Inspiring

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Make Direct Selection Tool select ONLY anchor points and segments, NOT the entire shape

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Dear Adobe,

As the tool description you wrote says, please make the Direct Selection Tool select ONLY anchor points and segments and NOT the entire shape/object.

The reason one uses this tool is to make such adjustements.

I accidentally select and move the entire shape multiple times when editing anchor points, before finally being able to move the point I want.

One simple change > Massive workflow speed improvement and less frustration.

WIn-Win!

A

Antonis_V2Correct answer

Inspiring

Antonis,

I believe the way forward is a feature request,
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/

That is the right place for the design team to see it, rather than in a post among many in this forum where most answers are by non Adobe friends.

You can find it here and Upvote if you agree.

Thanks!

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-beta-ideas/direct-selection-tool-select-only-anchor-points-and-segmants-and-not-the-entire-shape-object/idc-p/15512317#M48

Jacob Bugge

Community Expert

Antonis,

How about ticking Object Selection By Path Only in the Preferences?

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Antonis_V2Author

Inspiring

Hi Jacob,

Yes, I have tried that as a workaround but it only helps during this scenario. Generally I prefer to select Object by clicking anywhere in them, so it doesn't help in the long run.

I don't believe it is without reason to expect the Direct Selection Tool to only select Points and segmets and not entire shapes, is it? 🙂

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Jacob Bugge

Community Expert

Antonis,

I believe the way forward is a feature request,
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/

That is the right place for the design team to see it, rather than in a post among many in this forum where most answers are by non Adobe friends.

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Antonis_V2Author

Inspiring

Thank you bothe for the replies.

I 've been using ilustrator for more than 15 years.
I am referring to the Direct Selection Tool being able to select entire shapes when clicking inside of them.

In fact when clicking inside an object with the Direct Selection Tool, it select all of its points. Then when you drag, the whole shape moves. So, during the scenario that you have zoomed in, clicking and moving points, you accidentally click inside the shape instead of the point and you move the entire shape. And because the clicking and dragging is quick, the accidental clciking inside the shape instead of the point happens way to often.

If I want to click and move the whole shape, I will choose the Select Tool. There's no need to for the Direct Selection to do that.

Please check the recording I am attaching, I hope it shows my issue.

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Screen_Recording_2025-09-18_at_17-51-16.zip

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

Make sure that the icon for the Direct Selection Tool (white arrow) does not have a plus beside it. There are two white arrows bundled under the same spot in the Tool Bar. The other one is the Group Selection Tool which would provide the behavior that you've described. Also make sure that you do not have the option/alt key pressed when using the Direct Selection Tool. This will also make the tool select the whole object.

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Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Antonis_V2,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I tried it on my end and was able to select the anchor points and reshape the shapes as expected. Please refer to the recording I've attached for a quick walkthrough.

Could you check and let me know if it behaves differently for you? If so, a short screen recording of your workflow would really help me understand what's happening on your setup.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

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Antonis_V2Author

Inspiring

Hi, thank you for the quick response.

I don't see an attachment.

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