Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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734 results found
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Infinite bezier curve/scale
Create a functionality so that when you adjust a bezier curve or scale a shape it does not move your window, instead your cursor would appear on the other side of your screen until you have reached the desired curve or scale while the window stays still. (similar to how blenders scale function works, see video)
3 votes -
Layer Panel Rename + tab
This one is (or sounds) easy and would mimick Photoshop’s function :
I need to be able to rename layers in a row without scripting, by simply typing tab to go to the next visible layer’s name.- it would really help with Character Animator's process.
Step by step :
I’m in the Layers panel.
Those are badly named (layer 1, layer 2, layer 7…)
I double click on the top layer (1) name to change it.
I type « item A »
Then i press Tab once.
I’m now in the « layer 2 » name field, and all is…89 votesSadly, the recent accessibility improvements broke the way this feature works.
If it affected your workflow, please upvote this bug request:
Tab now shifts to toggle buttons in Layers Panel instead of renaming the next layer
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Remember scaling per file in Save for web
I design for printing and use 'Save for web and devices' to have crisp images.
E.g. I can have document 300x900mm, and then I export it as 600x1800px and have my snapped sharp lines to stay sharp.
But 'SfWaD' always immediately renders image at '100%' (which is not 100% at all at Windows — it's an another problem to be discussed), and I get 850x2551.
When my dimensions are bigger, AI sometimes can't even render an image and I get error message and pink fill in preview area.
I try to draw ten times smaller whenever is possible to avoid…15 votes -
Add hotkey (key command) option for panel flyout menus
There are a number of (small) requests for specific items in flyout menus — I’d like to consolidate that, here, into a GENERAL request in the hopes that it will get a larger response. You may not care if Cmd-J (Ctr-J for PC folks) will duplicate a layer as in Photoshop, but maybe you want to be able to create a new swatch with the key press of your choice.
Hotkey users of the world, unite!
5 votes -
Prevent Pen and Pencil tools from auto-connecting when a modifier is pressed
Sometimes I want to draw a new path WITHOUT connecting it to existing one (and without locking artwork). I'd like to have a modifier key that will temporarily disable auto-connecting.
27 votes -
Convert text to outlines on open
If fonts are missing on open, give the option to expand/convert to outlines. I work in the sign industry, It is a huge hassle to contact customers to have them convert it and re-send it. They frequently don't know how/didn't make the artwork to begin with. I typically get around this using acrobat watermark trick, but it's very time consuming. We have over 6,000 fonts, and we still have missing fonts all the time.
108 votesStarting with version 29.3, Illustrator got the 'Embed permitted fonts for file preview' option in the Illustrator Options save dialog.
Currently it’s disabled by default, because there were multiple confused complaints on the changed behavior.
When missing in your current system, fonts will render as previews in the documents that were saved with this option enabled — it 'bakes' these outlines in. When we try to edit one though, we get a warning and the font becomes substituted, as before.
For more details and help, please see this article: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/illustrator/using/find-missing-fonts.html
However, this is not 'Convert text to outlines on open' as we requested it. The option does not provide a way to do that for all the embedded outline previews, and Ai still doesn’t allow to select these at once. So do please upvote the request and comment and tell the team about your experience with this option, for it…
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Keyboard Shortcut key / hotkey to open the Color Picker
I wish Illustrator could set up a shortcut key to open the Color Picker window like in Photoshop.
4 votes -
Option to maintain aspect ratio when resizing objects by default, without holding Shift
Currently, if you want to resize an object (by clicking and dragging a corner) without distorting it, you need to hold down the Shift key.
I would like (at least the option) to have Illustrator maintain aspect ratio by default when resizing, and hold Shift to distort.
Even fancier would be an option to set the behavior of the top/bottom and side "handles"... distort vs. resize while maintaining aspect ratio.
Thanks!
37 votes -
Add Transform Again Individually / Transform Sequence Again / Sequence Again Individually commands, as in InDesign
Illustrator has Transform Again command (and it’s rather useful), but InDesign has three additional commands:
Transform Again Individually:
Applies the last single transform operation to each selected object individually, rather than as a group.Transform Sequence Again:
Applies the last sequence of transform operations to the selection.Transform Sequence Again Individually:
Applies the last sequence of transform operations to each selected object individually.
As described here: https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/transforming-objects.html#repeat_transformations
Here is a video demonstrating the difference between these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4gLe9LeRKI
Sure, we have Transform Each as a workaround, but it doesn’t support custom pivots as tools do, and these are just faster.
If…
11 votes -
Allow Live Paint selection to have complex appearance
Using Live Paint Selection Tool, we can choose sections of the Live Paint objects, areas and segments of contours, assigning fills and color to them.
But what we can assign is rather basic (the same as for live characters, and the related request about the same deal is here: http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/46545787)
We can’t assign a brush, change order of appearance attributes, add a second fill and offset it, assign any effect to it, distort or roughen — only fill under stroke, no stroke alignment (even though the panel lies it can be done), no arrowheads... at least dash count…3 votes -
Add a way to set a custom resolution for Raster Effects when creating a document
Why can’t I set 'other' value for resolution while creating a new document using classic UI, but can do later using the dedicated dialog? Not fair (plus Ai doesn’t know about PPCM and fractional values)
Another related request:
Fractional resolution value in Document Raster Effects Settings
http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/456546613 votes -
Eyedropper invert ticks with key
It would be really useful to hold a key with eyedropper to either sample everything, invert ticks, or invert true/false of including "Appearance" .
3 votes -
Make the Initial Welcome screen have a link to Templates in addition to, being able to see a thumbnail as with .ai files
I create custom templates for many of my production designs using them from everything to robots to screen printing production.
4 votes -
A lock for the current style (stroke weight, fill, color), but tool specific
When I need to adjust a filled object and then return to say, the pen tool. I first have to reset the color and stroke before I can go back to my line work. I would love it if there were simply a lock for this on the pallet so that while drawing I can lock it to a certain color, fill, and stroke weight/style. Perhaps a simple lock on the tool pallet under color. Gray out lock icon over color when I turn the pen tool back on would be a good indicator. So it is attached to that…
5 votes -
Add more Live Shape Presets
Please add shape presets for common shapes such as donuts, pies, tear-shapes, double stars (stars with two different lengths of points), square stars, cloud shapes, trapezoids, double arrows, cogs, and crescents. This would streamline the process of creating flat vector icons if there were shape presets for these common shapes. The idea would be to add adjustable anchor points to preset versions of the shapes mentioned above that the user could adjust in the menu or control panel. For example, for the cloud shape, the two parameters could be the number of bubbles & the inner radius(the radius of…
5 votesYou can now try the Star as a Live Shape in the latest Beta 28.3.0.47
Please test it and share your feedback on the tool.
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Reshape Tool’s markers don’t conform the Anchor Points, Handle, and Bounding Box Display Size' parameter
Reshape Tool is a rather hidden tool within Illustrator’s toolbox.
It never received any updates (as many other tools) in last decades, and got even worse thanks to one specific improvement.Illustrator today allows to increase size of anchor points, handle, and other control markers (referred below as just 'markers') with a dedicated parameter in the Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display section). It helps to transform and edit paths on higher DPI displays — a good feature.
...but Reshape Tool marks its control points with squares slightly larger than a normal point... a normal point of a smallest marker’s…
13 votes -
Improve and allow customize the 'Show' info slot in the bottom bar (next to horizontal scrollbar)
Show field next to zoom and artboard selectors below work area can now show 5 things:
current artboard name, which is nowhere else is seen except Artboards palette;
current Tool, that is usually visible if Tools panel is on;
current date-time, which is visible in system clock;
number of undos, which was quite useful when RAM was tiny;
current profile, which is visible in document header.
I mean, almost every info available is also available in other place!I would like to use this field as something exclusive:
number of selected objects (nowhere to be seen, only PathScribe plugin can…20 votes -
Full Unicode Support and Unicode Hexadecimal Input Support with the Alt key
Please add full Unicode support to Adobe Illustrator. I understand many Unicode characters are not supported by different fonts but it would be great if there was support for Unicode characters such as angle brackets, ⟨a, b⟩ that are supported by certain fonts that incorporate a wide range of Unicode characters. For example, the Noto font family supports over 64,000 Unicode characters. It would also streamline the workflow if there was a way in Illustrator to enter Unicode characters using the Alt key (in Microsoft Word, if you type the hexadecimal code of a Unicode character, then press Alt+X,…
3 votes -
Tab now shifts to toggle buttons in Layers Panel instead of renaming the next layer
In the newest update (29.6) the layers panel has some changes. When you hover over the toggle buttons, they highlight. Before updating, I could double-click to rename my layer, then hit Tab to rename the next layer. Now, Tab just moves to the toggle buttons and the tools at the bottom of the panel. I think this should be adjusted back to make renaming layers a smoother process.
25 votes -
Artboard auto-naming preferences, one-click artboard with size dialog
I often have to make documents with many artboards for various ad and social image sizes. Currently, one has to make these artboards, then hand-name them.
I'd love a preference that would set new artboard names automatically to their widthxheight. This way, when exporting files one could use the prefix to export everything easily and skipping a lot of manual work. It could work a bit like the batch file export dialog, allowing you to "build" newly created artboard names based on filename, size, etc.
Also, if I click with the new artboard tool it would be great if it…
9 votes
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