Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests
When entering a new feature request, please provide:
- Description
- Why is this valuable to you?
4801 results found
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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 -
Dimension tool improvements
The dimension tool is a really helpful thing but some improvements would be appreciated.
As stated in other posts, please include the possibility to add user defined scalings, including decimal numbers like 1:1.5 and other ones, like 1:15.
According to ISO standards, the dimension text should sit above the lines, as viewed from the right. This would be a great option, because at this moment I don't use this tool regularly because of this.
When dimensions are too small, there should be an option to move the text away, either to the right or the left. Of course this can…
13 votes -
Shortcut to toggle visibility of Contextual Task Bar
It would be useful for this tool to allow the user to hide/show this Contextual Task Bar using a single keyboard shortcut.
13 votes -
The Dimension Tool needs to have live updates
I like the new dimension tool, but it's not very helpful unless it updates the displayed dimensions when the size of the dimensioned object is changed. It should stay attached to the selected points when the size of the shape is changed as well.
13 votesThe Beta 28.4.0.7 now create live dimension objects, that track and follow the changes to the measured objects: resizing, rotating, moving...
As for now, moving only dimension breaks the link and expands the dimension (hopefully will change, and break the link only).
Moving an object with its related dimension currently expand the dimension as well (hopefully won’t do it either).
Please test the change and share feedback — it helps a lot!
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Drag and drop to replace linked image with another one
Allow users to drag and drop an image from the computer to replace (relink) an existing linked image while maintaining its size, position, and appearance attributes
13 votes -
An object with a freeform gradient fill makes the coloring control in the tool panel switched to None
In the tool panel we have three indicator buttons, which show the current type of fill/stroke for the selection — Fill, Gradient, None.
Illustrator switches it to None, when an object with a freeform gradient fill is selected.I can understand why it probably happens. Since freeform gradients are not technically gradients, and using this mode converts an object into a dynamic container for generating a triangular mesh, it makes sense for Illustrator to not display the proper indicator here — the container has no fill... but it makes no sense for a user. It is you who decided it’s…
13 votes -
Appearance and Gradient panels need a better way to signal 'No selection'
Very often, working on a complex appearance, we accidentally loose the object selection, and the stack we edit remains unassigned.
The panel then gets 'No selection' in the top row... but if the attributes stack is long, this line can get hidden if you scroll the panel down.
Then, if you select something else, all your changes get lost.The workaround now is to be vigilant (ha) and save your appearance as a temp style before you select back the art you wanted to edit appearance for in the first place.
A better solution would be to make the 'No…13 votes -
Make Recolor work with Repeats
Recolor does not do anything if you apply it the an piece of artwork inside of a Repeat object, and is completely unavailable when a whole Repeat is selected.
Stop abandoning features half-way and finish the integration.13 votes -
Allow to define circle pie angles in percent, with snapping options
We can create pie angles in degrees, but there are cases when we rather more interested in percentage — pie charts.
Sure, we know math, and can multiple 360° by 0.7 to get 70%, and Ai supports this in its fields...
...but what about the tool? How about an ability to create these directly on canvas — with the snapping to a defined value, like 5% or maybe even 3.5%?13 votes -
Allow to reposition both ends of Gradient Annotator, similar to the iPad version
Please make the interactive Gradient Tool’s annotator work as in the iPad version, where both end nodes behave similarly.
On the desktop version, when one end is dragged, it moves the whole gradient around.
On the iPad, both ends can be moved independently.
It makes the tool counter intuitive!13 votes -
Intertwine needs a better way to display order operations rather than hiding them in a context menus
It’s not clear we can chose methods other than 'swap order' for cases when a freshly created intertwine zone has several possible solutions. Illustrator draws and edge around the current zone (quite poorly signaled, which is a different topic: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/45845602-make-intertwine-edit-mode-telegraphed-better), but then a single left-click just swaps and immediately ends editing the zone.
The fact we can click on the highlighted segment with a right mouse button and choose an order is not very obvious... because — let’s admit it — Illustrator can’t do context menus very well and we are not used to have anything really 'contextual' in…
13 votesAuto-zones hover tips are much better now and solve the problem with understanding the reordering proposed.
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Expanding Intertwine creates too many identical copies and doesn’t optimize them
If you expand an intertwine object (with the global Expand: Object command, since it does not have its own specific Expand), the one with a lot of zones, you get a ton of overlapped clipping containers with a reordered copies insides, one per each zone used.
While technically it’s OK, the amount of copies can be just absurd.
Some copies are identical and differentiate only by the location of their clipping masks. Perhaps Ai should track these copies and clip then not with separate masks, but a single compound path mask, when possible?The degradation is not so graceful with…
13 votesIntertwine now tries to optimize the number of clips created when expanding.
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We need custom made shapes to control Intertwines, drawn with other tools, like we can do with clipping masks
Intertwine, as I see it, is a control structure for dynamically generated clipping masks. The only way we can create zones to control these masks is to use pseudo-tools, activated with the specialized Edit command. This is fine for quick appliances, but is not so great when you need to make a precise work, with snapping, complex shapes and several iterations.
We got a Sax-a-Boom, but now we need a saxophone.
I would like to add any other shapes, created with any other tool Ai offers, as zones, to an existing or a new intertwine — like Live Paint allows.…
13 votes -
Allow to group a single Intertwine object
A way to workaround the bug with the self-expanding Intertwines on effect application (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/45845533) would be to group them and apply an effect to this 'protection container'...
But alas, Ai won’t allow that, and grouping an Intertwine object does nothing.
I suspect Illustrator treats it as a group, onle a 'magic' one, and normal group restrictions, such as 'Thou shalt not group a single group' are applied to it.Why then we can’t ungroup an Intertwine... anyway, this one should not be applied, even if you fix the self-expanding.
13 votes -
Show global swatch triangle marker in Fill Stroke Control when a global swatch is selected
Global swatches are marked with a white triangle in the bottom right corner of the swatch. Book colors also have a black dot in this triangle.
These triangles are displayed everywhere swatches are used in UI: Appearance, Properties, Control... But for some reason they are omitted in tool panels, in Fill Stroke controls (and also Gradient).
I personally see no reason why. Sure users would benefit from knowing exactly if a color is global or not when they see the color chip anywhere.
13 votes -
In Appearance calling alternative color UI is done with Shift and not obvious Alt
For some we have to hold Shift while clicking a fill/stroke square in Appearance panel to call the alternative pseudo-panel.
Alt = Alternative. Sure, Macs have Option instead, but it also fits.Also, the hint has the 'Shift' and 'Color' written in lower-case: 'Hold shift key to bring up alternate color UI'... and I have no idea why 'alternate', why no alternation happens? Who wrote this hint?
13 votes -
Freeform gradient points copying with Alt+drag
Ai does not apply the Alt+drag paradigm to color stops of freeform gradients. No duplication happens!
We can workaround this, clicking the stop first, and then clicking in a free spot... But this is not OK, because this approach is not used anywhere else in Ai.
You can have it kept, but add Alt+drag to copy stops.13 votes -
Let Drop Shadow effects ignore each other
In Photoshop we can have multiple dropped shadows be applied to a single object, and they all get layered upon each other. It gives users flexibility to use different colors, densities, feathering, etc.
In Illustrator, on the other hand, the Appearance works differently. Each new Drop Shadow get applied to the previous dropped shadow. The larger the blur is, the more useless the next shadow gets.
To get a layered shadow the same way we do it in Photoshop, we have to apply each shadow to its own fill.
13 votes -
API for getting the reflection/flip property of an image frame
We would like to get the flip property of an image frame..
It can be in a similar way to the way we get the rotation by passing the matrix:
AIAPI void (*AIRealMatrixGetRotate) ( const AIRealMatrix *m, AIReal *angle );If this is not possible, then as a workaround we can get some notifies, for example: kFlipHorizontalNotifier or kFlipVerticalNotifier in order to know that the user selects to flip the image.
Thanks,
Chen13 votes -
We need Illustrator to be able to edit triangular meshes
Ai can display triangular meshes alright, but not edit.
We can generate one by expanding modern 3D object with the Render as Vector option turned on, we can have one generated after expanding an object filled with Freeform Gradient (which is just the live container with control points for creating one, with no control over the density).
But once they are created, we get 'Non-Native Art' bricks we can do nothing with — no Recolor, no direct edit with mesh tools, only scale and rotate and distort.
Not enough! We need you to support these fully.
And make some good…13 votes
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