Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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4664 results found
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Add the ability to select an object by clicking it's visual appearance (strokes, glyphs, effects)
Sometimes selection tools fail (seemingly) to pick up object.
For example, if you have an object with fat stroke, clicking to outside part of that stroke will select nothing (or object underneath stroke) — you have to select in/inside edge to do it.
Second example — type object, with an empty descender zone, behind baseline; you click below letters to select an object behind, but pick type object instead.
Third example — object with a subtle but wide drop shadow effect applied to it. Shadow is almost invisible (low opacity and light color), but when you click in it, AI selects object anyway, while you expect to select object behind it.I guess, it would be nice to have an option (and temp mode as well) for Direct selection tool to pick an object based on visual rather the structure.
You could set a tick in Control panel or hold some modifier key (as Photoshop does, when you toggle auto-select for Move tool).
Then you could pick an object, by clicking in outside part of the stroke, or clicking through letters, or clicking through enough transparent shadows.Sometimes selection tools fail (seemingly) to pick up object.
For example, if you have an object with fat stroke, clicking to outside part of that stroke will select nothing (or object underneath stroke) — you have to select in/inside edge to do it.
Second example — type object, with an empty descender zone, behind baseline; you click below letters to select an object behind, but pick type object instead.
Third example — object with a subtle but wide drop shadow effect applied to it. Shadow is almost invisible (low opacity and light color), but when you click in it, AI…25 votes -
Make cursor instantly visible after jumping with arrows keys
While navigating text with arrows (or Ctrl/Cmd + arrows), especially in short word clusters, something like these:
mon-sun: 10:00–19:00
break: 13:00–14:00
it's quite hard to understand where cursor has landed after last jump, because cycle of blinking seem to stay the same or even elongate!
There's a second after jump until cursor is finally drawn.
Could you please add or fix it in such a way that cursor is immediately visible after any arrow jump?25 votes -
Customizable Background and Wireframe Color for View > Outline mode
It would be really helpful for those of us working in low-light environments to have an inverted / low-contrast option for the 'Outline' view.
As it is, working on an all-white screen is very fatiguing. Having a simple switch to change the display from light to dark would be a welcomed QoL improvement.
I've attached two images showing how I see this implemented.
When "invert" is active I'd prefer the background not be pure-black but a dark shade of grey (shown as #1E1E1E here).
Another option could be to make the alternate mode adaptive, where the color scheme matches the users Preferences > User Interface > Brightness settings.
It would be really helpful for those of us working in low-light environments to have an inverted / low-contrast option for the 'Outline' view.
As it is, working on an all-white screen is very fatiguing. Having a simple switch to change the display from light to dark would be a welcomed QoL improvement.
I've attached two images showing how I see this implemented.
When "invert" is active I'd prefer the background not be pure-black but a dark shade of grey (shown as #1E1E1E here).
Another option could be to make the alternate mode adaptive, where the color scheme matches the…
25 votes -
Visual Keyboard Shortcut Editor, for mapping hotkeys, like Premiere and After Effects have
I just saw YouTube videos of Adobe demonstrating the latest versions of Premiere Pro CC and After Effects at IBC 2017.
Finally After Effects is getting its own mappable keyboard shortcuts like the one in Premiere Pro. But what about Illustrator and Photoshop?
We Photoshop and Illustrator users definitely need this too!
25 votes -
Ability to change the color of individual guidelines
I use templates with several close guides. When zoomed in its sometimes difficult to tell which guide I'm at. If the Make Guides selection could have an additional drop down with a choice of 3 or 4 colors, if would help prevent mistakes.
25 votes -
Allow to choose if the Save dialog should "remember the last file format used / PDF is set as a default filetype when saving a new document
Ever since last update, if i save off a pdf and then create a brand new doc and go to save it, it goes to PDF automatically when it used to always default to .ai so i forget and get to the PDF options and then have to cancel and go back and retype my file name which is just annoying and remembering the last format is not helpful. Almost as annoying as PS trying to export in the last export location instead of the same folder as the .PSD --- NOT HELPFUL
Mac OS 15.5 (24F74)
Ai 29.624 votes -
User defined scales for Dimension tool
Repost from general discussions:
I'm delighted to see the addition of the dimensioning tool, but I'm not wild about the fixed choice of scaling ratios. The option to set one's own scales would be great.Failing that, a 1:12 scale seems like a glaring omission for those of us still using inches and feet.
Am I missing something?
TOPICS
Feature request , How-to24 votesIt is possible now to set up a custom scale in Ai Beta 28.4.0.2.
In Dimension Tool Options dialog open the Scale dropdown and choose custom to get the Custom Scale dialog.
It works for decimal scales only, like 1:12 or 1:15, but not for Imperial scales like 1/16"
Please try it and comment back.
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Auto Layout, Grid layout & Padding
Auto layout is a property you can add to shapes and many things, to create designs that grow to fill or shrink to fit, and reflow as their contents change.
Also can add padding and margin , this help us when we design C.V., Menu, branding guideline & ...ect
Grid layout easly and helpfully.
24 votes -
Calculate the bounds in Document Raster Effects Settings automatically
As for today, if you apply a Gaussian Blur or a Drop Shadow effect to a shape — with a large enough value — it often gets cropped.
A workaround exists — to go in Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings dialog and increase the 'Add' value, thus increasing the bounds of the image generated.
...but why is this still a problem that we, users, should take care of, really? Ai knows how large is the blur, it knows the resolution, yet it can’t calculate the tight bounds automatically. Like what, is there at least one user who’d like their blurs cropped? What’s a point of this in 2023?
As for today, if you apply a Gaussian Blur or a Drop Shadow effect to a shape — with a large enough value — it often gets cropped.
A workaround exists — to go in Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings dialog and increase the 'Add' value, thus increasing the bounds of the image generated.
...but why is this still a problem that we, users, should take care of, really? Ai knows how large is the blur, it knows the resolution, yet it can’t calculate the tight bounds automatically. Like what, is there at least one user who’d like their…
24 votes -
Create a guide trimmed to an artboard
There is a almost unknown way to create guides limited to an artboards — you have to pick the Artboard Tool first, and then drag a guide out of rulers. The resulting guide will be limited to the artboard’s dbounds.
However, we think about it somewhere in the middle of dragging a guide, using other tools... too late in a process!
Can we get a modifier to hold while a guides is dragged out to toggle the global/local guide mode on the fly? Alt is taken to switch horizontal/vertical (and it’s cool), but Shift and Ctrl/Cmd are free and do seemingly nothing.
There is a almost unknown way to create guides limited to an artboards — you have to pick the Artboard Tool first, and then drag a guide out of rulers. The resulting guide will be limited to the artboard’s dbounds.
However, we think about it somewhere in the middle of dragging a guide, using other tools... too late in a process!
Can we get a modifier to hold while a guides is dragged out to toggle the global/local guide mode on the fly? Alt is taken to switch horizontal/vertical (and it’s cool), but Shift and Ctrl/Cmd are free and do…
24 votes -
Make an option for the Bounding box to hug text tightly
For the love of God, please make an option for the bounding box around text to only bound to the visible text. When I'm aligning text, either visually or by inputting numbers in the transform panel, I absolutely do not care about invisible space, what I want is what I can see to be centered or aligned. I'm so sick of having a text box snap to a guide or object, or me inputting exact numbers in the transform panel, only for the text to be offset and misaligned. if this option DOES exist, then make it obvious that it's there, because in twenty plus years of using Illustrator, I've never seen it or come across it.
For the love of God, please make an option for the bounding box around text to only bound to the visible text. When I'm aligning text, either visually or by inputting numbers in the transform panel, I absolutely do not care about invisible space, what I want is what I can see to be centered or aligned. I'm so sick of having a text box snap to a guide or object, or me inputting exact numbers in the transform panel, only for the text to be offset and misaligned. if this option DOES exist, then make it obvious that it's…
24 votes -
Allow to combine/merge selected text and path to Type on Path
In Ai on iPad we can select a text, hold a spot, and drag the text to a path, converting these to Type on Path. Easy!
To perform this in Ai for Desktop we have to cut the text, pick the proper tool, hold Alt (or use a subtool), click on path (very precisely), paste the text and then adjust the position (dragging tiny handles). Dated.
What we definitely need:
1. Ability to drag and drop a text on a path, using some modifier (Ctrl will do) to stick the text to the path
2. Have a command in Type > Type on Path, Convert to Type on Path
3. Have a command there also to Release Type on Path!There are also two related requests:
1. https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/41707711-paste-symbols-along-a-path — Paste symbols along the path, which allows to use a buffer to quickly paste on a path
2. https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/32189596-convert-to-type-on-a-path — Convert to Type on Path, that adds a generic arc to a text
Vote for these too, pleaseIn Ai on iPad we can select a text, hold a spot, and drag the text to a path, converting these to Type on Path. Easy!
To perform this in Ai for Desktop we have to cut the text, pick the proper tool, hold Alt (or use a subtool), click on path (very precisely), paste the text and then adjust the position (dragging tiny handles). Dated.
What we definitely need:
1. Ability to drag and drop a text on a path, using some modifier (Ctrl will do) to stick the text to the path
2. Have a command in Type…24 votes -
Batch apply action to selected items
It strikes me as absolutely bizarre that you can't apply an action to multiple objects in turn. You can batch apply actions to files. You can apply actions to selected objects. You can apply actions to a selected group of objects I think? But you can't batch apply actions to groups of objects. I have about 300 really short little lines in an infographic that I need to be the same length. They're fairly spread out and any anchor selection based approach would take 2 hours. What an incredible hassle.
24 votes -
Add a keyboard shortcut for Relink
One of the features I use very heavily is the Relink button in the Link palette. It has major advantages over the Place function:
1) it automatically replaces selected linked images (Place requires you to check the Replace checkbox, which becomes unchecked once you do any other Place that isn't a replace)
But most importantly,
2) It allows you to relink multiple linked images (replacing them in order from topmost to bottommost).Since there is literally no other way to replace multiple linked images in a single action (Place grays out the Replace checkbox if you have more than one linked image selected), clicking that tiny little chain in the Link palette is the only way to do this. That means you have to have the link palette open in order to access this feature. While I use the Link palette for all sorts of things, unless I'm replacing linked images (or checking their attributes), I usually have it collapsed or hidden by other palettes.
So the current workflow is (1) select the objects to relink, (2) open/show the Links palette, (3) click the tiny little chain icon. When doing lots of relinking, this is tiring.
A keyboard command that would activate this functionality would be a huge timesaver for anyone who is using Illustrator's otherwise excellent aggregation functionality.
Thank you for your consideration!
One of the features I use very heavily is the Relink button in the Link palette. It has major advantages over the Place function:
1) it automatically replaces selected linked images (Place requires you to check the Replace checkbox, which becomes unchecked once you do any other Place that isn't a replace)
But most importantly,
2) It allows you to relink multiple linked images (replacing them in order from topmost to bottommost).Since there is literally no other way to replace multiple linked images in a single action (Place grays out the Replace checkbox if you have more than one…
24 votes -
Add an option to show edges when art is dragged with real-time drawing option on
Real-time drawing is a great feature and I wish it appeared earlier, so by this time I'd be polished enough. Now we have a mode when only edges are drawn while dragging and the other one, which draws only art — but not both. It makes positioning somewhat harder. Please add an option to allow both methods to work combined.
24 votes -
Exporting TIF with transparency
Unless I've gone completely mad, I could swear there used to be the option to Export a file to TIF with transparency (a checkbox in the export settings). This no longer appears as an option. How does one export a transparent TIF these days??
24 votes -
Infinite Canvas
I find myself using more and more Figma to brainstorm and create my designs as I have a single document containing all of my visual explorations.
For print assets I go back to Illustrator and create the final file, but I really wish I could have done it all in illustrator. So just removing the canvas limit.
Not artboards or number of something — just being able to spread and spread your ideas in the same place.24 votes -
Please make the Preview option sticky
Just about everything you do in Illustrator to the drawing cannot be seen until you turn on Preview. Unfortunately the Preview option cannot be set to ON or Sticky from last use. I am aware that way back in the 80s this was done because the computing power was not strong enough to deal with drop shadows but this is now not the case. I am also aware that very very complex drawings can also be affected by having the Preview on but I very seldom do complex drawings. PERHAPS there could be some kind of self-sensing regulator that when the delay of display reached a certain level, a popup window would show up suggesting to the user that they should turn off Preview. But it would still be the user's choice. However, as it is I'm always checking and re-checking and re-checking that Preview box and that hinders my creative juices and makes working with Illustrator not as fun as it should be.
Just about everything you do in Illustrator to the drawing cannot be seen until you turn on Preview. Unfortunately the Preview option cannot be set to ON or Sticky from last use. I am aware that way back in the 80s this was done because the computing power was not strong enough to deal with drop shadows but this is now not the case. I am also aware that very very complex drawings can also be affected by having the Preview on but I very seldom do complex drawings. PERHAPS there could be some kind of self-sensing regulator that when…
24 votesHi Everyone,
All the effect checkboxes have now been set to ON by default, and are sticky (meaning that if you disable preview, on next launch of Illustrator preview will remain disabled). This functionality now is available in our latest release build – 24.1.1 for Win and 24.1 for Mac which is available worldwide now.
We are working on making all remaining preview check-boxes sticky. Will update this thread when done!
What’s new in 24.1: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/whats-new.html
You can update to the latest release using Creative Cloud desktop App: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/help/creative-cloud-updates.html
Thank you for all the feedback.
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Keyboard shortcuts for all Pathfinder options (Unite, Divide, Trim, etc)
I work quickly and would like custom shortcuts for all the Pathfinder options.
24 votes -
Allow more than 5 swatches to be saved as a color theme/group
Please allow users to save more than 5 color swatches as a theme in Libraries. The number is very restrictive to our workflow.
24 votes
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