Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
- or
1683 results found
-
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…
28 votes -
Select objects above / below current layer / object
Under the select menu I would like to see added an option to select all layers that are above/below the current layer. In my use case this would be best in the context of the current artboard.
For example, this could be used to select everything about a semitransparent overlay layer in web visuals showing a popup element.
16 votes -
SVG scalable vector export option for use in Microsoft applications
Please include an .svg format without code or mobile device use that will hold clipping, gradients, etc. to use as scalable vector artwork to be placed in MSO applications. This was not an issue in previous versions of Illustrator.
I provide scalable vector artwork from my projects for my clients who work in Microsoft applications by placing "Picture from File" in a PowerPoint Catalog.
When exporting, I get an error message: "Clipping will be lost on roundtrip to Tiny" when opening them back up and the artwork is distorted.
I got better results with "Save a copy" however, I still…
2 votes -
Put Tool Options in a Panel
Put all Tool Options into a panel instead of a modal dialog. Stop interrupting workflow to get settings that could easily be encapsulated into a panel.
Also, quit with the 50 different ways of asking the same thing. The blob tool, warp tool, any brush tool all use different ways of getting at the same setting:
Brush Size, Brush Shape, Brush Angle, Brush Roundness, Intensity Pick the best one and stick with it in all the tool settings.
15 votes -
Refine (not revert to previous) zoom to selection
Now, 'Zoom to selection' zoom AND centers.
I think that zoom to selection should not center at all by default (and, of course, there should be an option to add centering to zoom). The selected art should stay where it is located in view, until zoom level is big enough so object will go outside current view — only then AI should move view to fit the art.
And there should be a tick 'Only for zooming in'.
19 votes -
Paint Brush Fidelity
Old illustrator use to let you change the paint brush fidelity with decimal increments. Now there are just 5 options. Can adobe please just change the slider so we can have more options to choose from? The jumps in fidelity options are just too big and it makes drawing a pain.
12 votes -
Better reflect tool functionality with option to add multiple instances similar to Macromedia Freehand.
Illustrator needs a better reflect tool that can add multiple instances. The way Freehand's reflect/rotate tool worked was IMO optional because it gave a live preview of the outcome and worked intuitively.
I know that similar thing can be done in effects -> transform, but you need many more steps to achieve the same result, often not knowing what to expect visually before you get the result.
5 votes -
You can't enter isolation mode when nothing is selected
Sometimes I want to create artwork without messing up with existing one, and without locking/hiding anything (because it's require for other operations).
Sane way is to enter isolation mode and start there.
But NO, AI won't let you isolate empty space! And I have to create one thing (trying to not auto-connect to existing paths), then isolate it and finally draw in peace.
If you afraid that many users will double-click nothing and struggle understanding what has happened, make it an option.20 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 -
Dim Control In Isolation Mode
It's extremely difficult to manually work with colors with respect to the complete artwork in isolation mode with the background dimming effect. This should be able to be disabled, while still maintaining group isolation workflow benefits.
60 votes -
Archimedean Spirals
Surely this should just be a default option for spiral drawing, in the current state of design i would imagine regular spirals would be used far more often than logarithmic, the current way to create them is lengthy and cumbersome.
Hope this makes it!12 votes -
Create a symbol without replacing art with the symbol.
I would like a switch in the New Symbol dialogue to allow me to leave the original art on the canvas instead of replacing it with a symbol.
Also it would be nice to be able to make a symbol out of the entire contents of a layer nested in another layer without the entire layer being replaced by the symbol.
I use symbols in weird ways and both of these behaviors annoy the heck out of me.
4 votes -
Make "Constrain Width and Height Proportions" Actionable.
"Constrain Width and Height Proportions" setting is not remembered in an Action. Therefore, the Action will perform incorrectly if this setting has been changed since the Action was run. Make this option controllable within the Action.
11 votes -
Add DXF/DWG Export To Increased Canvas Size In Illustrator 24.2 (and later)
Would it be possible to add DXF/DWG as an export option for the new expanded max canvas size (Illustrator, 24.2 and forward). The increased canvas size is wonderful, however as someone who will move to-scale sketches from Illustrator into a 3D modeling program, not having DXF/DWG exports at the new max size makes the use of the new canvas size somewhat limited.
15 votes -
Make a selection of objects from Global Edit
When using Global Edit to edit multiple instances of a grouped object (or any other object), it would be very useful to have an option to keep those objects selected when you leave Global Edit (in order to group them all together for instance).
12 votes -
Alt/Option-click on the "New style" icon to open a text style definition dialog directly
It would be a giant leap forward for Illustrator to match InDesign's UX for paragraph and character styles management.
Allow us to Alt/Option-click on the "New style" icon to open the style definition dialog directly, avoiding nonsense names like "Paragraph Style 1."
The same approach is used for Graphic Styles, so it should be allowed for text styles as well.
Original idea by Alan Gilbertson
2 votes -
Scale Calligraphic Brush - create new brush option
If you scale a path item with 10 pt stroke at 200%, you will get a path item with a 20 pt stroke. Note, the "Scale Strokes & Effects" option is enabled.
However, if a calligraphic 3 pt brush is scaled 200% (with a default stroke weight of 1pt and "Scale Strokes & Effects" enabled) the result will produce a calligraphic 3 pt brush with a 2pt stroke. Visually the brush stroke will appear bigger but the path item is still connected to the 3 pt brush.
Can we add a feature that will create a new brush based on…
1 vote -
Ability to link "Data set name" upon CSV import for Variables panel
Currently when you "load variable Library" from a CSV illustrator defaults each Data Set with "Data Set 1, Data Set 2, Data Set 3, Data Set 4... ect."
Currently the only way I know to rename that data set is to manually rename each data set by selecting that data set from the drop down menu, and selecting "rename data set" from the options panel, and then either typing or copy and pasting some text in.
I use data sets for more batch like designing, it would be really nice if we could bind the data set name to…
33 votes -
Square wave / zig-zag live effect
Gears. Crenelations on castles. Zippers. These are a few things whose border can be described by a square wave. Or by a rectangular wave.
But you can't do this easily in Illustrator. Oh, you can add a dotted line to a shape - but that's an awkward workaround. How about a new live effect?
effect->distort & transform->crenelation would bring up a new live effect where you can apply square waves to whatever object you're affecting.
Suggested parameters:
- size - similar to the size parameter in roughen/zigzag, this would control how far the generated path deviates from the original path
- pulse…
11 votes -
SVG export settings - outline stroke option
Please, add new SVG export settings.
Strokes: Outline all strokes.2 votes
- Don't see your idea?