Last updated on
Oct 28, 2025
Find out about the latest updates, new features, and bug fixes in the recent Illustrator on desktop releases.
October 2025 (Illustrator 30.0)
Feature updates
- Use the enhanced font browser to find, apply, and organize fonts.
- Preview and pick colors faster with the enhanced color picker.
- Apply dithering to gradients to reduce banding and create smooth transitions.
- Use perceptual interpolation in gradients for more natural color blends.
- Start with ready-to-use gradient presets to speed up projects or spark inspiration.
- Snap lines tangentially to arcs or circles.
- Snap paths perpendicular to lines or curves.
- Access artboard actions like Duplicate, Rename, Lock, Export and more directly with a right-click.
- Export selected artboards directly from the canvas.
- Lock all objects on an artboard instantly to prevent accidental edits.
- Apply background colors to artboards for better visual clarity and easier workspace management.
- View artboard labels directly on the canvas and rename them in place for faster organization.
- Easily spot the active or selected artboard with a clearer black border.
- Save complex edits in your artwork faster with the enhanced Save in Background setting.
- Recover your work quickly and reliably after an unexpected crash with the enhanced Save in Background setting.
- Experience real-time on-canvas editing with move, scale, rotate, and duplicate operations without lag or interruptions.
- Create shared spaces in Projects to organize and collaborate on your files.
- Access Generation history from the Illustrator homescreen or workspace to work with the raster images generated on the Firefly website.
- Find the template you need directly from the Illustrator homescreen and refine it in Express.
- Choose between Firefly Vector 4 and Firefly Vector 3 models to generate scenes, subjects, and icons (unavailable in mainland China).
- Use the Generative AI button in the toolbar or the Object > Generative menu to access all generative AI features in one place (unavailable in mainland China).
- Hide the perspective grid easily with the new, distinct Hide Grid widget.
Note
Share your feedback on the color, artboard, snapping, and performance enhancements.
System updates
- With version 30.0, Illustrator has dropped support for macOS Monterey (version 12), Windows 11 v22H2, and v21H2 devices.
Fixed issues
- While dragging an artboard's anchor point to align with an object, the alignment snaps to the cursor rather than the actual anchor.
- All text objects in a document disappear unexpectedly upon opening the file.
- Image map URL links disappear in exported PDFs.
- Exporting files with large amounts of outlined text using the High Quality Print preset produces corrupted PDFs on macOS.
- Illustrator freezes or slows down during file save.
- Pattern fills don't scale with objects when transforming objects.
- Placed PNG image cannot be selected or moved after scaling.
- The Save dialog defaults to a PDF file instead of an .ai file for new documents.
- Function keys (F6 to F9) don't work for Japanese input conversion (e.g., Hiragana, Katakana, etc).
- Pressing the Esc key fails to exit text editing mode.
- Drop shadows render inconsistently.
This release includes fixes for font-related issues.
Fixed Issues
- In Illustrator 29.5.1, fonts get randomly substituted in existing files despite correct fonts being installed.
- In Illustrator 29.8.1, fonts may not render or may display incorrectly when using Japanese typefaces such as Kozuka, Shin Go, or Ryumin.
Feature updates
- Copy color values directly from the Color panel, Color Picker, New Swatches, or Swatch Options dialog box.
- Snap precisely to the endpoint, midpoint, and center of any object with Smart Guides.
- Use Snap to Grid to position objects freely inside grid cells while still snapping to lines or intersections when needed.
- Use Snap to Pixel to keep your artwork aligned to the pixel grid by eliminating half-pixel shifts and misleading alignment cues.
- Toggle between Snap to Grid, Snap to Pixel, Snap to Point, and Smart Guides from the Snapping Quick Access panel in the Control bar. Use the panel to change snapping preferences, like Alignment Guides and Snap to Glyph.
- Use Smart Guides to detect rotation angles for consistent alignment.
- Limit snapping to objects only within the active artboard, and snap to isolated objects from the Preferences panel.
- Use advanced settings in Smart Guides to customize how objects align and snap on the canvas.
- Experience a faster app launch.
Fixed issues
- Duplicating an artboard may unlock and display previously locked or hidden artwork.
- Fonts applied to portions of text may shift when navigating through slides, causing applied fonts to change unexpectedly.
- Copying objects can sometimes cause Illustrator to crash.
- Symbols may not move along with the artwork when an artboard is repositioned.
- In Illustrator 29.7.1, units may reset from pixels to points when opening documents.
- Changing documents can cause swatches to vanish from the Swatches panel.
- Recent color swatches may disappear and show as None when global or spot colors are used.
- Recent colors sometimes save an invalid swatch, showing None as K=0.
- Decimal values can’t be set in the keyboard increment field under Preferences.
- The font menu may not include specific font styles, such as Montserrat Bold, Arial Bold, or Myriad Condensed, and more.
- Opacity mask mode may only work when the Clip option is selected.
- Variable font content may not display correctly in edit mode.
- Images inside clipping masks may shift position when reopening a file.
- In Illustrator 29.5.1, fonts get randomly substituted in existing files despite correct fonts being installed.
- In Illustrator 29.8.1 and 29.9, fonts may not render or may display incorrectly when using Japanese typefaces such as Kozuka, Shin Go, or Ryumin.
Feature updates
- Add or duplicate artboards using buttons on any edge of an artboard.
- Rename multiple artboards together.
- Illustrator outlines the active artboard with a black border for easy identification.
- When you apply a gradient, Illustrator uses the object’s fill color as the starting point.
- Illustrator saves the recently used colors to the Color and Swatches panel.
- Use the Search Preferences bar in Preferences to locate any setting.
- Screen readers can now read and select previously inaccessible items on the Home screen and in the New Document dialog. They can also read document names, items in the menu bar and toolbar, and properties—along with their states and values—in the Properties panel.
- Tab key lets you navigate within the Properties and Layers panels.
- Cmd + F6 (macOS) or Ctrl + F6 (Windows) lets you switch between the Properties and Layers panels.
- Option to turn on color contrast when Brightness is set to Medium Dark.
Fixed issues
Feature updates
- Use Generative Expand to expand the dimensions of your vector artwork and to add print bleed in your own style (not available in mainland China).
- When using the Pencil tool, preview styles, effects, and curve fitting live as you draw.
- Repeat your last artboard action—move, duplicate, or scale— using Ctrl + D or Cmd + D.
- Paste objects directly onto selected artboards using Paste in Front, Paste in Back, or Paste in Place.
- Rearrange your selected artboards, anywhere on the canvas.
- Calligraphic Brushes and Art Brushes (Window > Brushes) render effects faster.
- Operations such as move, scale, rotate, and duplication are smoother and faster.
Fixed issues
- In Illustrator 29.4, images inside opacity masks shift to the artboard center when reopening files created in earlier Illustrator versions.
- In Illustrator 29.4 and 29.5, live path preview is missing for the Pencil tool.
- Exiting isolation mode causes objects to disappear.
- The Direct Selection tool can't move off-grid anchor points when Snap to Grid and Smart Guides are enabled.
- Visual elements outside the artboard are not captured while exporting assets.
- Illustrator displays a script error on startup due to an unmatched brace.
- Previewing documents in Illustrator 29.0.1, results in appearance processing errors.
- The Eyedropper tool samples incorrect colors from filled clipping masks.
- Illustrator files open with IllustratorDiagnosys by default instead of Illustrator, disrupting workflows.
Feature updates
- Use Generative Shape Fill to add detail and color to shapes and outlines in your own style, and edit them as needed (not available in mainland China).
- Use Text to Pattern to generate vector patterns and add them to your swatch library (not available in mainland China).
- Use Text to Vector Graphic to generate vector graphics in your own style, and edit them as needed (not available in mainland China).
- Apply colors using Hex codes. Enter simple numeric patterns for auto-completion using Hex codes; enter decimal values for auto-conversion to Hex codes; enter CSS color names for auto-conversion to Hex codes.
- Add file name as prefix when exporting artboards or assets using Export for Screens to easily identify them later.
- Top-level menus and context menus open and respond more quickly.
- Navigation in Type > Font and the context Font menu is smoother and faster.
- The Links panel offers a faster scrolling experience. The panel also updates in real time when you modify embedded and linked assets—including those from network drives.
- Transform (Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform), Warp (Effect > Warp), and Blend (Object > Blend) apply faster.
- Effects render faster on objects with multiple fills and strokes.
Fixed issues
- Anchor point selection fails when the point is below another path.
- The Direct Selection tool selects anchor points hidden beneath overlapping objects.
- In Illustrator (Beta) 29.5, pasted items automatically get deselected after pasting.
- Embedded fonts fail to preserve variant glyphs after the original font is uninstalled.
- Artboard dimensions automatically reset when entering width and height for artboard size.
Feature updates
- When you select a word, Retype highlights all the other words that have the same font. The Retype panel also includes a Show Favorite Fonts filter and an option to set the sample text size to small, medium, or large.
- Menus and menu items open and respond more quickly and smoothly.
Fixed issues
- Text alignment issues when adjusting character tracking.
- Area measurements display as negative values.
- Unable to drag an image from Photoshop to Illustrator.
- Blend modes display incorrectly when opening Illustrator files.
- Artboard view changes when rearranging artboards.
- Unable to add anchor points to straight lines in Illustrator.
- Colors appear differently when using View using GPU as compared to View using CPU on MacBook Pro with M1 chip.
- Exported PDFs incorrectly change RGB images to CMYK and affect transparency settings.
- Snap to Pixel distorts alignment when importing SVG files.
- The Eyedropper tool picks incorrect colors when sampling from placed vector artwork like PDFs or embedded files.
- The Eyedropper tool picks incorrect colour values from linked files.
- The Eyedropper tool picks edge colors instead of stroke colors.
- Additional assets are exported during asset export.
- Objects shift unexpectedly when using arrow keys with Snap to Grid.
- Large canvas scaling issues when using Export As.
- Snap to Grid doesn't align objects properly with artboard boundaries.
- In Illustrator 29.3, the Properties panel fails to display all controls.
- In Illustrator 29.3, embedding a locked placed object results in an error.
Feature updates
- Use Retype to find the fonts used in rasterized and outlined text.
- Import SVG files into Project Neo (Beta) to transform 2D designs into editable 3D artwork. Similarly, export 3D artwork from Project Neo as SVG files and send them to Illustrator (available in English, Japanese, German, and French only).
- When using Image Trace, switch to the enhanced presets for built-in support for the latest tracing options.
- Use Momochidori Japanese variable font for adjustable font weight, width, and slant.
- Add emojis and create gradient-filled, scalable text with customizable color effects using COLR fonts.
- When using East Asian text, convert the original text into outlines and view character position changes from the Reflow Viewer panel.
- Japanese text layouts have improved character positioning, precise kerning, and better alignment.
- Preview missing fonts without installation.
- Use the Measure tool to measure the area of one or more selected objects on the canvas, including compound paths.
- Start your design journey with the simpler, optimized Getting Started toolbar.
- Faster opening, placement, and drag-and-drop of PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and Photoshop files from your computer or network drives.
- Faster rendering of the five most used effects—Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, Blur, and Rasterize.
- Smoother and faster layer management in the Layers panel, including hide/unhide and expand/collapse operations and panel scrolling.
Fixed issues
- Pantone solid spot colors imported from InDesign fail to display correctly in the llustrator Swatches panel.
- Global process colors added from a CC library appear as duplicates in the llustrator Swatches panel and convert to spot colors.
- When opening PDFs exported from InDesign in Illustrator, gradient fills fail to display correctly.
- In Illustrator CC 2018, the Eyedropper tool does not correctly sample color or appearance attributes from grouped elements or objects.
- The Tilde (~) key shortcut fails to modify patterns within objects.
- Unable to manually adjust gradients applied using the Live Paint Bucket tool.
