Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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- Description
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1466 results found
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Dimensions get expanded when moved, with or without related objects
I can somewhat understand dimension object get expanded when they are moved away from the measured object... although this should not happen.
But why the dimension objects get expanded when they are moved WITH the measured object? What, Ai can’t distinguish moving form other transformation? What if need to move my artwork to just insert something else — what, this makes all of my dimensions instantly dead?
Don’t expand dimensions until a user has an clear intention to do it!
12 votes -
Rename linked file
If I want to rename a file which is linked to a file (for whatever reason), I have to perform a humiliating process: find a link in Explorer, rename it, return to Ai, wait until it finds out the file is missing, search for the file in a dialog.
When this would be so much faster just to right-click the file (on canvas or in Links panel) and do 'Rename linked file'.
And please consider the other similar request about renaming an embedded image:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/47013226-rename-embedded-image16 votes -
Turn off Smooth Tool slider
I'm not sure if this is a bug or I just don't know what I'm doing so apologies if this is no the right place to post.
A few days ago I chose Object > Path > Smooth rather than using the Smooth tool as I normally do. A slider popped up which was actually rather useful. But now whenever I hold option to use the smooth tool (while using the Pencil), this slider dialog pops up directly over the area I am trying to see. Is there a way to turn this back off? Thanks!
18 votesWhile there is still no way to completely disable the Smooth panel when the Smooth tool is picked, the bar now remembers its position and better picks the initial location.
Please comment on this behavior and upvote if you think there still should be an option to not show it.
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Tool nesting groups
I'm on a laptop. With the nested tools off to my right you can organize them to be in little clusters when you use them. Its great. When you have the three window options for color / gradient / swatches it would be nice to be able to click and drag a swatch onto the tab of one of the nested sets for a second and have it switch to the underlying window. For example, you drag a swatch square onto the gradient tab and then you could drop the swatch color right into the gradient slider. Now, you have…
4 votes -
link panel shows what layer the (missing) link is on and/or makes 'go to link' work on hidden layers too.
When links are missing that are on a hidden layer there is no way to easily spot them and check on in multilayered files. Since the GoToLink function only works on active layers, there is no other way but showing ALL layers and then using this function, remembering the layer and then hide the layers again; a painstaking procedure with large multilayered files. Would be nice if the link panel would simply state on which layer the missing link resides. Or make the GoToLink function automatically make the appropriate layer visible, like when pasting onto a…
13 votes -
Rotate bounding box only
It’s similar to a request to do it on iPad I made: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/931888/suggestions/46244521
Ditto.
Ai should give us a mode to freely rotate the bounding box the way we need, to zero or any angle.
There should be a way to quickly align it to a chosen straight segment or even a point.Affinity Designer has a feature that can be used for this purpose, Select > Cycle / Set Selection Box — even though it doesn’t exactly does the same thing.
There are also two plugin methods to achieve this in Ai today:
1. ToolShed plugin…5 votes -
Blob Brush Resizing Hotkeys
Blob Brush and Brush Tool Resizing: It would be amazing if the key command that works for resizing the Warp Tool (i.e., Option + Shift + Drag and Option + Drag) could be used in the same way to resize the Blob Brush and Brush tools.
That would smooth the workflow and increase the intuitiveness of the resizing function SO much. :)
8 votes -
Add expressions and more JS stuff to illustrator workflow
As an AE user, I love expressions. Is it possible to rethink Ai from this point of view?
3 votes -
Soft selection (Selection drop off)
This already exists in many 3D applications (Maya, 3D Max, and C4d, for sure) and it's often treated, not as a separate tool, but as a setting in the regular selection tools. The idea is that you can set an gradient influence area where the points directly selected are affected 100% by transform changes, while everything else is affected by the changes but adjusted to the alpha percentage of the gradient at that point's initial location. I know that sounds like a mouthful, but it's very similar to how the mesh warp works (minus the having to convert anything…
20 votes -
An option to ignore locked layers with the Eyedropper tool
At the moment, if you have a locked layer above the layer you are working in, the Eyedropper tool selects colors and properties of the top layer — the locked layer — instead of the (unlocked) layer you are working on.
This causes frustration as every time you want to eyedrops something, you have to make a bunch of layers invisible first.
If an option could be added to the Eyedropper tool, such as "ignore locked layers", this problem would be gone completely and working with Illustrator would be a lot smoother and faster.
This could be an option under…
20 votes -
Copy the 'Indent to here' command from InDesign
'As it says on the tin'
So many times you start out creating a graphic and you're in two minds whether to use Illustrator for it's superior vector tools, or InDesign for its superior type control.
When I need to quickly add a couple of bullets it would be so much easier if I could fake the tab stop of the first line with an em dash and then an 'Indent to here' (Ctrl+) so that any wrapped text is quickly brought into line.
16 votes -
Type tool does not keep selected color
If I have one fill color selected on the type tool, it changes to black the moment I click on the artboard to begin typing. It needs to stay the selected color for all tools. I shouldn't have to go back and change the color.
2 votes -
Convert to Line effect
If you try to apply 'Convert to Rectangle' effect, Ai will limit you minimal width/height to 0.01mm — not zero. It means we can't use it to create 'lines'. And this is something appearance and styles will hugely benefit from.
Of course, it should allow to set a reference point too:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-feature-requests/suggestions/32052073-add-reference-point-to-convert-to-shape-effectAnd although we have a Transform effect to deal with the angle, having it for the line is obviously needed.
13 votes -
When dropping an object filled with a pattern into Swatches panel, open New Swatch dialog to add the pattern as a new swatch
If we drag-n-drop any artwork into Swatches, a new pattern swatch gets created based on this artwork.
But if we drag-n-drop an singular object with an existing pattern applied to it — nothing happens, as if Ai tries to create a nested pattern and refuses to do so. I think it’s quite obvious what a user intends to do in this case... but we get no warning.When we use Pattern Options panel/mode, and fill an object within a pattern with another pattern, and try to save, Ai throws us a message (rather vague — Ai knows for sure what…
4 votes -
Add Cut At / Connect / Remove / Convert 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 -
When exporting .svg from .ai file text kerning is not correct.
For example, the letter-spacing is not correct.
2 votes -
Line Segment Tool to respect selected Graphic Style by default
Currently, if I have a certain Graphic Style selected, it gets applied to objects created with Pen Tool or all shape-drawing tools (Ellipse, Rectangle, Polygon, Star).
This doesn’t work this way with line-drawing tools (Line Segment, Arc, Spiral, Grids…). Or rather it does, only if the “Fill Line” option is turned ON in the Tool Options window. It is turned OFF by default though AND this setting is not sticky between sessions.
So with every new session, I’m back to behavior when a chosen graphic style is not applied to an object drawn with a Line Segment Tool.2 votes -
Contextual Pie-menus, like Radiant menus by Wacom
creating a contextual "shortcut" menu overlapping layer to access quickly Tools. This is a kind of Radiant Menu developed by Wacom on their tablet for example or Alias marking menu. This should really improve workflow ergonomics.
7 votes -
Apple M1 Compatibility #1 feature request!
Please compile AI for Apple M1, this is ridiculous. Only app on my Mac that is not native.
3 votesIllustrator runs natively on Apple Silicon processors since December of 2023
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Aligning to a certain object
The Align tools in all Adobe programs is a wonderful feature. However, in Illustrator when you Align objects it changes the position of ALL of them. In other programs, it tends to be the last object you select takes the dominant position - aligning all others to it. In Illustrator it doesn't seem to matter the order you select, it just aligns it to the nearest center point (thus moving ALL the objects). The Lock feature doesn't help as you cannot select a locked object to align with/to.
17 votesYou can align to an object you choose to be the key one.. Click the object you want to use as a key the second time and Ai will use a bolder edge to highlight it.
More details here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miVLI8rwO1o https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/moving-aligning-distributing-objects.html
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