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

[will.reeves]

Hi,

Thanks, but before I continue, for context I will state that I've used many types of design/CAD packages over many years to produce various types of media and program recipes industrial robots, and therefore aware of the requirements to export/import files in formats that can be interpreted in a way that gives the desired result.  I should also state that I mostly don't have a choice about what applications I get to use, from an internal and external client perspective, and am experienced in finding workarounds for software bugs and inadequacies. 

The source program in question is CorelDraw 19 (admittedly an older version) and the file contains 9 pages each being 370mm square.  If I export this as a CS6 (I know, it’s the newest version that the software supports) it creates an AI file 9 artboards wide.  These artboards do not fit on the arbitrarily sized canvas and get truncated (please see the "canvas.png" image.  This truncation is clumsy and really shouldn't occur.  I would have hoped that the canvas would be dynamically resized.  You can see that AI has attempted to position one of the artboards on the next row but failed to move the content there.

In any case, the work around is straightforward:  break the original document up into two with 5 and 4 pages, export separately and then import, cut the 4 artboards and paste them into the other document.  Then for completeness arrange into a 3x3 array or artboards.  Whilst this is achievable, it's inelegant.   I attached the result as "canvas2.png" for completeness.

The question is, can the default canvas size be altered such that all the artboards are rendered correctly?  I'm guessing no and not even change the canvas size from within an open document.  I still don't understand why "canvas" exists at all, it appears to be an arbitrarily set, non-editable constraint?

[Monika Gause]

Illustrator CS6 only supports the normal sized Canvas.

It's kind of weird that it's even possible for CorelDRAW to place the artboards like that. But that's what's happening when exporting and importing files. It's always a translation.

Large and normal canvas files is an either/or situation. You cannot convert between them - only create a new file in the desired Canvas size and then copy/paste.

[will.reeves]

Thanks for the clarification (even if it turns out that it's impossible to do what I'd like). Much appreciated!

[Guest]

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

download the image resizer....

[benbankson]

Hey there Gert,

You can resize the canvas by going to File > Document Setup. In the top right hand corner of the dialogue window there's a button that says Edit Artboard. It will then highlight the artboard selected. You can then press Enter (Return) and it will open up the Artboard Options where you can change the size, orientation, etc.

You can also select the artboard using the "artboard tool" located in the toolbar which looks like a square with little tick marks at the corners. In either case the artboard options will also show up in the top bar if you want to quick adjust items without having to go into the dialogue window.

I'm using CS5 on a mac but I'm assuming the process is at least somewhat similar.

Hope this helps!

-ben

[J__Crosetti]

Thanks Ben! I was looking for this answer.

[spotte]

Yes! Thanks for asking this question and for Ben's answer - super helpful.

[rachelkati]

OMG!  Thank you!  Like Gert, I'm a Photoshop person who is new to Illustrator. I'm learning Web Design vs. Development and my instructor wants us to use Illustrator for our final site maps and Word for our preliminaries.  I'd use Visio if left to my own devices.    Sadly, my Word site map is prettier but I digress.  Her critique of my draft was that I didn't need to include the social media links on my map.  So I have to go in to Illustrator and shrink my Artboard (aka Canvas in the Photoshop person's mind). I used the Artboard tool but when I tried to change the size in the menu bar like I do when I scale in Photoshop.  That centered a smaller Artboard cropping off the right side of my map.  I moved it but it moved the Artboard and the "work". I went in your way - praying it was still there since I'm on CC(2014) and it is. I found little toggle handles that I could drag to make the board a better size for my new smaller map.  It was so easy.  I feel stupid now but I remember Photoshop being a beast to learn as well. I also want to conquer InDesign. 

[rabbitgirl]

This allowed me to adjust my Artboard Size (Illustrator users) / Canvas Size (Photoshop users). Yay!

[mcnoronha]

Thank you so much!

[benbankson]

Glad to help

[jimtmacd]

Thanks for this, much more helpful than pedantry of a certain other. When you open a new document it asks you how big you want to make it so obviously you can resize it. Certain people with certain attitudes make the internet a very woeful place. Thank you Benbankson for answering this it's been bugging me for days. I've ended up just starting again with a new document.

[penuk36660701]

Canvas size is different than artboard size. I am also looking for a way to resize the canvas which is the working area where multiple artboards can be placed.

[Monika Gause]

penuk36660701  schrieb

Canvas size is different than artboard size. I am also looking for a way to resize the canvas which is the working area where multiple artboards can be placed.

You can't resize the canvas.

[penuk36660701]

Sad, sad world . You can't resize it in Ai, but in InDesign it has no problem. There it is called "pasteboard" and can be changed.

[Monika Gause]

I think you're comparing apples to oranges.

[penuk36660701]

For printing one may need a big size canvas, but for creating vector artwork one doesn't really need such a huge canvas. Maybe that is why this constrain in AI exists.

The printing ratio could be also changed though.

[toneloves]

Welp, I guess my answer to whether I can precisely input artboard dimensions was already answered long ago!

[will.reeves]

Hi, but how can the "canvas size" be changed?  Currently my artboards from an AI file exported from another software package are clipped because they extend further than the canvas.   Nothing seems nituative in illustrator,  why is there even a canvas?  An art board that sits "within a canvas" isn't even analogous to the real world?  I wish artboards just sat in an "infinate space"... oh well!

[mselainehunter@yahoo.ca]

how do i make the canvas fit the new artboard size.... i tried the scale but cannot get it to work....thanks elaine

[Jacob Bugge]

Elaine,

That rather depends on your definition of canvas.

[benbankson]

Hey there Elaine,

Not quite sure what you mean... could you elaborate a little more? Are you trying to resize an existing project or pull a project into a new one?

Sincerely,

Ben

[MixManSC1]

While I do not at all like the 227 inch restriction being in the large format print business the terms do often get confused. Sadly the ability to make the canvas itself larger is not a new feature in CS6.   80% of our work is done in Illy and while we can work at scale for what we do why should we have to? When designing for a 648" trailer (yes 54 foot), we need to print and/or cut the design at full size. So we always have to increase the files in our print system by 400% or whatever which is an unnecessary step.

As far as the terms, the main background is indeed called the canvas. It is not possible to change the size of the canvas. Period, not happening in Illustrator although most other vector programs do allow this. Artboards sit on top of the canvas and essentially act as containers (and print clipping masks) for artwork. Artwork can also be outside of the artboards, if printed anything outside of the artboards will not print. You can also have multiple artboards on the same canvas. Adobe has a decent explanation of the canvas and artboards here http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/artboard-overview.html

[Arkengal17]

Thank you, finally. Someone who knows Illustrator well and answered the question: Can you resize the canvas after uploading a file from, let's say, rhinoceros3d.

[Glenn Rac]

Yes, thanks Ben it seems that you are in the same industry as I am; the large format printed graphic and sign business or people that deals with very very large scale not desktop stuff. That 227 limitation can be a problem for sure in our business. Glad you clarified that and hope Adobe does something about it. However, CorelDraw is capable of handling larger working areas.

www.glennracoma.com