How To Change Canvas Size In Illustrator

As an Illustrator user you may find yourself perplexed at how to change the size of the canvas you're working with, otherwise known as the artboard. Thankfully, Illustrator comes with a dedicated tool for this purpose, known as the Artboard Tool. The Artboard Tool allows yous to change the canvas size in Adobe Illustrator, either manually or by inputting a numerical value. In this tutorial I'll be walking yous through the entire process.

When information technology comes to irresolute the sheet size in other applications, such every bit Inkscape or GIMP, this is something that is typically done using a document properties or preferences dialog. However, Adobe approaches this differently by providing a defended tool for such tasks.

The benefit of using this tool is that information technology doesn't just allow you to change the canvas size using a predetermined numerical value, but it also allows you to click and drag your sail to scale it with a freehand arroyo.

Change The Canvas Size In Adobe Illustrator

To change the canvas size in Adobe Illustrator, grab the Artboard Tool by pressing Shift + O on your keyboard. You can so resize your canvas manually by clicking and dragging the edges of information technology, or you can input a numerical value into the Width and Height fields in the tool options carte du jour.

The following tutorial will walk yous through the unabridged process of resizing your canvass in Illustrator.

Every bit previously mentioned, in that location are two ways of approaching this: manually and with numerical inputs. Utilise the table of contents below to navigate to whichever method you prefer.

Method 1: Freehand scale the canvas

Step 1: Open the Artboard Tool
Step 2: Click and drag on the edges of your canvas to change the size

Method 2: Alter the canvas size using numerical values

Step 1: Open the Artboard Tool
Step 2: Input a numerical value into the width and height fields

Method ane: Freehand calibration the sail

I style in which you can change the canvass size in Adobe Illustrator is by manually scaling like you lot would with whatever other object or layer.

This is similar to the method used in a previous tutorial where we went over how to fit artwork to the artboard.

Step 1: Open the Artboard Tool

In order to modify the sail size we must select the Artboard Tool, which tin can exist accessed by pressing Shift + O on your keyboard.

It can also be located in the toolbar on the left-hand side of your screen:

Artboard Tool location — The **Artboard Tool** tin be accessed in the toolbar, outlined in red in a higher place.

The Artboard Tool allows y'all to create, edit, and delete the canvases on your screen, otherwise known as artboards.

Step 2: Click and elevate on the edges of your sail to change the size

Once you've grabbed the Artboard Tool, you should notice the edges of your canvas change in appearance.

There will be a dotted outline around your sheet, and there volition be iv white nodes in the corners of your artboard:

Scaling handles — The scaling handles will be located on the edges and corners of your canvas.

The Artboard Tool acts sort of similar the Select Tool does in that information technology allows y'all to transform your canvas the aforementioned mode you would can object or path.

Clicking and dragging on either side of the sheet will change its width or height, depending on which side you click.

Clicking and dragging on the left and right edges volition permit you to change the width of your canvass:

Scaling the width — The left and right edges allow you to change the width of your canvas.

Clicking and dragging the acme and bottom edges will permit you lot to change the meridian of your sail:

Scaling the height — Scaling the pinnacle and bottom edges volition change the height of your canvas.

Clicking and dragging on either of the 4 nodes in the corners will permit you to change both the width and height simultaneously:

Scaling the width and height — The nodes in the corners let you lot to scale the width and tiptop of your sail.

Holding the Shift key, regardless of which edge or corner you select, while clicking and dragging will lock the attribute ratio so that the width and elevation of your canvas both scale proportionately:

Aspect ratio lock — You can scale your sheet proportionately by property **Shift**.

Once yous are finished resizing your sheet you can only deselect the Artboard Tool or catch another tool so that it deselects.

Your changes are practical in real fourth dimension, so at that place's no need to formally apply them.

Method 2: Change the sheet size using numerical values

Now that nosotros've gone over how to change the canvas size in Adobe Illustrator by scaling it, let's go over how to change it using a predetermined numerical value.

This can be really useful if you're designing something like a video thumbnail or affiche design, where you artwork needs to be a specific size.

Step i: Open the Artboard Tool

First, we must select the Artboard Tool, which can be accessed by pressing Shift + O on your keyboard or by selecting it in the toolbar to the left of your screen:

Artboard Tool location

Alternatively, you can admission this tool past opening the Certificate Setup menu past pressing Alt + Control + P and so clicking the Edit Artboards button on the right-hand side of the menu interface.

Step 2: Input a numerical value into the width and height fields

One time you've selected Artboard Tool, you can change the sheet size by using the Due west and H fields in the tool settings card towards the top of your screen:

Width and height inputs — The width and height inputs are located in the tool option menu towards the top of the screen.

A few things to keep in mind:

The West represents the certificate's width.
The H represents the document'southward superlative.
The lock icon between the two fields will lock the aspect ratio of your canvas so that it scales proportionately when enabled.

From here, you can but type in a numerical value of your choosing.

By default, the units of measurement will exist in pixels (px) simply yous can also utilize the following units of measurement by typing in their respective abbreviations after the number:

Pixels (px)
Inches (in)
Centimeters (cm)
Millimeters (mm)
Points (pt)
Percent (%)

Once you've finished typing in the numbers of your choosing, all yous have to practice is printing Enter on your keyboard to apply the changes and your canvas/artboard will be resized accordingly.

If the aspect ratio is locked then the opposing dimension will also modify according to your input.

Decision

Illustrator's Artboard Tool tin be very handy. Information technology doesn't just let you modify the size of the canvas in Adobe Illustrator; information technology also lets you create boosted canvases as well if you'd similar.

You tin can so requite each canvas its own proper noun, assign a numerical order, export them as private pages of a PDF document, or even batch export them as separate graphics.

Although the existence of this tool can confuse new users who may be used to resizing document boundaries in more traditional ways, the advantages this tool comes with certainly outweigh whatsoever minor downsides like this.

If y'all take whatever questions or demand description for any of the steps in this lesson, simply leave a comment below.

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