Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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4470 results found
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Z depth / 3D space for points on path.
I do medical illustration for suture techniques. I use a path with a stroke to illustrate the suture (like a string), which need to overlap and show depth. I add a drop shadow to the path, but it simply goes around the entirety of the path's stroke shape, and doesn't apply above segments of the path which should appear below the higher sections.
There needs to be a z-axis system where I can assign a z-depth to each point on a path, which allows the drop shadow effect to apply to the same path on depths below it.
5 votes -
Overhaul of Illustrator's 3D capabilities.
Illustrator's 3D effects are hugely outdated. Something that matches or even exceeds After Effects would be a would boost to the program.
Heck, even something that allows you to easily rotate and move the shapes around in 3D space like AE would be great. Illustrator's current 3D tool are clumsy and cumbersome.
5 votesIllustrator introduced a new panel for creating 3D shapes in October 2021 — '3D and Materials'. Older effects are still available as 'Classic 3D'.
If you want to give feedback about this feature, you can do it here: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/938463/suggestions/44254299
or log in a separate report/request
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Improve Symbol Workflows
Today the defaults always persist for new symbols - i.e. if you want your symbols to be Static you need to select this option manually from a dropdown every single time you create a symbol. If the Symbol Options dialog simply remembered the previous choice it would be super helpful.
Today you can drag a linked image into the symbols palette, name your symbol, configure your symbol choices, then click OK - only then is an error shown that 'a symbol definition cannot contain a linked image'. It would be way more helpful to provide this feedback on the drag into the palette, before users name and configure their symbols.
Today the defaults always persist for new symbols - i.e. if you want your symbols to be Static you need to select this option manually from a dropdown every single time you create a symbol. If the Symbol Options dialog simply remembered the previous choice it would be super helpful.
Today you can drag a linked image into the symbols palette, name your symbol, configure your symbol choices, then click OK - only then is an error shown that 'a symbol definition cannot contain a linked image'. It would be way more helpful to provide this feedback on the drag…
5 votesIn the latest versions the chosen option for symbols sticks once you select Static instead of Dynamic ands stays like this for each new symbol we create further: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/32371252
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Select same stroke appearance (Weight, Color and Brush type)
I am missing the option to select objects that have the same stroke weight, color and brush type. In a way I would like to have an extra option like "Select same stroke appearance" taking into account color, weight and type of brush.
Currently I only have the option to select same stroke color or stroke weight which is not specific enough for my current working method.
I can not use "Select same appearance" since the fill of these objects are different from each other.
5 votes -
Allow gradients in brushes
AI forbids to use gradients in brushes. It definitely should.
5 votes -
Snap to Artboard edges and corners
Please allow snapping Anchor Points to Artboard edges and Artboard corners.
5 votes -
Envelope Distort in Effect > Distort menu, to be compatible with Appearance
Wouldn't it be logical to add the Envelope Distort to the Effect > Distort & Transform menu (as well)?
5 votes -
Saving/Exporting PDF as separate pages
When saving PDFs, can we have same menu and options as when saving Ai files:
- separate art-boards into individual files (using range) (InDesign has it)
- INCLUDE the art-board names with each page
- please, please, please. We've been using Ai as print files for years, because PDF is lacking this5 votes -
Layers Panel: Layers Name Available Width
I like my Layers Panel thumbnails to be large, like really large, larger than 'Large' for sure, so that i can easily see what's going on. I also like to name my layers briefly but accurately for the same reason. I don't have a big, wide screen however, so for me every tiny width saving matters. And here i come to the thing that infuriates me: why does Illustrator already trim layers names when there is still plenty room for them to be displayed in full?
5 votes -
Find/replace in selected text items only
When using Find and Replace - search on the selected items - or make it an option to search only the selected items.
5 votes -
Combine color and stroke in one palette
Older versions of ai had color and stroke in one palette... since in almost 100% of the cases when you draw an object you will need to modify both. This could be be an option under both current palettes.
5 votes -
Contextual Eyedropper Tool
Currently, the Eyedropper Tool is an underutilized and often counter-intuitive tool that needlessly increases the complexity of a workflow because of its limitations. This- combined with Illustrator's poor color tools- often adds unnecessary time and effort to what should and could be more simplified tasks.
For example, a common situation is that I have a shape with a fill color that I like, and I want another shape that has a stroke to also use that color, except only for the stroke. Currently, if I use the eyedropper tool on the filled shape, it will completely remove the stroke and add a fill, although the desired result is neither action. The workaround, of course, is to create a new swatch of that color, then make sure the stroke is selected, and then apply the swatch color to that stroke (as the other color tools are essentially useless for matching colors, given no live preview).
This, of course, can get incredibly tedious when dealing with lots of colors and lots of fills and strokes, and it is not always desirable (nor, I would argue, should it be necessary) to always create swatches for working with colors.
This situation is of course not limited to shapes. Often I will have text that I want to have a stroke with particular cap conditions, but want the color from another stroke. However, the current process of using the eyedropper tool strips the formatting of the stroke (or whatever properties) and takes on the properties of the selected object, even though all that was wanted was the color.
A more elegant solution would be to make the eyedropper tool contextual, so that specific properties of the sampled object could applied without completely changing the selected object’s properties to conform entirely to the sampled object.
I would suggest the following that the eyedropper tool be modified to work contextually much like the Pen Tool works contextually.
The default state of the Eyedropper Tool would work as it currently does. However, there would then be different options that could be cycled through in the Eyedropper Tool, analogous to how there is the Pen Tool, the Add Vertex Tool, Subtract, Convert, etc.
In this usage, holding a modifier key or choosing a different function of the eyedropper tool would allow one to decide which aspects of the sampled object to apply to the selected object.
For example, if I have a circle with a red stroke and a box with a blue fill, and I want the circle to have the stroke be the same color as the box’s blue fill, I could hold Alt/Opt (as an example) to switch to the Color Sample Tool which would then sample only the color of the sampled object and apply it to either:
- Whichever property is currently active (e.g., Fill or Stroke)
- If the object has ONLY a Fill or ONLY a Stroke, it would automatically default to applying it to whichever is already extant.
This could be extended to sample the color of the pixel sampled, or the entirety of the fill or stroke (e.g., for gradients, styles, etc.)
Another option (perhaps by holding Alt+Cmd/Ctrl) would be the Stroke Style Sample Tool, which would sample the style of sampled object’s Stroke. This could even be given some further options (perhaps accessed by up or down arrows) to select only weight, weight and Caps style, Weight, Caps Style and Color, etc., all delineated by changes in the icon state.
I think that a contextual Eyedropper Tool would be a more elegant way of handling color and style sampling in Illustrator and eliminate the current workarounds necessary for an efficient workflow.
Currently, the Eyedropper Tool is an underutilized and often counter-intuitive tool that needlessly increases the complexity of a workflow because of its limitations. This- combined with Illustrator's poor color tools- often adds unnecessary time and effort to what should and could be more simplified tasks.
For example, a common situation is that I have a shape with a fill color that I like, and I want another shape that has a stroke to also use that color, except only for the stroke. Currently, if I use the eyedropper tool on the filled shape, it will completely remove the stroke and…
5 votesThe solution to that would be to activate a stroke if you want to apply a color to it, then to hold Shift when clicking a color — does not matter where this color is on a stroke or a fill. Illustrator then applies the picked color to the active fill/stroke, ignoring the source nature. There are two things to know — the cursor does not inform you about this mode (unlike the Alt-mode, should be addressed), and if you pick a color from a swatch — you’d get a screen representation of the color... harmless for RGB documents (if your color settings are in order), but crucial for CMYK documents (should be addressed too). Pleas comment back. -
Change a group of vector's stroke size relative to each other, thicker or thinner, at the same time. Like Word's font up & font down button
Change a group of vectors' stroke size relative to each other, thicker or thinner, at the same time. Like Word's font up & font down button.
Right now it's frustrating when you transform size down a drawing with multiple stroke sizes. The strokes are then too thick. But if you have multiple stroke widths, there is no way to reduce them in size relative to each other so the drawing keeps the same look.
5 votes -
Disable CC Libraries in Illustrator
I would like the option to Disable the use of Libraries in Illustrator.
I can close the panel but every time I create a new colour swatch the panel reappears. This isn't helpful for the way I work so I'm looking for a way to turn off this feature.
As I am self employed and don't collaborate with others, all my colours are saved within the document they are relevant to which is why I would like to turn off this feature.
5 votes -
The ability to offset paths multiple times all at once
The ability to offset paths multiple times all at once would be so useful!
Freehand used to have this ability. Comes in handy!
As it is now I need to go in multiple separate times to do this. Makes it awkward and time-consuming.
5 votes -
To make responsive resizing tool just as it is in Adobe XD
Making responsive resizing tool just as it is in Adobe XD would be very useful for all kinds of design and not just UI/UX design.
5 votes -
Complete user-defined default settings
The work I do for my company has certain defaults that go beyond the layout of my workspace. I only use one font, I always need the same set of color swatches, I use the same tolerance amounts, etc. I export to PDFs the same way every time, I essentially need the same options. (And even with a template, I have to start from scratch for many of these options.)
While I can save certain usual elements in my CC Library, I waste so much time saving and opening and searching. AND even then, I still have to reset the default. - I have to open CC Library, select one of my font styles, one of my paragraph styles (hope that it will work across the board in this document), load my swatches panel, etc.
Even showing print tiling and rulers are two extra steps I do EVERY single time, regardless of if I have opened from a template.
I should be able to set default preferences program-wide to open every document (unless I choose to make those changes on an individual case) with my preferences selected. At very least, my font and color swatches if everything else is shooting for the moon.
The work I do for my company has certain defaults that go beyond the layout of my workspace. I only use one font, I always need the same set of color swatches, I use the same tolerance amounts, etc. I export to PDFs the same way every time, I essentially need the same options. (And even with a template, I have to start from scratch for many of these options.)
While I can save certain usual elements in my CC Library, I waste so much time saving and opening and searching. AND even then, I still have to reset the…
5 votes -
Special characters like in InDesign
It would be reat to have special characters (especially hyphens and white spaces) like in InDesign... and that they work just as good. So far, for example, the "nonbreaking space" doesn't always react well when the text is justified.
5 votes -
Shortcut for Delete Layer
I'd like a custom shortcut for deleting a layer. I could, of course, record an action and assign one of the F keys (F5, F6, etc), but I don't want to use the F keys.
5 votes -
Move the "Merge Live Paint" button from the control panel to the Quick Actions section of the Properties panel
When you want to merge a new path with an existing live paint group and you select new shapes and the live paint group, the option to merge those shapes with the live paint group does not appear in the quick action section of the properties panel. I understand people may not want to do this but the new and more responsive context options that appear in quick actions are quite useful. I've steadily relied less and less on the control panel and now resort to the properties panel save this one function. Moving it down to quick actions when making these kinds of selections seems easy, many actions such as expand and group also appear there. For live paint groups this command is a must.
When you want to merge a new path with an existing live paint group and you select new shapes and the live paint group, the option to merge those shapes with the live paint group does not appear in the quick action section of the properties panel. I understand people may not want to do this but the new and more responsive context options that appear in quick actions are quite useful. I've steadily relied less and less on the control panel and now resort to the properties panel save this one function. Moving it down to quick actions when…
5 votes
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