Show link image while resizing or moving

[jh@star]

Is there any way to view the link file image while transforming?  It would be so much more intuitive if I could see the linked artwork as I move, resize, rotate, etc.  Instead, all I see is the bounding box, which is nearly useless.  The image would still have to follow any masking and/or transparency, of course.

Solutions, plugins, future feature?

[Mike_Gondek]

Great suggestion, and the NeXTcube was able to do that way back in the late 80s in freehand, but I believe that was due to the NeXTstep operating system & postscript displays. The silicon valley programmers back then really did some amazing stuff, wonder where we would be now if they continued on?

Photoshop does this, so must be something with how redraw engine works in Illustrator versus a pure pixel based program. Do not know of any illustrator plugins that can do this so only can only offer suggestions that may help.

I often option click on an image to reset the anchor point, then cancel and then do manually. OR I may enter a small increment, then spam the Command D over and over until I get what I need,

[Mario Arizmendi · Accepted solution]

How about posting and voting for this as a feature request

Illustrator Feature Requests: Top (1165 ideas) – Adobe Illustrator Feedback

[Kurt Gold]

A pretty quaint workaround is:

- Go to File > Document Setup and turn on the Show Images in Outline Mode option.

Then at least moving linked or embedded images would work as you want (you do not have to turn on Outline Mode).

Scaling or rotating would then also work as you desire, but you have to use the Rotate tool and the Scale tool (instead of the Selection tool and the bounding box).

[jh@star]

Interesting but not quite what I'm hoping for.  I still see a bounding box when I transform, then the image snaps in after I release the mouse button.  I want to see the changes as I go.

My workaround has often been to draw a box or line that hits the key points in the image, then the transform is at least predictable.  In fact, I can do this numerically if I want to be precise.  It's a visual process, it seems there should be a visual solution.

I will add this as a feature request.

Thank you all for the responses.

[Kurt Gold]

If by transforming you actually mean scaling and rotating, please notice my hint that this would require using the genuine Rotate tool and Scale tool, both located in the Tools palette. It won't work when you use the Selection tool and the bounding box.

You can use the Selection tool (or Direct Selection tool) to move your objects, though.

[ceyhun_akgun]

1. Document Setup If "Show images In Outline Mode" is checked, the images will appear in black and white in the View / Outline Mode option. 

The answer to your problem might be this option.

2. But, I do not recommend this option. Because Illustrator will use more RAM memory. You may experience poor performance while working with complex documents.

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