How to resize my Canvas in Illustrator

[GertvandeCappelle]

Hello,

can anyone help me out. I would like to rezise my canvas in Illustrator and I dont know how to do that!

Why: I'de like to fit my AI design on to an other AI, real size object and the Illustrator canvas is to small to handle the design in a proper way. So my design is to large to fit the real obeject. the question is therefor how can I make my Canvas larger?

Hope for your support and help.

Thanks

Gert van de Cappelle

[esthernyc7]

@toneloves indeed as mentioned in thread above the canvas in not infinite. It stops at 227 inch square. If i may, and i dont mean to be rude, it sounds like you have not tried it for yourself. It’s the best way to understand how it works.  

@dougaroberts and @stevewerner happy to hear. Just hope it won’t take another 9 years!

[toneloves]

No offense taken. I honestly hadn't tried it because I just didn't have the time or need. Instead, every project that's been that large, I've just reduced it proportionately since the artwork is entirely vector anyway. I simply zoom in if there was something requiring a high level of detail. It's worked absolutely flawlessly thus far. Maybe there are scenarios where reducing a vector exponentially won't do the job? I can't imagine though, but hey, what do I know? lol

[esthernyc7]

@toneloves yes, it's definitely the way to go to not have to run into the canvas limitation, and I have done it many times reducing the scale until I encountered issues dealing with parties who were not understanding the scaling part or get confused! (yes! it can happen, clients can be from another planet ). So I sometimes have to work at 100%.

[Jacob Bugge]

toneloves, esther, others,

I've just reduced it proportionately since the artwork is entirely vector anyway.

There is one important aspect of this, namely the question of raster effects: it may be overlooked that many of the Effects are raster effects, and they have the resolution set in Effect>Document Raster Effects Settings.

As stated here,

How to apply effects in Illustrator

Raster effects are effects that generate pixels, rather than vector data. Raster effects include SVG Filters, all of the effects at the bottom section of the Effect menu, and the Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, and Feather commands in the Effect > Stylize submenu.

So if you have vector artwork with raster effects, to get the required PPI at the final size, you will have to increase the Effect>Document Raster Effects Settings in the scaled document by the reverse scaling factor, 10 times higher if you use 1:10 and similar.

It works on all the raster effects in the document, including those created before your changing the setting.

[bongofernie]

You can go to File then New. Before you create the new file change the Width and the Height to whatever you want.

That takes care of the Large canvas problems.

[Eric23155489ll2s · Accepted solution]

Here's a link to resize your Canvas (not artboard) in Illustrator.

Enjoy.

[franciscob1218]

This does not actually solve the issue at hand. The question is the resizing of a given Canvas. The solution just provided only scales the Artboard but does not affect the size of the Canvas. Adobe just declares that your artboard that you are looking at is actually a given size. 

Given its should be all vectors this is really fine but that does not solve the issue of a bigger Canvas. Which has different benefits. 

For instane if you make a new file with a width size of 129ft the program will make a artboard with the size and smak it in the middle. Now if you copy the Artboard and but that directly next to the First Artboard it will now be too long and hang off the canvas. This can be seen in the attached Screenshot. Forcing you to scale the 2 artboards until the can fit inside the canvas. So again not a solution. 

[creative_curiosity1549]

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@franciscob1218  schrieb:

This does not actually solve the issue at hand. 

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You cannot scale the canvas.

You need to create either a normal or a large canvas document.

If you do not like that, then please post a feature request or support an already existing one. https://illustrator.uservoice.com

[Blissful_hand5EB4]

You have No Idea what you are talking about.

[creative_curiosity1549]

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@Blissful_hand5EB4  schrieb:
You have No Idea what you are talking about.

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You might want to enlighten me.

[bongofernie]

You can go to File then New. Before you create the new file change the Width and the Height to whatever you want.

That takes care of the Large canvas problems.

[cant save illustration]

I have a file with lots of layers so making a file new and coping into it just to make a biger canvase would throw out all that data.

[creative_curiosity1549]

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@cant save illustration  schrieb:

I have a file with lots of layers so making a file new and coping into it just to make a biger canvase would throw out all that data.

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In the layers panel menu turn on remember layers.