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

[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

[jimm7497115]

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!

[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

[christopherp41379097]

Thanks MixManSC1, this was exactly the answer I was looking for. You explained it best. Too bad Adobe does not allow the canvas size to be set.

[MR-2013]

I had a similar problem. I created an artboard 63x48 inches and then tried to duplicate it 4 times but when it got to the fourth one I would get that same message about the canvas size. What worked for me was to simply reposition to first artboard as further left as possible, then when I duplicated there was  more space and was able to create all four of them next to each other. Hope this helps someone.

Cheers!

[widedtalel]

you cannot resize canvas size,just arboard size you can,but if you have somoting to do but size for artboard is more big than canvas size,in that time ,you can resize your file ,(exp your w size is 578cm or more ) in this situation you can not do your job because canvas size max is 578cm,what you will do ,divide your size into 2 or 3 ,both dont forget w and h,after that when you start to print -custom scale,and put if you divide your seize into 2 ,put 200% if more exp 4 make 400% ,after your size comming exctly ,and i hope you andrestand me my friend

[rdracing]

In case anyone else is just trying to enlarge an illustration you originally created in a size smaller than you need, and you're using Illustrator CC it's really quite simple.

First, reduce your view size small enough that your image/artboard is small enough that you have room to expand it (CMD + -  on a Mac).

Next click on your Artboard Tool (Shift + O on a Mac). Move your cursor to a corner where you have room to drag. Left click and drag until the Artboard is as big as you need the image.

Now select each layer (slices) of the designs target button (to the right of the name) while holding down (CMD).

Now choose the Selection Tool (V) and you'll see the selection rectangle appear around your group of layers.

Now, just like in Photoshop, hold down the shift key while you left click and drag on a corner anchor and the entire image will enlarge proportionately.

I'm sure there's several other ways to achieve this as well, it's just a simple way I found to do it.

[bredonp293175]

Use this tool

[Zofo]

Go to Objects>Artboards>Fit To Artboard Bounds

This may get you the results you are looking for.

Good luck.

[deach5]

Wow!

What a thread.

Thanks to you and Ben and a few others for trying to understand the users question.