Illustrator CC export for screens 1 pixel off in size

[norinam]

This is a continuation of the issue that occurs in Illustrator CS6

Illustrator CS6 artboard exports 1 pixel off in size

Settings

1. The images I'm exporting are using whole numbers for width, height, x-axis position and y-axis position from x:0, y:0
2. The artboards are the exact size of the image: Object > Artboards > Fit to Selected Art
3. The Object > Make Pixel Perfect trick did not work for me. I got an Illustrator message stating they were already perfect.

Tested

1. File > Export > Export for Screens... (adds 1 pixel to height and width)
2. File > Export > Export As... (does not add any pixels)
3. File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) (does not add any pixels)

Thoughts

This seems to only be an issue with the "export for screens" option. I'm guessing this is a bug that just hasn't been solved yet.

If anyone has any insights regarding solutions, feature requests, or bug fixes please add them in the comments.

[Met1]

It's really no different than incorrectly - or not - setting your color settings and on export expecting Illustrator to know what you wanted.

If you do the same size regularly, or need specific settings different from your usual working practice, set up your document correctly and create a template.

[d0nut247]

I appreciate what you and Monica are both saying, that it's always our responsibility but i think it is a little different, in that in this case, you set an art board at say 120px width and illustrator says it is, then if you export screens and choose 120px width, it all agrees with what you're asking then Exports a file that is not 120px width but 121px which yeah sure is  pretty much the same and we all now know that it's due to the art board being sat at a non whole number location, but it should just export 120px as the 'quick fix' Is just to open the image and crop by 1 pixel. Surely illustrator should just do the same thing. Or flag up that the art board is not set at whole pixels ? Or a check box on export that says 'force proportions for non whole pixels' or something, sure there are settings earlier in the process to avoid this issue but it remains a fact that illustrator does not do what it says it will, in that it exports at a size other than what it says it is going to. 

[Monika Gause]

Or flag up that the art board is not set at whole pixels ? Or a check box on export that says 'force proportions for non whole pixels' or something, sure there are settings earlier in the process to avoid this issue

By @d0nut247

The real issue is not that the exported file is larger, the real issue is that you get resampling on top of that. So you want to work with correct settings and not just crop your exported file.

With these small sizes you are obviously designing for screen, so why don't you turn on snap to pixels when creating artboards?

If you want to make a suggestion to the developers, please use http://illustrator.uservoice.com

[Met1]

If you're working on web projects, why isn't snap to pixel always on?

Once on, it stays on.

Illustrator can't guess your intent: if you later turn snap to pixel off, it assumes you know what you are doing.

[d0nut247]

Not every workflow is straight forward like that though is it. This particular issue hasn't caused me personally an issue for years since we discovered this bug / feature,  and I work to ensure it doesn't cause me trouble, But many projects start out as a poster or flyer then you get a request for social media posts etc. illustrator is great for flexible working taking jobs and re-formatting layouts and exporting in many file formats but this thread wouldn't have started if the pixel export wasn't giving people results they weren't expecting. 

[zachg4140523]

Can yo guys stop blaming the user here. It's a problem with the software. There is no reason the artboard should go off the pixel grid. No one needs that. Stop giving Adobe slack. 

[sudhirvr]

Hello friends. I believe that I have managed to solve this problem. Rearranged the artboards vertically and when exported, the jpg files are exactly the same size as the artboards. Hope this helps.

[Rob217717683hsl]

@Met1 If this is the solution, then Artboard snap and Object snap should be separated out into two different settings. Sure, working in web you'll always want the artboard snap on, but there are plenty of situations whereby you might want to turn the object snap off.

[Rob217717683hsl]

100% the problem is that the artboard isn't 'positioned' on an exact pixel.

However, this is a frustrating issue given that artboards don't snap to pixels and that there's no error when this happens.
The logic behind the export is flawed if AI is adding an extra pixel even though it knows the output dimensions.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

Go into artboard editing mode. Select an artboard. Click on the SNap object to pixel grid button to the right side of the control panel. The artboard will then snap to pixels

[Rob217717683hsl]

This works mostly, however it breaks under some circumstances.

There's a known bug with artboard creation whereby if you constrain proportions, snapping to the pixel grid is ignored, hence causing you to run into the 'extra pixel added' bug.

[Ton Frederiks · Accepted solution]

The Align selected art to pixel grid button also may change the size of the artboard, a 242 pixel wide artboard may become 243 px wide. Rearrange Artboards will not change their size.

[Samuel286571930ho3]

it's 2024 and this is still an issue. Shame on Adobe for not having fixed this already.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Samuel286571930ho3,

Sorry to hear about this experience. Would you mind trying the suggestions shared in this community post (https://adobe.ly/3TQvXMb) and checking if they help?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

[Rob217717683hsl]

Having a 'Snap artboard to pixel' option would fix this entirely. Mind blowing that this hasn't been done.

[ChandniSOS]

Solved:

If it is still not doing it after this, I think its a bug in your file so you will have to make a new one and copy things across. It only worked for me then.

View > Pixel Preview

View > Snap to pixel

‘Align art to pixel grid’ Icon, the arrow to the right - check advanced settings 

Make sure art aligns to pixel grid or it will add another pixel to compensate

 Export > Export as... 

Other chats that helped me get there:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/why-does-illustrator-does-not-export-the-righ...

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/getting-additional-pixel-when-exporting-for-s...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAHkCEp3-Wg&t=117s

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/align-to-pixel-grid-option-not-showing-in-tra...

[JeffSDS]

This is still an issue in 2025. Why Adobe??? I have tried these explanations with no success. Please address this. 

[Ton Frederiks]

@JeffSDS can you share an Illustrator file that shows the problem and describe how you want to export it? To attach it to a post, rename .ai to .pdf

[Nick27506085y7ha]

I had the same issue recently and the rearrange option in the artboard menu (Shift+O) fixed it for me.