Artboard Color Feature Oversight

[CvshmanAW]

I am a fan of Adobe incoperating a new feature that allows user to change the base color of their artboards in Illustrator 2026, but it seems to lack any practicality when it comes to exporting. While changing the color of the artboard is simple enough, there doesn't seem to be a way to export this background color when exporting the rest of the layers.

Am I missing something? Regardless of the export file format, the background color I set is always replaced with white/black/transparency.

If I still need to create and color a background shape/layer, doesn't this remove 90% of practical applications for setting a background artboard color?

[Bobby Henderson]

The option to change the art board color is a new feature in the current version of Illustrator. Generally speaking, rival applications are always going to be one or more versions behind in their ability to import artwork in a certain file format.

In the case of Illustrator files some vector apps go only as far as supporting the old CS6 format, or they try to import the PDF portion of the art file. Some Illustrator-dependent features and effects, such as free-form gradients and gradients on line strokes can't be duplicated in rival vector graphics apps.

The only work-around for exporting Illustrator artwork with a colored artboard is by creating a colored box the size of the artboard and moving it under the rest of the artwork.

[Ton Frederiks]

PNG currently does not have the option, but JPEG, PDF, SVG have the option to Include Artboard Fill.

[Kurt Gold]

But pretty half-baked with .jpg, .pdf and .svg, since there are no checkboxes to include or not include the Artboard Fill colour, as far as I can see, Ton.

It's automatically included as soon as it exists, right? Not ideal.

Also, it won't be included when exporting to .jpg via Save for Web.

[Ton Frederiks]

There is a checkbox, Kurt.

[Kurt Gold]

That is in the Export for Screens dialog in the latest Illustrator version, right?

I was referring to AI 30.0.

Anyway, do you see this checkbox in all possible Save / Export dialogs (.jpg via Export As, .jpg via Save for Web, .pdf and .svg via Save As)?

[Ton Frederiks]

I agree it is not finished, it should have that option for Export as... and PNG