
As for the Align to Artboard switch — it is useful when you have a selection of objects and want to align all of them to an artboard. In these cases the default mode Illustrator enables is Align to Selection, and you have to toggle it manually.
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Illustrator CC often crash if GPU Performance is enabled on Macbook Pro Touch Bar 2016
Actually, turn it off will solve the issue, but sluggish zoom in/out.
3 votes -
Open dialogs on top of window in windowed mode
When working with multiple displays, dialogs (like saving, etc.) open on the display with the dock.
This does not work well in windowed mode when the window is on the other display. It is not always obvious whether the dialog actually opens because it is often hidden behind other things on the main display. Because you can't interact with the document until the dialog is dismissed, it can feel like Illustrator has frozen.
Is there a way to open the dialogs on top of the active window instead? This would place them in context and they would not get lost. I don't want to make the other display the main one when working this way, and in many other windowed apps dialogs either come down from the top or open above the active document.
When working with multiple displays, dialogs (like saving, etc.) open on the display with the dock.
This does not work well in windowed mode when the window is on the other display. It is not always obvious whether the dialog actually opens because it is often hidden behind other things on the main display. Because you can't interact with the document until the dialog is dismissed, it can feel like Illustrator has frozen.
Is there a way to open the dialogs on top of the active window instead? This would place them in context and they would not get lost.…
3 votes -
Ability to Set Scratch Disks on Startup
Our users need to change their Scratch Disk settings from the default Startup to a different drive in order for Illustrator to work correctly in our environment. This is more problematic now since our Mac Pro's have small SSDs. The fact that users have to launch Illustrator, navigate to preferences, change this setting, and then relaunch Illustrator before the Scratch Disk settings take effect is irritating. Unfortunately, in our environment this setting does not stick, so every time our users log in to a different computer they need to make this change.
Please add a feature, similar to Photoshop's OPT + CMD key sequence, that will allow users to pick a scratch disk location on startup.
Our users need to change their Scratch Disk settings from the default Startup to a different drive in order for Illustrator to work correctly in our environment. This is more problematic now since our Mac Pro's have small SSDs. The fact that users have to launch Illustrator, navigate to preferences, change this setting, and then relaunch Illustrator before the Scratch Disk settings take effect is irritating. Unfortunately, in our environment this setting does not stick, so every time our users log in to a different computer they need to make this change.
Please add a feature, similar to Photoshop's OPT…
3 votes -
Add Scale to SVG and PDF Export for Screens
My biggest pain point in production for mobile right now is the inability to scale vector assets in Export for Screens. X-code prefers PDF assets be imported at 1x size. Android Studio prefers that SVG assets be smaller than 200x200 px. When I have large templates of icons or other assets that need to be sized differently for different purposes, it is crippling to have to resize these.
For example, I have a set of icons that are used for a glyph font. These are all sized at a scale of 1000pt high. In order for me to export this same set as svgs for Android, each image and artboard must then be resized to below 200 px in order to do an export. Not fun when you have 300 to resize.
Another example is achievement badges where I need to export 1x PDFs or small, medium, and large badges. Again, when you have hundreds of graphics, this is an immense amount of production work that could be saved if Scale were available for vector assets on Export for Screens.
I know that vector assets are fully scalable and the size of the export should not matter. Unfortunately both iOS and Android dev environments have quirks that favor sized vector graphics.
My biggest pain point in production for mobile right now is the inability to scale vector assets in Export for Screens. X-code prefers PDF assets be imported at 1x size. Android Studio prefers that SVG assets be smaller than 200x200 px. When I have large templates of icons or other assets that need to be sized differently for different purposes, it is crippling to have to resize these.
For example, I have a set of icons that are used for a glyph font. These are all sized at a scale of 1000pt high. In order for me to export this…
3 votes -
Export Asset using Bounding Box
I think it should be possible to export our assets using the bounding box either clip mask or a group of objects
3 votes -
Support (like all other software) Ctrl-Ins, Shift-Ins and Shift+Del for Copy, Cut and Paste
It's a common behavior on windows the Ctrl-Ins, Shift-Ins and Shift+Del for Copy, Cut and Paste.
Adobe software doesn't support this at all.3 votes -
Ability to invert the zoom direction when using option+scroll.
I'm scrolling down to zoom in & up to zoom out (using option+mouse scroll)- there should be an option available to invert this methinks. Just seems that it should be the other way around.
3 votes -
A better place to disable "Video Safe Areas"
Hi. I've been asked to remove the video safe areas, margin and center mark from a new Video document, and had to look online to find that those "guides" where related to the artboard (each artboard, btw) and not to the document's preferences (which makes sense, btw).
Where I searched for them: in the View menu (and read carefully), in the Preferences, UI, in the Properties panel. Took me a while to get to the Artboard tool, then Artboard Options.
May be the 3 "guides" could be linked to a single button in Artboard tool properties panel…
Requested by another user originally.
Hi. I've been asked to remove the video safe areas, margin and center mark from a new Video document, and had to look online to find that those "guides" where related to the artboard (each artboard, btw) and not to the document's preferences (which makes sense, btw).
Where I searched for them: in the View menu (and read carefully), in the Preferences, UI, in the Properties panel. Took me a while to get to the Artboard tool, then Artboard Options.
May be the 3 "guides" could be linked to a single button in Artboard tool properties panel…
Requested by another…
3 votes -
Tool palettes docked in touch bar
I would like to be able to dock tool palettes in the touch bar.
3 votes -
Alignment tools can use reference/center point of an object instead of edges
Following this discussion on Stack:
I think it would be great if objects in illustrator were treated as such - with edges, but also with a center point.
Aligning/rotating solely based on edges is extremely limited.
If an "Object point of reference" option was added, selecting several objects and rotating them all could result in them rotating around their center rather than the center of the group of objects.
Same with aligning and distribution... this is a feature that often blocks me and seems long overdue, I'm not sure why it's not more obvious for other users!
3 votes -
Zoom one-handed with Magic Mouse
I would like to be able to zoom in and out one handed using a Magic Mouse. I think this could work by using two finger gesture up or down to zoom respectively.
3 votes -
I would really like a drop down menu to pick which graphics card I want to use
I would really like to be able to pick which graphics card I want to use in a drop down instead of illustrator automatically picking. Even though my 1080ti is the primary in my bios, illustrator insists on using the 780ti and I have no way of changing it without disabling my 780 all together. There needs to be a simpler way to change this
3 votes -
Preview for file name with prefix and suffix when exporting for screens
I have three requests about Prefix for filenames -
1. Move it to a more prominent area where it's visible. Sometimes it's pre-populated because of previous exports, but since it's too small and not located anywhere around the artboards, it's very easy to miss it and end up with wrong file names.
2. Make it bigger. Most prefixes have at least two words and the current input doesn't accommodate it. I have to manually scroll through the complete thing with the keyboard. Not very useful.
Requested separately: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/33744007
3. Show a preview of complete file name(s) including prefix and suffix. Right now there's a preview if you enter a suffix, but none if you enter only a prefix. The preview should always be visible in this dialog, since it's possible that one or both of these fields are pre-populated from previous exports.I have three requests about Prefix for filenames -
1. Move it to a more prominent area where it's visible. Sometimes it's pre-populated because of previous exports, but since it's too small and not located anywhere around the artboards, it's very easy to miss it and end up with wrong file names.
2. Make it bigger. Most prefixes have at least two words and the current input doesn't accommodate it. I have to manually scroll through the complete thing with the keyboard. Not very useful.
Requested separately: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/33744007
3. Show a preview of complete file name(s) including prefix and suffix.…3 votes
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