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Participating Frequently
June 29, 2025
Question

Cannot change colour in dynamic symbol instances

Hello,

I’m encountering an issue with dynamic symbols in Illustrator and wanted to check if this is expected behavior.

When I try to change the color of a single instance of a dynamic symbol (even something as simple as a rectangle), I select it using the Direct Selection Tool (A). However, when I choose a different colour, the color doesn’t change—nothing happens.

If I use the Recolor Artwork function, all instances of the symbol are updated, rather than just the one I selected.

Is this a known limitation (I was watching several videos and saw that it should work) or is it possibly a bug? I'm currently using Illustrator 29.6 on macOS 15.4.1.

Thank you in advance!

6 replies

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 29, 2025

Can you show a screenshot that includes the Appearance panel?

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Participating Frequently
July 7, 2025

Sorry, I was not online for a few days due to travelling. This is what I see in the Appearance panel

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Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 7, 2025

And when you select the symbol with the direct selection tool?

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