Bloks Plugin (flexbox for AI) revival thread [for those who might be looking for a coding challenge]

[Eduard Buta]

Hello, community.

*I want to first share that I am not looking for someone to do free work for me! I am simply writing this post to let people know of this situation since many of you probably haven't heard of this plugin before. I just thought it might pose a fun challenge for someone around here.

That being said, Bloks is an Illustrator plugin developed by Weston Thayer that basically implements the layout design flexbox model into Illustrator. See its intended functionality here. It's been obsolete for newer versions of Illustrator, and the creator stated on GitHub that he won't be able to support it anymore.

That being said, he also said that "If someone else wants to take over, that's fine with me, I can point to a fork."

Easier layout design in Illustrator is something I've personally needed for a long time. Unfortunately, I have no coding skills to get this done. Wouldn't even know how to get started.

I just thought I'd share the news here since tons of amazing people have been helping me over the years. Maybe some of you will see this as a fun challenge.🤷‍:male_sign:

[tomr11694738]

Huh?

[Eduard Buta]

Weird. I and many others have had issues installing this. Simply doesn't want to work. You can see our errors and the owner's response in this GitHub thread.

Have you installed it following precisely the steps laid out by the owner, or have you tried something else to make it work?

[Doug A Roberts]

The installation instructions on the GitHub page specifically refer to Illustrator 2022 and seem to work fine here (Windows 10).

[tomr11694738 · Accepted solution]

Changed c++ dll part. Tested on Win11, AI 26.2.1.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1e9zjalqnuav1x8/BloksAIPlugin._AI26_Release_x64.aip?dl=0

[colt-ink]

Hey! I stumbled on this too looking for some sort of responsive-resize solution for Illustrator! Good to know others see the immense potential of Bloks. I wish somebody would take the idea up and turn it into a full-featured plugin, it could really be a game-changer for us professionals that do layout for more than web/UI. I would seriously contribute to fund such a project - escpecially if it had CSS Grid or pin/anchor type modes to go along with the Flexbox functionality.

Keep it alive Eduard! I'd love to see what you're building with Bloks!