Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
- or
4662 results found
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Please turn the eyedropper into a cursor for multiple text formatting
Indesign allows you to drag over multiple words within a text box, or over various different places to apply a text attribute with the eyedropper tool. ie, the eyedropper when hovered over the text actually becomes like a cursor, so you can just swipe over the text to apply the attribute. Please can Illustrator have this same feature. Otherwise we have to use the cursor to locate the word, then shift+arrow right to highlight it, then click to apply. It's a bit annoying and time-wasting. The eye-dropper turning into a cursor when hovering over text is much more useful.
16 votes -
search and replace layers / artboards
Add a function to batchrename artboards and layer with suffix & prefix.
16 votes -
Ability to temporarily flip canvas horizontally (mirror view) for design checking
For illustrative purposes, it would be really handy to be able to temporarily flip the canvas horizontally as if in a mirrored reflection.
You would instantly see slight imperfections in a design in this new angle that was not previously noticeable due to one's specific viewpoint.
A lot of graphic programs do this to allow scrutiny from an alternate angle. InDesign and Photoshop do this already of course.
Thank you!
Michael
16 votes -
Expand toolgroup on hover instead of long-click
Holding a mouse button to open a tool group can be not preferred way for some users that have experience in other software packages. It would benefit them and others if Illustrator will provide an option and a delay in Preferences to open these with just a mouse hovering over tools.
16 votes -
Add 'Relink image' in the right click (contextual) menu
would speed up productivity when replacing multiple linked images by allowing users to control-click or right-click on an image to relink files, rather than going to the menu bar every time.
16 votes -
Hotkeys for next/previous appearance item
Appearance is great but can be better.
To select a fill below current one you have to open palette and click the item you want to change. If there would be a hotkeys for selecting next appearance item above/below (like Photoshop has for navigating Layers) this would boost keyboard freaks like me.16 votes -
When outlining dotted lines with "aligns dashes", unnecessary anchor points are generated
When dotted lines with “Aligns dashes to corners and path ends, adjusting lengths to fit” are outlined , unnecessary anchor points are generated in the circles at both ends.
When performing detailed processing to create artwork, I sometimes outline dashed lines. So, unnecessary anchor points are an obstacle in such processing.
Although there are workarounds, I hope that users will get clean outline results without any ingenuity.Workaround:
(A)
1.Double-click anywhere in the stroke with Width tool to add a new width point.
2.Execute “Expand Appearance” , “Outline Strokes” or “Flatten Transparency”.(B)
1.Drawing strokes in accurately calculated length with “Keep exact dash and gap length” .
2.Execute “Outline Strokes” or “Flatten Transparency”.---Japanese Translate---
「コーナーやパス先端に破線の先端を整列」を有効にした丸い破線をアウトライン化すると、両端の丸に不要なアンカーポイントが生成されてしまいます。
細かな処理を行うために破線のアウトライン化をする際、不要なアンカーポイントは作業の妨げになります。
回避策はありますが、ユーザー側が工夫をしなくてもきれいなアウトライン結果が得られるようにするべきです。回避策：
（A）
1.「線幅ツール」でストロークのどこかをダブルクリックし、新しい線幅ポイントを追加する。
2.「アピアランスを分割」、線をアウトライン」または「透明部分を分割・統合」を実行する。
（B）
1.線の長さを正確に計算してから「線分と間隔の正確な長さを保持」を使って破線を描画するWhen dotted lines with “Aligns dashes to corners and path ends, adjusting lengths to fit” are outlined , unnecessary anchor points are generated in the circles at both ends.
When performing detailed processing to create artwork, I sometimes outline dashed lines. So, unnecessary anchor points are an obstacle in such processing.
Although there are workarounds, I hope that users will get clean outline results without any ingenuity.Workaround:
(A)
1.Double-click anywhere in the stroke with Width tool to add a new width point.
2.Execute “Expand Appearance” , “Outline Strokes” or “Flatten Transparency”.(B)
1.Drawing strokes in accurately calculated length with…16 votes -
Touchpad Gestures recognition for Windows
Same gestures as on Mac should be on windows (now that its possible to zoom in and out on a lot of applications in windows 10) - like pinch to zoom and pan
16 votes -
Don't erase Note in Attributes when image is relinked
I store meta-information about image in Note field in Attributes palette. When I relink images, AI erases Note info. Don't do this. I see relinking as changing path to an image, not replacing image entirely. I need Note to be kept. Now I have to copy note before relinking and paste it back.
16 votes -
Create symbols from Global Edit
Global Edit is great, but it should have a way to make the globally selected items into multiple instances of a symbol. Once you start Global Edit, as long as the individual items qualify as being instances of the same symbol, that option should be made available to you.
16 votes -
Can't select and edit two effects from two separate fills in single appearance
I can't select two effects, applied to different fills in one appearance — AI restricts to select both of them. Therefore, if I have same effect applied to all of my object's fills, I have to edit EACH of them one by one, instead of just Ctrl+click all of them and edit at once.
It means that if I want to change Drop shadow's parameters, scattered across different appearances, no graphic style won't help me. And I already mentioned in separate enquiry that Drop shadow and other color-based effects ignore global swatches.
This is nuts. I waste so much time.A related entry:
Can't edit simultaneously two several selected fills in Appearance
http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657/suggestions/35333755I can't select two effects, applied to different fills in one appearance — AI restricts to select both of them. Therefore, if I have same effect applied to all of my object's fills, I have to edit EACH of them one by one, instead of just Ctrl+click all of them and edit at once.
It means that if I want to change Drop shadow's parameters, scattered across different appearances, no graphic style won't help me. And I already mentioned in separate enquiry that Drop shadow and other color-based effects ignore global swatches.
This is nuts. I waste so much time.…
16 votes -
Allow Custom Brick Offset Values in Pattern Maker
The 9 fractions included in Brick Offset are not always enough to align patterns properly. When bricking a pattern, to achieve the acquired random look of a pattern, paths may need to be repeated just so it evenly fits within one of the fraction presets. The fractions are sometimes only off by a slight degree, that would be perfectly symmetrical if one were allowed the ability to adjust their own decimal chosen. Part of the confusion may also stem from complex patterns where they are difficult to update, as well as sorted fractions where Illustrator otherwise uses decimals. By size order they would be 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 2/5, 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5 currently organized in the following order 6th, 1st, 2nd, 7th, 3rd, 8th, 4th, 5th, 9th. Perhaps fractions are more to show how the item would display and should be represented by a graphic, but where trying to slightly increment or decrement an offset, there is some math to be done since these are not sorted in sequential order either.
The 9 fractions included in Brick Offset are not always enough to align patterns properly. When bricking a pattern, to achieve the acquired random look of a pattern, paths may need to be repeated just so it evenly fits within one of the fraction presets. The fractions are sometimes only off by a slight degree, that would be perfectly symmetrical if one were allowed the ability to adjust their own decimal chosen. Part of the confusion may also stem from complex patterns where they are difficult to update, as well as sorted fractions where Illustrator otherwise uses decimals. By size…
16 votes -
Let's add Vasily Hall's name to the Ai credits?
These never get added for some reason, so I'm going to try once per day to put it up here:
As you may be aware, Illustrator has a natively build CSV-import feature for variables now. This wouldn't have come if Vasily didn't undertake the effort to create this feature as a script, 3 years prior. https://github.com/Silly-V/Adobe-Illustrator/blob/master/Variable Importer/VariableImporter.jsx
His contribution was:
1. User research, connecting with users from all over the world to get a sense of whether anyone even wants to import CSV files and use graph variables.
2. Naming convention syntax for visibility and graph variables.
3. Logical mechanism for adding individual graph states within CSV record cells.
4. A multitude of LinkedIn articles on variable data usage.
5. A collaboration with a video author to produce the Lynda.com tutorial on variable data.
6. Discovering bugs within the native variable data feature.Over a 3-year and ongoing timespan, the amount of effort is not insignificant, therefore my feature request is to add just a few pixel's worth of data to an Illustrator build, in form of the name "Vasily Hall".
Would it put tremendous budget strain on the company to add this name to the credits? It would seem to be a very small cost to bring some sense of integrity back to the software and corporate handling of its development.
These never get added for some reason, so I'm going to try once per day to put it up here:
As you may be aware, Illustrator has a natively build CSV-import feature for variables now. This wouldn't have come if Vasily didn't undertake the effort to create this feature as a script, 3 years prior. https://github.com/Silly-V/Adobe-Illustrator/blob/master/Variable Importer/VariableImporter.jsx
His contribution was:
1. User research, connecting with users from all over the world to get a sense of whether anyone even wants to import CSV files and use graph variables.
2. Naming convention syntax for visibility and graph variables.
3. Logical mechanism…16 votes -
16 votes
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Editable text underline feature as available in Indesign
Illustrator is the industry standard application for the packaging design and artwork industry. I don't think that this was the original plan for Illutsrator but this is now just a fact of life and millions of users around the world in the packaging industry use this day in day out for very technical builds where printer specifications must be taken into account. There are hundreds of features that could be added to make our lives easier as we work the lack of certain features to get it to do what we need. But the most glaring ommision for many of us is the lack of editibilty of the text underline feature in the character menu. Because it is not editible we usually have to create vector underlines for text so that we can ensure the thickness of the stroke will meet a printers minimum specification. This often causes inconsistency in positioning across ranges and we have to manually edit it everytime text is amended. It also means that applying any automation for text with underlines is impossible. Please Adobe, make a packaging artworker very happy.
Illustrator is the industry standard application for the packaging design and artwork industry. I don't think that this was the original plan for Illutsrator but this is now just a fact of life and millions of users around the world in the packaging industry use this day in day out for very technical builds where printer specifications must be taken into account. There are hundreds of features that could be added to make our lives easier as we work the lack of certain features to get it to do what we need. But the most glaring ommision for many of…
16 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 -
Make Perspective grid tool work with smart guides
I can't set proper perspective grid without controls of grid snapping to specific points in my art.
Setting this up is ridiculous .
There is no 'Preview' tick in 'Define grid' dialogue.
You can't symmetrically stretch symmetrical one-point perspective grid.
You can't custom drag vanishing lines.
You just can't set is precisely.I have to build everything manually.
16 votes -
Live preview of gradient (while dragging)
Whenever I'm using the gradient tool I wonder why I can never see the appearance of the gradient while dragging it. resulting in having to tweak it at least a couple of times before I'm content.
16 votesIllustrator now displays the appearance of the gradient interactively when you drag it, but only when GPU preview is on.
Make sure it is on in Preferences > Performance > GPU Performance, that you View > Preview on CPU / GPU Preview is correctly toggled, and that you are not using Overprint Preview.
If the issue still persists with all these checked — please comment back.
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Make ImageTrace Like CS5 LiveTrace
ImageTrace may use less points but it completely gets rid of any ink bleed when tracing inked line art. The ink bleed was achievable with CS5 Live Trace but once ImageTrace was introduced it's not possible to achieve with any setting.
Please make ImageTrace great again, it was great as CS5 LiveTrace. Unbeatable. At least make CS5 available through Adobe CC subscription if nothing else.
I know I'm not the only one, please upvote if you feel the same way and miss the accuracy of CS5 LiveTrace.
16 votes -
Alt+click on Expand button in Pathfinder palette to release compound shape
I have to release compound shapes quite often. Each time I have to use palette menu, which means two precise clicks.
Why not to change 'Expand' button to 'Release' when Alt is pressed, to revert it's function and let users quickly deconstruct shapes?
It's one of JDI things.16 votes
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