Participant

Question

Patterns not resizing in Illustrator V 29.7.1

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
August 29, 2025
6 replies
876 views

Hello!

I have an issue with patterns in Illustrator - I can't resize patterns within a filled shape (preferences 'transform pattern tiles' is ticked).

If I resize the whole shape using the bounding box corners, the pattern will change while actively changing the scale, but when I release, the pattern pings back to the original size.

If I use the transform scale option, sometimes it works! But other times when the dialog box is open, the scale of the pattern changes in preview, but once I click okay, it pings back to the original scale. I hope this is clear and makes sense.

Does anyone know if there is a bug? It's disrupting my workflow.

Bug

monalikelisa

Participant

This didn’t happen to me until the 30.2.1 update. None of the workarounds listed can resize patterns. This is a massive block in my workflow because most of my designs rely on using and resizing patterns. I have “Transform Pattern Tiles” checked in my settings.

monalikelisa

Participant

Quick update: it only works sometimes and when it doesn’t work I have to restart Illustrator for it to start working again.

F

fantastic_magnetism7968

Participant

Does anyone if there is plans to fix this problem please? Just updated to 29.8.1 and still unable to scale the pattern. Adding a stroke makes no difference.

L

LH5ECE

Participating Frequently

i also updated to 29.8.1 and still having the problem too.

<sigh>

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

There are workarounds, it only happens with unstroked objects that have the Shape attribute..

So you can temporarely remove the stroke, scale the object and apply the stroke again.

Or, probably easier, use Object > Shape > Expand Shape, scale the object and if you want use Object > Shape > Convert to Shape again.

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

Seems to happen with unstroked shapes.

As a workaround: Object > Shape > Expand Shape

L

LH5ECE

Participating Frequently

noted, appreciate the work around @Ton Frederiks ...however, I do not want to exand the shapes of the pattern, because then the pattern swatch is no longer editable, which defeats the purpose of using the swatch so it can be edited across all objects containing the fill. otherwise, its the same as building a pattern manually (like we used to do back in the day!) 🙂

my coworker found a workaround--if you create a filled object ( a box ) NEXT to the pattern-filled object you want to scale, and grab both objects and then shift+ drag to scale, the pattern scales exactly as it's supposed to.

pattern still doesnt scale correctly when you try to do it with just the pattern-filled object.

it's exasperating !

would LOVE a fix on this adobe!

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

@LH5ECE Object > Shape > Expand Shape does not expand the pattern, it just removes the "Shape" behaviour of the object (like the ability to add more points to a star shape). You can often use Convert to shape if you want those options back.

L

LH5ECE

Participating Frequently

this is happening to me and every designer I work with who has updated to the latest Illustrator 2025 (29.7.1)

It is interupting all our workflows.

I am on OS Sequoia 15.6.1

none of the suggested tips above have worked to solve except the extremely slow Object>Transform>Scale and manually enter a scale.

Strangely, once the pattern has been scaled that way through Transform>Scale, if the object (with pattern swatch fill) is selected & scaled down or up +Shift with the "transform both" box ticked, it will not scale but to the new manually added scale, not the original scale of the swatch.

It is absolutely maddening.

screenrecording attached showing it makes no difference what boxes are ticked.

I need a solution for this ASAP!

Screen_Recording_2025-08-29_at_10-34-57 AM.zip

Ton Frederiks

Community Expert

See here for examples:

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/50334417-pattern-scale-not-working

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @mini_pig,

I understand how disruptive it can be when patterns don't hold their scale after resizing. Since you already have the Transform Pattern Tiles option enabled, can you confirm if this is happening with all files or just specific ones? Please also try resetting Illustrator preferences once to see if that helps stabilize the behavior. Another step worth trying is toggling off GPU Performance under Preferences > Performance and then checking if the issue continues. If possible, could you share a short screen recording showing the problem along with a sample file, so I can check this more closely? Moreover, please confirm the OS you are using as well.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

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