Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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4819 results found
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Let the user choose the colors of the Transparency Grid
Sometimes the chessboard is too heavy in contrast, too dark, too light, too gray. Please add full flexibility.
2 votes -
The transparent areas of (point) text boxes should not be selectable.
It is difficult / impossible to select any object below any portion of a (point type) text box, even when the area under the cursor is completely empty / transparent. In the attached screenshot examples, the pink line is not selectable because it is covered by a text box, even when there are no active pixels or vector data under the cursor within the text area. No other objects in Illustrator behave this way. Transparency is supposed to be non selectable. Illustrator treats the entire text box as an object with a fill, even though text boxes completely lack a fill attribute. This is especially frustrating since a text box is necessarily bigger than the physical bounds of the actual visible characters.
I would like to suggest a change to the type settings to introduce a check box for 'type selectable by character only.' The current setting of 'type selectable by path only' is practically unusable since it refers not to the character paths, but to the baseline, which is effectably an imaginary and invisible line which isn't actually a path anyways. While it's true that live type doesn't have paths until its expanded, it seems apparent that the software knows where the paths theoretically are since all live type is visible in outline mode.
This simple update to the type setting would give users two clear options to choose from: type is either selectable by the entire text frame ~or~ is selectable only by the outlines of the text.
It is difficult / impossible to select any object below any portion of a (point type) text box, even when the area under the cursor is completely empty / transparent. In the attached screenshot examples, the pink line is not selectable because it is covered by a text box, even when there are no active pixels or vector data under the cursor within the text area. No other objects in Illustrator behave this way. Transparency is supposed to be non selectable. Illustrator treats the entire text box as an object with a fill, even though text boxes completely lack a…
2 votes -
Let me see how many paths are in my document once all the appearances are processed.
I do a lot of crazy things with the Appearance palette. Sometimes it's really easy for me to start generating absolutely apocalyptic numbers of paths without realizing it, and make Illustrator start acting really weird in seemingly unrelated places.
I would love it if the preview renderer (both cpu and gpu!) kept track of how many paths it is actually rendering once all the effects on all the paths in the documents are handled, and alerted me when I start getting into catastrophically huge numbers of paths. The threshold where this starts happening should be user-configurable, so it can be tuned for the limitations of my current computer.
Also it would be nice to have this number available in the Objects section of the Document Info window next to the number of paths. I shouldn't have to expand every appearance in my document to discover that its 2.4k paths turn into about 10.5k paths once all the effects and blends and brushes and whatnot are processed.
I do a lot of crazy things with the Appearance palette. Sometimes it's really easy for me to start generating absolutely apocalyptic numbers of paths without realizing it, and make Illustrator start acting really weird in seemingly unrelated places.
I would love it if the preview renderer (both cpu and gpu!) kept track of how many paths it is actually rendering once all the effects on all the paths in the documents are handled, and alerted me when I start getting into catastrophically huge numbers of paths. The threshold where this starts happening should be user-configurable, so it can be…
2 votes -
Add a option for leader or select leader button
In this case of tabs, I wanna change the dot leader to be smaller and have more spacing, but I can not select multi tabs and change it at oncce.
2 votes -
Add Blend effect for Appearance to blend adjacent attributes
We need a blend fx in this Appearance to blend between 2 layers (may be fill or stroke), no need to create and blend separate objects with just different colors for this graphic effect
2 votes -
Allow smart guides to highlight the outline of an object or path snapped to
Often when there are multiple objects in very close proximity to one another, determining which of those objects the active object is aligning to can be uncertain, especially when those close-proximity objects are small or their paths are very close.
And when you are trying to align an object to another using smart guides as the reference, one might be aligning to the wrong object.
That is why it is important to know exactly which object is being aligned to... Currently the pink line 'touches' at its endpoint, the object it's aligning to. This can be confusing when there are many objects that have paths that are very nearby.
My suggestion to improve smart guides is to 'highlight' the outline of the object you're aligning to, rather than just a pink line that touches the object.
I've included a short video of the current behavior as a reference, and in a screenshot, a suggested solution showing the object being aligned to as outlined in pink.Often when there are multiple objects in very close proximity to one another, determining which of those objects the active object is aligning to can be uncertain, especially when those close-proximity objects are small or their paths are very close.
And when you are trying to align an object to another using smart guides as the reference, one might be aligning to the wrong object.
That is why it is important to know exactly which object is being aligned to... Currently the pink line 'touches' at its endpoint, the object it's aligning to. This can be confusing when there are…2 votes -
Adjust spacing between bullets and text
Currently, the bullet-to-text gap is an automatic setting that cannot be controlled by the user, despite placing tab stops on the tabs ruler. There is no mechanism to control this either, in the paragraph tab. Whereas in apps like Word, the spacing can be adjusted between the bullet and text directly.
2 votes -
Let 'All Tools' close directly after a tool is activated by a double click.
There is no need to keep it open when a tool is double clicked.
2 votes -
Arc from circle - Stroke or Fill
I think it's time to implement the Circle to have sweep/ratio handles to ease with various infographics and artworks. Request is a Circle that can be "cut" to any place to create a stroke only semi circle or arc. Example below.
2 votes -
Save this Preserve Numbers option state (either checked or unchecked) for CMYK or RGB
CMYK or RGB PRESERVE NUMBERS CHECK BOX. Save this parameter (either checked or unchecked) like it used to be in earlier versions.
2 votes -
ショートカット「Command+Option+tab」
過去にIllustrator CS5でショートカット「Command+Option+tab」を多用しておりました。
ペンツール使用時に「Command」を押して矢印ツールに切り替え、その後「Option+tab」で矢印を白・黒切り替えてオブジェクトの微調整をしておりました。
現在、そのショートカットが使用できずツールボックスで切り替える等しておりますが、
以前と比べて格段に作業性が悪くなりペンツールを使用するだけでストレスが溜まります。
大昔は「Command+tab」で出来、その後「Command+Option+tab」で出来た昔から長年使用できていたショートカットです。
私以外にも不満を感じている方はいらっしゃると思います。
復活をぜひよろしくお願いします。2 votes -
Please make a one button solution to remove clutter from New documents
When I create a new document in an updated Illustrator, I always get 'Video Rulers, Safety Margins, Center Mark and Crosshairs' visible. I never use those (smart guides, and precise creating shapes is enough), and wonder if anyone does.
To get rid of these annoying green distractions I have to visit a lot of places. Intuitively, Document settings is the place to go (I just started a new document)..., but no. We need to go to Artboard and then 'Quick Actions (??)' / Artboard Options to shutdown the Center Mark, there Crosshairs and the Video Safe Areas (5 clicks).
Then the video rulers - these are not fast accessible likea the Global rulers and Artboard rulers (right click in ruler), but those are to be turned off. in the View menu.The solution:
Please make 1 switch in the view menu to switch of all green video overlay-stuff.When I create a new document in an updated Illustrator, I always get 'Video Rulers, Safety Margins, Center Mark and Crosshairs' visible. I never use those (smart guides, and precise creating shapes is enough), and wonder if anyone does.
To get rid of these annoying green distractions I have to visit a lot of places. Intuitively, Document settings is the place to go (I just started a new document)..., but no. We need to go to Artboard and then 'Quick Actions (??)' / Artboard Options to shutdown the Center Mark, there Crosshairs and the Video Safe Areas (5 clicks).
Then…2 votes -
Hidden layers significantly increase exported PDF file size even when Illustrator editing capabilities are disabled
When saving an Illustrator document as PDF, hidden layers appear to remain embedded in the resulting PDF and significantly increase its file size.
I have a document containing several dozen layers. Only one layer is visible at a time and is intended to be exported as a single A4 page.
When I save the document as PDF with all unnecessary PDF options disabled, including Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities, the resulting single-page A4 PDF is approximately 200 MB.
I then tested the same document by physically deleting all hidden layers and leaving only the visible layer. After saving the PDF again using exactly the same PDF settings, the resulting file size dropped from approximately 200 MB to just 7 MB.
This strongly suggests that Illustrator is retaining a very large amount of data from hidden layers in the PDF even though those layers are not visible and Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities is disabled.
Steps to reproduce:
- Create or open an Illustrator document containing multiple layers with artwork.
- Hide all layers except one.
- Save the document as an Adobe PDF.
- Disable Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities.
- Check the resulting PDF file size.
- Return to the Illustrator document and physically delete all hidden layers.
- Save the PDF again using exactly the same settings.
- Compare the file sizes.
Actual result:
The PDF created while the unused layers are merely hidden is dramatically larger.In my case:
Hidden layers present: ~200 MB
Hidden layers physically deleted: ~7 MBThis means that removing artwork which should not be included in the final PDF reduces the file size by approximately 96.5%, despite using exactly the same PDF export settings.
Expected result:
When Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities is disabled, artwork contained on hidden layers should not be embedded in the exported PDF and should not affect its file size.A PDF containing only one visible A4 composition should have approximately the same file size regardless of whether unrelated, invisible Illustrator layers still exist in the source document.
Workaround:
Physically deleting all hidden layers before saving the PDF reduces the file size from approximately 200 MB to 7 MB.This is particularly problematic for documents where multiple design variants or pages are stored as separate layers, because exporting each visible layer currently requires physically deleting all other layers instead of simply hiding them.
When saving an Illustrator document as PDF, hidden layers appear to remain embedded in the resulting PDF and significantly increase its file size.
I have a document containing several dozen layers. Only one layer is visible at a time and is intended to be exported as a single A4 page.
When I save the document as PDF with all unnecessary PDF options disabled, including Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities, the resulting single-page A4 PDF is approximately 200 MB.
I then tested the same document by physically deleting all hidden layers and leaving only the visible layer. After saving the PDF again…
2 votes -
Reflect tool also reflects Art Brushes
When using the Reflect tool on a selection, it currently doesn't mirror the Art Brushes used within the artwork.
It would be a significant time saver (especially when an artboard contains lots of Art Brush strokes) if the Flip Across checkbox within the Stroke Options screen automatically switches/toggles when reflecting an artwork.See attached screenshot for visual explanation.
2 votes -
Tutorial History
Add a tutorial history so that the user knows the tutorials watched and they can continue from where they stopped. It'll cause less friction and also encourage users to watch more tutorials.
Adding an award system like medals can make the user feel less intimidated of the software (especially for a beginner) and tell them that they are a certain level of ready to use the software.
2 votes -
A simpler way to populate Color Guide panel with tints and shades of currently selected artwork’s colors
Currently we can populate the Color Guide panel with the shades and tints of the selected artwork only by calling Recolor dialog and clicking OK.
I think having a way to reset your chosen harmony rule when selecting an object without using Recolor Artwork would make a lot of sense. If you can imagine not knowing that workflow, that is why I thought it was a bug. Perhaps a 'Reset' item in the list, or an option in the panel’s menu would be a clearer way.
2 votes -
Native Math Type
Can we get a native Math type text editor inside Illustrator (or Creative Suite). The LaTeX or Math Type apps are really difficult to use inside Illustrator.
2 votes -
Improve the preview quality when placing a file
When importing a file to place it, the quality can be quite disastrous and it can be difficult to know if the version being imported is the right one, if the only difference is in the details.
Alternatively, a larger window with a zoom effect upon hover would make this feature exceptional.
I love pixel art but this feels ancient and in dire need of an upgrade.
2 votes -
Alternate colors to improve row legibility
When Panels contain lists, it would greatly improve accessibility and legibility to alternate the hues of the entire rows.
In the mockups attached, it is much easier to follow each line and click the corresponding circle for each layer than if the rows were all the same color.
2 votes -
Add an option to preserve the color of the Clipping Mask when creating a Clipping Mask
I would like the "Object > Clipping Mask" menu to have two options:
1 - "Make transparent Clipping Mask" (keeps current behavior)
2 - "Make Mask (preserve color)" : Makes a clipping mask but doesn't strip the color of the object used as a mask.I create a lot of illustrations where I use dark shapes for colouring inside and shading, and then clip the shadow's bleed outside the shapes with a clipping mask - it doesn't mean I need the object's color removed.
2 votes
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