Got an idea for Illustrator???

Question

This forum was set up specifically for users to request features they'd like to see in future versions of Adobe Illustrator.
The truth is, everyone can come up with cool ideas for Illustrator -- whether your an expert, a novice, or anywhere in between. It's an open discussion so feel free to chime in with your ideas!
:) Mordy

Answer 1

This is a cross post from one I put in the discussion threads. Someone said I should put it in this thread, too.
In AI, the Constrain function is less accessible than it is in FH,
because it is a preference setting. Besides being much less convenient
to get to, it also means you can't utilize it in AI's Actions. If you
COULD use it in Actions, it would be very useful in tech
illustration--moreso than FH's Constrain--because changing AI's
constrain also rotates the grid (!). So using Actions, you could set up
one-click buttons to rotate the grid to the axis you are drawing on, and
you'd be able to use the grid to measure along the axis.
If anyone pertainent at Adobe is listening here, I sure hope this would
be considered as a modification for the next version. Make the Constrain
function immediately accessible as a simple menu selection instead of a
preference. (In FH, it's a command under the View menu. There is a
Constrain Xtra that basically just lets you access the Constrain dialog
by clicking on a "tool" icon. So, for example, when you are drawing in
isometric, you can simply put the Constrain Tool in a convenient place
(mine stays in the main toolbar). You click it, key in either 30, 150,
or 0, and hit return. Don't even have to look at the screen, so it's
fairly quick. Of course, this is nowhere NEAR as good as it would be in
AI, if only the Constrain could be built into an Action. You could
create 3 buttons, (one for each X, Y, and Z axis) and one click would
give you a measurable grid on the appropriate axis. Besides FH not
having a macro capability like AI's Actions, FH's Constrain does not
rotate the grid. So making the Constrain funtion in AI a menu selection
instead of a preference would result in a significant advantage for tech illustration.
If you REALLY want to blow FH away in this regard, do the same thing
with the grid. The user definable Grid is similar to FH's Rulers in that
you can set the increment you want. But in FH, again, it's a menu
command/dialog, not a preference setting. And you can create as many
custom rulers as you want (they are then selectable from a popup at the
lower left of the document window). If AI allowed for multiple
user-defined grids, then made them accessible as menu items rather than
as prefs, you could switch them with Actions. Then, you could, with one
click, measure along your three drawing axes EVEN IF THEY HAD DIFFERENT
SCALES (facilitating dimetric and trimetric, instead of just isometric
drawing.)
JET