Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
4471 results found
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Ability to toggle snap on/off while moving individual points
I want snap to be on almost all the time. I only need it off to move a point or two.
I would like a single key to hold down that would turn off snap while I move that single point.25 votes -
Smart Guides limited to current artboard
An option to have Smart Guides only snap to things that are actually on the current artboard.
It's annoying to be working on an empty artboard and have everything snap to things far off the screen on some other artboards. That can be pretty annoying.
25 votes -
Please let list of scripts displayed in File > Scripts get updated
When I add or make changes to Scripts folder, I have to relaunch AI to make it see changes. How difficult it would be to add an option there to auto-update it, or just to add command 'Update scripts'?
25 votes -
Easy setting of layer's opacity and 'Target Selected'
Some users still find confusing setting opacity to whole layer.
When they change opacity value in Transparency palette with no art selected, it does nothing or (if 'New Art has Basic Appearance' is unticked in Appearance palette options) applied to new objects.The way transparency is set for a layer in AI is not that obvious, compared to Photoshop's way, and require from user knowledge of working with appearance.
I propose this:
1. Make a shortcut for 'Target Current Layer' command, which is not anywhere now (or even 'Target Selected', which will target current layer, if nothing is selected)
2.…25 votes -
Dynamic Offset Path
Because I make maps using Illustrator, I tend to work with loads of strokes for hundreds of streets. So far I've managed without outlining these strokes, or outlining by copying these strokes, converting them to shapes and then applying a stroke to that shape. However it is tedious, hard to edit and basically creates twice a set of roads - which is never fantastic.
It would be great if the Offset Path effect or function could have a dynamic nature: Reading its parent stroke's width to widen or narrow accordingly. I've attached three images:
One: with a work-around-ish 'hack' using…
25 votes -
"[Paper]" or "[Transparent]" Swatch
Add a "Paper" (or "Transparent") Swatch to the swatches like the one in InDesign that, like [None] or [Registration] cannot be removed.
Adding this would make it FAR easier to knock out parts of complex artwork WITHOUT forcing the user to destroy the layer structure of their files.
In the attached image, for instance, I wanted to have rounded corners on the bottom of a header graphic, and this meant I need to use a clipping mask, which requires all the elements it contains to be on the same layer. While there are workarounds, such as placing AI files within…
25 votes -
Make cursor instantly visible after jumping with arrows keys
While navigating text with arrows (or Ctrl/Cmd + arrows), especially in short word clusters, something like these:
mon-sun: 10:00–19:00
break: 13:00–14:00
it's quite hard to understand where cursor has landed after last jump, because cycle of blinking seem to stay the same or even elongate!
There's a second after jump until cursor is finally drawn.
Could you please add or fix it in such a way that cursor is immediately visible after any arrow jump?25 votes -
Import/Export DXF AAMA/ASTM
In order to be able to work back and forth with Fashion Cad Softwares, it should be useful for Illustrator to handle AAMA or ASTM standard of DXF.
I guess that Artboards could act as "Blocks" in order to remain the Pattern names and the layer hierarchy of entities (for trace, cut, punch or text)25 votes -
Add features to the Rearrange Artboards dialog
I create a lot of new artboards ( 1 for each screen I am designing). Since Illustrator always puts new artboards at the right of the current top row on the workspace (regardless of the order specified for rearranging artboards), I often have to use the Rearrange Artboards command to make more space for the next artboard. The more artboards in the file, the more often I have to rearrange artboards.
It would be great if I could tell Illustrator to:
Add new artboards at the location indicated by following the layout pattern in the Rearrange Artboards dialog, with an…
25 votes -
Highlight an anchor point used as a key object
Keying an anchor point is a lesser known option for aligning and distributing.
Clicking an object in a selection to key it is a thing that can be learnt by a chance (that is how I learned it myself), but using the latest selected point as a key is not a behaviour that is easily noticed.
The change of the mode is marked only via the small icon in the corner of Align panel, and nothing else on the artboard tells about it — compare this to the fat edge a key object uses.
Can you try to make a…
24 votes -
Support SVG text-anchor styling on import
I often copy SVGs that I created with JavaScript (through D3.js) from a browser into Illustrator to continue working on it there. However, the text-anchor setting (left, middle or right aligned) does not come through and it is always left aligned, although the position might seem like it is middle or right aligned. Once you choose a different font or font-size, the mismatch between the original text align and what Illustrator has made of it becomes very apparent and can be quite the chore to adjust.
It would be great if Illustrator would properly handle the text-anchor style setting of…
24 votes -
Allow more than 5 swatches to be saved as a color theme/group
Please allow users to save more than 5 color swatches as a theme in Libraries. The number is very restrictive to our workflow.
24 votes -
After AI crashes, list of Recent Files should be restored as it was BEFORE crash
AI crashes quite often. Every time I relaunch it, I see documents in 'File > Open Recent Files' that I opened long-long ago.
AI seems to save this list only after successful closing, which is RARE.Just make AI store list of recent documents elsewhere every time document is opened and restore it after crash.
24 votes -
Add Vector Noise effect
There is a way to and raster noise, but I'd love to have vector one as well, as AE and Xara and others can.
24 votes -
Ability to copy individual effects from the appearance panel to other objects.
currently if you want to copy effects from one object to another your only option is to copy all of its appearance properties. You should be able to drag or copy just one aspect of somethings appearance without effecting the other properties. say i have a transform effect on an object in my appearance panel. currently if i want to apply that to another object i also have to copy the stroke, fill and any other properties that object has. there is no option to copy just that individual transform effect to other objects. this is an unnecessary limitation that…
24 votes -
'Use preview bounds' option for symbols
AI allows to 'Use preview bounds' — to count in stroke's weight in artwork's size.
I rarely use it, but I can always turn it off, like I do in screencast attached.But when I decide to turn my artwork to symbol, I'm limited to only one option — stroke is counted in ALWAYS. This is very inconvenient for some design tasks.
I would like to have an option anywhere to change this behavior.
24 votes -
Allow to select several gradient sliders
Sometimes I need to move several sliders in gradients at once.
I have to select them one by one and move each at distance I need.
I'd like to select several sliders and move them simultaneously.
Of course, they should be very clearly marked as selected, or this would confuse, if you forget to unselect them and then try to edit color for one.24 votes -
Align to or by text baselines
- Align baselines from 2 different size texts in different boxes.
- Align something to a baseline of a text
- Align a text to something by its baseline
24 votes -
Identify and name color swatches with human-readable names
There is a very handy tool in Yandex.ru search engine, named 'Колдунщик' (literally 'Sorcererer', with triple 'er').
The way it works with colors is briefly described there (in Russian):
https://yandex.ru/blog/company/94762What it does is binds color names with color values. Some are quite standard, 'light blue', some are familiar, like 'bordeaux' (but every man think of different shade or even tone, speaking of it), some are very uncommon, like 'The color of the thigh of a frightened nymph' (it is a real color — https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisse_de_Nymphe).
What if AI could name colors in a same way, when swatch is created…
24 votes -
Add the ability to select an object by clicking it's visual appearance (strokes, glyphs, effects)
Sometimes selection tools fail (seemingly) to pick up object.
For example, if you have an object with fat stroke, clicking to outside part of that stroke will select nothing (or object underneath stroke) — you have to select in/inside edge to do it.
Second example — type object, with an empty descender zone, behind baseline; you click below letters to select an object behind, but pick type object instead.
Third example — object with a subtle but wide drop shadow effect applied to it. Shadow is almost invisible (low opacity and light color), but when you click in it, AI…24 votes
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