Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
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4783 results found
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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 -
Circles in Illustrator are not accurate
The circles in Illustrator are flawed and here's why.
I discovered a major bug in Illustrator CC. The circles in Illustrator are not accurate. This is the case regardless of whether you use the ellipse tool or the arc tool. Make a circle. Check the dimensions to make sure it's accurate. Draw a radius line at 0º. Copy it 3 times and rotate the copies 90º,180º and 270º. When all of the copied lines are put on the center of the circle, they all touch the inner edge of the circle perfectly. However, Copy the 0º line and rotate it 45º. Put it on the center of the circle. It doesn't touch the inner edge of the circle. Copy the 0º line and rotate it 18º. Put it on the center of the circle. It’s even farther away from the inner edge of the circle. The circle is flawed.
Here is another way to see that the circles are not accurate. Make a hollow circle. Copy it and change the color of it's line. Rotate the copy 18º. Put it onto the original circle. They do not line up accurately. I spent an hour with an Illustrator expert while he had control of my computer through the support portal. He came to the same conclusion as i did. For some reason the circles in Illustrator are not perfect. He has spoken to his superiors and they are giving this issue priority. They were very happy that i told them about this and will hopefully solve the problem. For those of us that must have perfect geometry in our work, this is a very important issue.The circles in Illustrator are flawed and here's why.
I discovered a major bug in Illustrator CC. The circles in Illustrator are not accurate. This is the case regardless of whether you use the ellipse tool or the arc tool. Make a circle. Check the dimensions to make sure it's accurate. Draw a radius line at 0º. Copy it 3 times and rotate the copies 90º,180º and 270º. When all of the copied lines are put on the center of the circle, they all touch the inner edge of the circle perfectly. However, Copy the 0º line and rotate it…16 votes -
Allow linked content within symbols
It would be nice to create symbols with linked content that would update when the linked content changes. Currently you have to embed anything within a symbol, images for example.
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 -
Turn a layer highlight into an object selection
It's often simpler to highlight entries in the layers panel than it is to select the objects on the artboard.
e.g. you could just click the first and shift-click the last in order to hightlight many consecutive layers.
It would be really efficient if those highlighted objects could then be turned into a selection on the artboard (for transforming the elements or whatnot).
16 votes -
Star live shape, with on-canvas controls, better tool
Better Star tool, with side widgets to change the number of points, the rays’ length, etc.
Possibility to re-edit anytime the number of points in a star.
Also, the possibility to adjust the thickness of the star "arms".
(like Freehand was doing long time ago...)16 votesStar is now a live shape and available in the all the public builds starting from V 28.3.0.
You can now customise your star in any way you like; may it be changing the no of sides, corner angles, or even the corner radius.
Please try it out and let us know what y'all think !
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Export for Screens without bleed option
Export screens without the bleed
I really like the feature called Export screens, but I do not really use it for print jobs, cause I can't export any picture format file without the bleed section of the document, which I use to show the client the stages of the job. Still, I could do the same with Save for web function, but it would be very very useful to export multiple artboards at the same time without the bleed.
16 votesWe have the fix available in the latest release. Please update Illustrator using Adobe Creative Cloud application to the latest build for version Illustrator CC 23.0.
Please refer to our knowledge base FAQ – https://illustrator.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/1844590 if you face difficulty in update.
Or get in touch with us at any of the other support channels – https://helpx.adobe.com/support.htmlWarm Regards,
Ashutosh Chaturvedi | Sr. Quality Engineering Manager – Illustrator
Adobe. Make It an Experience. -
"Divide objects below" with a group
"Divide objects below" (what I call "cookie cutting") with multiple objects that are from a group, all at once . If I want to cut a pattern (let's say, giraffe spots) out of a shape located below, I should be able to divide the object without having to do it for each individual spot. If the spots are already grouped together to form a pattern, that pattern should be able to divide all at once.
16 votes -
Master page
It would be great if Illustrator had a master page like InDesign.
For us who design more then one page for client proofs.16 votes -
QuickLook Preview Support for EPS Files on macOS via Adobe own framework
As of macOS 15 (Sequoia), Apple has officially removed all system-level support for rendering Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files in QuickLook. This change began in macOS 12 (Monterey), when Apple deprecated the internal PostScript conversion frameworks (notably PSNormalizer.framework), and culminated in macOS 14 (Sonoma) and 15 (Sequoia), where these frameworks were entirely removed.
Historically, Finder’s QuickLook preview for .eps files relied on these system frameworks to convert PostScript content into a previewable image. Many third-party applications (including Illustrator) used the same system calls to provide file previews. Even QuickLook plugins like Illustrator.qlgenerator or others that claimed .eps support were not rendering the content themselves—they merely invoked Apple’s system renderers under the hood.
Now, all such plugins are broken:
• .qlgenerator-style plugins are no longer supported or loaded at all in macOS Sequoia.
• System EPS rendering components (pstopdf, cgps, PSNormalizer.framework) are removed.
• Even if an EPS file contains an embedded preview (e.g. a TIFF or low-res PDF), macOS does not expose this to QuickLook.
• Applications like Illustrator or Affinity can still open EPS files, but no longer expose any preview capability in Finder.Some unofficial third-party utilities have begun to implement their own QuickLook Preview Extensions (using the modern App Extension architecture), embedding their own PostScript interpreters (such as Ghostscript). While this restores basic EPS preview functionality, these solutions may rely on reverse-engineered methods or contain licensing gray areas due to the proprietary nature of PostScript.
This leaves professionals—designers, publishers, illustrators—without a reliable, secure, and officially supported method to preview legacy assets in EPS format, which are still common in stock vector libraries, archival graphics, and prepress workflows.
⸻
We propose the following feature request:
Please consider developing an official Apple QuickLook Preview Extension for .eps files, bundled either with Adobe Illustrator or the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop app.Such an extension would:
• Support QuickLook previews in Finder and column view (via QuickLookPreviewingExtension)
• Use Adobe’s own EPS rendering engine internally
• Require no user interaction or app launch — just press spacebar on an .eps file
• Work on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs
• Respect the EPS file’s embedded previews when available
• Safely handle untrusted EPS content in a sandboxed, non-executable rendering contextThis would solve a real and growing pain point in modern macOS workflows. Currently, users are forced to open files manually in Illustrator or rely on potentially unsafe tools—hardly an ideal user experience in professional environments.
We believe Adobe, as the originator of the EPS format and the leader in professional design software, is best positioned to provide a secure, performant, and standards-compliant solution.
As of macOS 15 (Sequoia), Apple has officially removed all system-level support for rendering Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) files in QuickLook. This change began in macOS 12 (Monterey), when Apple deprecated the internal PostScript conversion frameworks (notably PSNormalizer.framework), and culminated in macOS 14 (Sonoma) and 15 (Sequoia), where these frameworks were entirely removed.
Historically, Finder’s QuickLook preview for .eps files relied on these system frameworks to convert PostScript content into a previewable image. Many third-party applications (including Illustrator) used the same system calls to provide file previews. Even QuickLook plugins like Illustrator.qlgenerator or others that claimed .eps support were not rendering…
15 votes -
Allow to use point-specific controls when all points of a path are selected: Convert to Smooth / Corner, Show / Hide Handles, Cut
There is a limitation in Adobe Illustrator with aligning anchor points.
When using the Direct Selection tool to highlight anchor points on a path the options to align anchor points disappears in the Align palette if all points on a path are selected.
That can be a problem if I'm trying to align two points on a simple two point path. I either have to add additional points or manually align the path using smart guides. It would be really nice if one anchor point could have key object like behavior and stay locked in place. Certain rival vector graphics applications make it pretty easy to align anchor points in this kind of controlled manner.There is a limitation in Adobe Illustrator with aligning anchor points.
When using the Direct Selection tool to highlight anchor points on a path the options to align anchor points disappears in the Align palette if all points on a path are selected.
That can be a problem if I'm trying to align two points on a simple two point path. I either have to add additional points or manually align the path using smart guides. It would be really nice if one anchor point could have key object like behavior and stay locked in place. Certain rival vector graphics…15 votes -
Allow to change the order of appearance attributes for TEXT and set the stroke below the fill in Appearance panel
When I try to move the "stroke" row in appearance panel to move below the "fill" row, the row returns to previous position on top.
This is happening to me since the - I think - 11 version of Illustrator.
Now I have version 27.1.1 and windows 11 pro. Nothing changed.15 votes -
Hint all Preferences options, even without (i) icon
Some options in Preferences are mystery for new users, but the team believe only some (just 3!) should have a dedicated (i) icon to display a hover hint.
No.
ALL options should have a hover hint.
How on Earth a user can guess what 'Show/Hide Rulers' does? It feels like it is the same as View > Rulers > Show / Hide Rulers, but no, it’s not! You have to search for it! (just rename this one already)
Or what about enigmatic 'Enable Content Aware Defaults'? What are these? OK, pros know, Puppet Warp, Lorem Ipsum, Freeform Gradient control points. But why doesn’t Ai tell this contextually, right here and now?
'Use Precise Cursors' — what is that? What, they are usually imprecise? No, it''s just crosshair (and it can be toggle with Caps Lock) — how about telling this?
Some options in Preferences are mystery for new users, but the team believe only some (just 3!) should have a dedicated (i) icon to display a hover hint.
No.
ALL options should have a hover hint.
How on Earth a user can guess what 'Show/Hide Rulers' does? It feels like it is the same as View > Rulers > Show / Hide Rulers, but no, it’s not! You have to search for it! (just rename this one already)
Or what about enigmatic 'Enable Content Aware Defaults'? What are these? OK, pros know, Puppet Warp, Lorem Ipsum, Freeform Gradient control points.…
15 votes -
Find color in artwork button in Recolor Artwork advanced dialog is useless when the object is too small
There is a button in Recolor Artwork dialog to fade all other colors but a clicked one, the rightmost button with a magnifier below the Current Colors list.
This fade does little help when the object with the chosen color is too small on the canvas, like in a complex illustration.
Zooming to these can be a solution, but it won't help if there are many of these specs with the color, so perhaps these objects should be highlighted with a flash of edges or in some other dynamic way to help to locate them.15 votes -
A group with no appearance attributes is treated and marked like it has some
- Create two objects (e.g. rectangles)
- Group them
- Open Appearance panel
- Add a stroke to your group
- Remove the stroke (with the Delete Selected Item button)
- Open Layers panel and study the appearance 'ring' marker of the group — Illustrator now believes the group has a custom appearance, while there is none!
If you click the Contents in the Appearance panel with the group selected, Illustrator will clearly say 'Group: No Appearance' in the top of the panel.
This 'empty' appearance can be saved as Graphic Style even and applied to another object, giving no actual result, except for the 'solid ring' state again.
This behavior leads to a problem with exporting the group as a vector shapes to PSD format.
- Create two objects (e.g. rectangles)
- Group them
- Open Appearance panel
- Add a stroke to your group
- Remove the stroke (with the Delete Selected Item button)
- Open Layers panel and study the appearance 'ring' marker of the group — Illustrator now believes the group has a custom appearance, while there is none!
If you click the Contents in the Appearance panel with the group selected, Illustrator will clearly say 'Group: No Appearance' in the top of the panel.
This 'empty' appearance can be saved as Graphic Style even and applied to another object, giving no actual result, except for the 'solid…
15 votesNo longer happens in the Prerelease build 30.8.0.110 and should be shipped into the next general build.
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Add Expand command for Intertwine objects
Unlike other special objects, like Live Paint-s, Envelopes, Blends, etc., Intertwine objects don’t have their own Expand command. It’s not very consistent.
We need this command to appear in the menu, the context menu, Properties, Control.
Repeats don’t have this one too, which is also strange: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/41138800-repeat-expand-appearance
We have to use the general Object > Expand: Object for this — but is has a dialog, which is not always nice.
A specific Expand allows to choose the order of operations for a complex objects. Take blends, for example — if you apply 'expands' in a wrong order, you risk to expand the content first, and get a wrong blend between already expanded objects.Yes, there is another unintended workaround, — apply any effect and get it expanded on its own (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/45845533), but this is not how it should work!
Unlike other special objects, like Live Paint-s, Envelopes, Blends, etc., Intertwine objects don’t have their own Expand command. It’s not very consistent.
We need this command to appear in the menu, the context menu, Properties, Control.
Repeats don’t have this one too, which is also strange: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/41138800-repeat-expand-appearance
We have to use the general Object > Expand: Object for this — but is has a dialog, which is not always nice.
A specific Expand allows to choose the order of operations for a complex objects. Take blends, for example — if you apply 'expands' in a wrong order, you risk to…15 votes -
Collapse panels menu item/keyboard shortcut
The ability to set a keyboard shortcut to collapse all panels would be really helpful and slick. I find myself leaving them open for expedience only to find the open panel is in the way, visually, later on. For those who set up their workspace differently they can just ignore it or disable the keyboard shortcut.
15 votes -
Cursor and path feedback for Scissors
We have to guess if we cut a path at all and if we hit the right path.
No highlight (OK, using Smart Guides helps, but Smart Guides does nothing if you also have Snap to Grid enabled!), no cursor change.It’s 2022, right? Clouds, integrations, Stock sales directly in files... Scissors are still used with a blindfold, in a dark room, in a midnight.
Also vote for this related issue:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/36111436-make-pen-and-scissors-tools-prioritize-editing-to — Make Pen and Scissors tools prioritize editing to a selected path15 votes -
Display Measurement Labels when Snap to Grid is on
We can enable Measurement Labels in Preferences > Smart guides, to display a drawn line’s length, or width/height for shapes, or distance for moved objects.
Cool.
But once you enable Snap to Grid, labels stop being displayed.
I get it, Smart Guides stop work in terms of snapping and actual guides rendering, but why ditch labels? We still draw and move, and it’s maybe even more important with snapping on!15 votes -
Put Tool Options in a Panel
Put all Tool Options into a panel instead of a modal dialog. Stop interrupting workflow to get settings that could easily be encapsulated into a panel.
Also, quit with the 50 different ways of asking the same thing. The blob tool, warp tool, any brush tool all use different ways of getting at the same setting:
Brush Size, Brush Shape, Brush Angle, Brush Roundness, Intensity Pick the best one and stick with it in all the tool settings.
15 votes
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