Illustrator’s New Selection Behavior Is Disrupting Professional Workflows

Forum|Forum|1 month ago
May 11, 2026
2 replies
57 views

Since the latest versions of Adobe Illustrator, I’ve increasingly felt that I can no longer work productively.

In complex documents, the selection and layer behavior has apparently changed. Locked layers sometimes behave unpredictably, objects beneath them are harder to select, and the selection often prioritizes outlines over actual areas.

This significantly disrupts the usual workflow, especially with large files containing many layers. Many actions now require significantly more clicks and manual intervention than before.

I have since reinstalled an older version, as the workflow still functions reliably there.

As a long-time user, I am now seriously wondering whether experienced production and power users are even being considered in the development process anymore.

(Sorry...the title is wrong...but I have no idea how to chage it. I can’t even delete the post yet)

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

@Torsten.H mmm, thing have obviously changed since changing the forums earlier this year. I can try to change the title for you. What do you want it to read?

Edit: Sorry, I tried, but cannot change the title,

Torsten.HAuthor

Inspiring

That could be a good title:
Illustrator’s New Selection Behavior Is Disrupting Professional Workflows

Thanx for your help

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

@Torsten.H Sorry, I cannot change the title, I found that this has been reported as a known problem.

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

@Torsten.H I hope someone with similar experience can react (I cannot replicate your problems), but correcting the post title should be possible by clicking the 3 dots in the lower right corner.

Torsten.HAuthor

Inspiring

No, I only have 3 options... > Edit / Copy link / Report.

Edit doesn't include the title

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @Torsten.H

I’m sorry to hear about the disruptions to your workflow caused by the selection tools in Illustrator. Would you mind sharing a few details, like the current version of Illustrator installed, since which version you started noticing these changes and a brief screen recording of your exact workflow and the problem, so we can better assist you?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Anubhav

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