How to create a new document from clipboard in Illustrator CC 2018?

[babakness]

Hello--

How do I start a new document with the contents in clipboard? Is it also possible to create a new artboard cropped to the contents in clipboard (copied via command-c)

Thanks.

[John Mensinger · Accepted solution]

It sounds like you're looking for Photoshop-like features of this type, but Illustrator doesn't do that. You'll have to just start a new file of appropriate profile using File > New, then Paste whatever is on the clipboard, and finally, double click the Artboard tool and choose Fit To Artwork Bounds from the Preset menu.

[KazVorpal]

Calling is a PhotoShop-like feature obscures the fact that it's a fundamental feature,

whose absence from Illustrator is a fail.

It implies that this is something limited to the world of rasterized artwork,

but it's essentially saving of about ten steps from every time we want to do New Image from Template.

That the latter exists shows that the feature is useful and makes sense.

Why force me to manually create or save an image elsewhere just to tediously import it with New Image from Template, when I already have it in my clipboard?

[John Mensinger]

Photoshop's dedicated internal clipboard (which imports from/exports to the OS clipboard, provided the applicable preferences are set as such), facilitates retrieval of simple height/width raster image figures, whereas the potentially much more complex arithmetic of vector graphics isn't quite so simple for Illustrator to gleen from the OS clipboard. Of course you may lodge a feature request here: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/

[KazVorpal]

I actually moderated the tone of my post, by editing it, apparently while you were replying.

But I wasn't even saying there should be a new feature, so much as that it would be a better implementation of the existing feature New from Template. Though I just tried that and it didn't do what I wanted, either, just slapping my image over the top of a completely wrong-shaped canvas.

[John Mensinger]

Yes, I see you edited, so I did too. We don't necessarily disagree on this in essence; artboard size from clipboard would indeed be useful. I'm only asserting that Illustrator presently doesn't do new artboard = clipboard, so to have it, there would have to be a new feature. Inescapably, the Illustrator new artboard size is based on one of the built-in presets, which as far as I can tell are all oriented to paper and screen/video conventions, or custom user-input dimensions. New From Template simply gives way to user navigation, presumably to a folder where artboard templates are stored, and is also unrelated to the (dimensions of) clipboard contents. Currently, Illustrator just doesn't read anything about the clipboard ahead of a Paste command.

[jeffseaver]

Sorry, but this feature used to exist in Adobe Illustrator several versions ago. I can point you to online tutorials done by others that show the instructors making use of it - File > New used to automatically format an artboard with a given margin around vector content on the clipboard - but darned if I can locate it anywhere on Adobe Illustrator 2021. I agree this is a fail. 

[Ton Frederiks]

"I can point you to online tutorials done by others that show the instructors making use of it "

Please show a link to the tutorials, just curious to see that feature.

[KazVorpal]

I wonder if he was thinking of Photoshop.

One of the thousand reasons I tend to use Photoshop even when Illustrator would probably be more appropriate.

Really, graphic work these days is far more likely to be for something other than print media, that being the only situation where Illustrator is clearly superior. Desktop publishing used to be really important, but now it's just a niche market. I can make do with Photoshop as long as it's not gonna be a poster or flyer or something.