Script for Adobe Illustrator

✦ Available exclusively on Patreon for Pro supporters.

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Description

Cloner is an Adobe Illustrator script for creating precise repeated arrangements from one or more selected objects. It combines eight cloning modes with live preview, dedicated Settings, Editor, Randomize, and Presets workspaces, direct-manipulation controls, precise numeric input, reusable presets, stacking controls, opacity transitions, deterministic randomization, and fast visual tools for building anything from simple rows to complex radial, honeycomb, wave, and Fibonacci patterns.

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Features

Cloner provides a single, responsive interface for constructing and refining object-based patterns without manually duplicating and positioning every instance.

• Eight cloning modes: Create Linear, Grid, Honeycomb, Radial, Spiral, Random, Wave, and Fibonacci arrangements.
• Four focused workspaces: Switch between Settings for precise values, Editor for visual manipulation, Randomize for seeded per-instance variation, and Presets for reusable mode configurations.
• Interactive Controls in every mode: Open the Editor tab to drag arrangement handles, scrub counts, adjust visual tracks, and switch mode-specific options directly in a live diagram. The active editor remains visible and enabled, while editors for other modes initialize on demand.
• Shared source transforms: Editor includes icon-led Scale and Rotate controls that adjust the selected source appearance and every generated instance without changing the arrangement geometry. Preview remains non-destructive until OK.
• Synchronized mode selectors: The complete eight-mode selector is available in Settings, Editor, and Randomize. Choosing a mode updates all three selectors in one coordinated change, refreshes only the visible interface, and queues one preview for the final selection.
• Built-in searchable guide: Open a detailed, resizable User Guide dialog from the footer, browse by section or mode, and search the documentation without leaving Illustrator.
• Live non-destructive preview: Preview changes using temporary staged objects that are removed when refreshed, cancelled, or confirmed. Cloner displays its dialog before building the initial preview, uses a shared 75 ms scheduler for rapid edits, and waits 200 ms after mode changes so quick navigation renders only the final selection. Clicking OK discards the preview and builds once from the original source objects so Preview ON and OFF preserve the same source identity.
• Flexible numeric controls: Drag sliders, use the − and + buttons, press arrow keys, enter values beyond the visible slider range, or type calculations such as 100/2, 5*2, 100-50, and 5+10. Value-based tick marks, magnetic detents, and Shift-drag snapping make common round values easy to reach.
• Practical count protection: Counts must be positive whole numbers. Cloner warns above 1,000 resulting objects and rejects requests above the hard limit of 10,000 objects across all selected sources.
• Deterministic Random mode: Keep an arrangement stable with a visible Random Seed and generate a new variation only when requested.
• Independent Randomize channels: Add stable X Offset, Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, Horizontal Flip, and Vertical Flip variation to any of the eight cloning modes, with independent channel seeds, per-channel dice actions, Randomize All, and seed Undo/Redo.
• Grid sizing and gutters: Use fixed spacing or calculate spacing from object dimensions with adjustable horizontal and vertical gutters. Tall icon-only link controls sit beside the Columns/Rows and Horizontal/Vertical label pairs, with a divider separating count and spacing controls.
• Honeycomb grid overlay: Display a temporary orange dashed hexagonal guide with evenly distributed, non-overlapping shared edges.
• Radial orientation control: Keep the original orientation or rotate instances outward or inward along full circles and partial arcs.
• Progressive transformations: Apply distribution, twist, scale, opacity, offsets, and stacking-order changes where supported.
• Persistent interface settings: Restore saved custom values, selected modes, toggles, and preview preferences between sessions.
• Reusable preset library: The Presets tab contains saved user presets only. Right-click its workspace tab to save the current settings without switching workspaces. Click a row to apply it; double-click its name to rename it; drag to reorder; or use the inline and right-click/Ctrl-click actions. Names are limited to 64 characters with collision-safe suffixes, and failed writes revert the visible change instead of pretending it was saved.
• Reset and viewport tools: Reset individual values or all numeric controls, hide selection edges, fit the result in the window, and restore the launch view with a second Zoom-to-Fit click.
• Stable dialog layout: The dialog uses a fixed width while adapting its height to the active workspace and cloning mode, preventing cropped controls or unused resize space.

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Installation

1. Download the Cloner.jsx script file.

2. Place the script in your Adobe Illustrator Scripts folder:

⮑ Mac: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator (Version)/Presets/(Language)/Scripts

⮑ Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator (Version)\Presets(Language)\Scripts

3. Restart Adobe Illustrator if it's already running

4. Access the script via File > Scripts > Cloner

5. Alternatively, run it directly via File > Scripts > Other Script... and browse to the file location

Tip: You can also drag and drop the .jsx file directly onto the Illustrator workspace to run the script instantly – no installation needed.

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Using the Script

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Launch the Script

Cloner needs an open Illustrator document and at least one selected object. The selected artwork becomes the source for the active cloning mode.

1. Open or create an Illustrator document.
2. Select one or more objects to clone.
3. Run Cloner from File > Scripts > Cloner, use Other Script, or drag the JSX file onto Illustrator.
4. Choose a mode from the synchronized color-coded selector in Settings, Editor, or Randomize.
5. Enter precise values in Settings or manipulate the always-visible diagram in Editor while Preview is enabled.
6. Click OK to create and group the final arrangement, or click Cancel to discard the preview.

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Choose a Cloning Mode

Cloner opens with four workspace tabs: Settings, Editor, Randomize, and Presets. Settings contains precise mode controls, Editor contains the visual Interactive Controls, Randomize adds independent seeded variation to any arrangement, and Presets manages reusable mode configurations.

The color-coded cloning-mode selector is available in Settings, Editor, and Randomize. All three copies contain the eight arrangement types and stay synchronized. Switching modes updates the other selectors as one operation, shows the matching settings or editor, preserves each mode's values, and changes the interface accent. When Preview is enabled, rapid mode changes are combined and only the final selection is rendered after a brief pause.

• Linear: Repeat objects along X and Y axes or along a custom direction.
• Grid: Build rectangular grids with fixed spacing, object-size gutters, and alternating offsets.
• Honeycomb: Place objects on pointy-top or flat-top hexagonal cells.
• Radial: Arrange objects around a complete circle or a partial arc.
• Spiral: Distribute objects outward through a configurable angular spread.
• Random: Scatter objects reproducibly inside a defined rectangular area.
• Wave: Position objects along sine, cosine, triangle, or square waves.
• Fibonacci: Create phyllotaxis-style arrangements based on the golden angle.

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➊ Linear Mode

Linear mode creates a sequence from the selected object using either independent axis offsets or a distance along a chosen direction.

Controls

• Count: Sets the number of instances. The slider covers common values, while direct entry supports larger counts.
• Movement: Switches between X / Y Axes and Custom Angle.
• Horizontal and Vertical: Set independent movement per instance in X / Y Axes mode. Their sliders show 100-unit ticks and gently snap near those values.
• Distance: Replaces Horizontal when Custom Angle is active and controls movement along the selected direction. Hold Shift while dragging to lock to 100-unit increments.
• Direction: Sets the custom movement angle with the angle control or numeric field.
• Distribution: Eases the spacing from the first instance to the last; zero produces even spacing.
• Twist: Applies progressive rotation across the sequence.
• End Scale: Applies progressive scaling from the source size to the chosen final percentage.
• End Opacity: Blends from the source opacity to the chosen final opacity.
• Link Horizontal & Vertical: Keeps both axis values synchronized in X / Y Axes mode.
• Reverse Order: Reverses which instances occupy the sequence positions and stacking order.

Use zero on one axis for a straight horizontal or vertical row. Combine Distribution, Twist, End Scale, and End Opacity for eased motion trails and progressively transformed repeats.

In the Editor tab, the Linear Interactive Controls diagram lets you drag the endpoint to set X / Y movement or Distance and Direction, then refine Distribution, Twist, End Scale, and Opacity on its side tracks. Count can be scrubbed or stepped directly below the diagram.

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➋ Grid Mode

Grid mode creates rows and columns with conventional spacing or spacing calculated from each source object's dimensions.

Controls

• Columns: Sets the horizontal number of cells. Larger slider ticks mark 10, 20, 30, and subsequent 10-step values.
• Rows: Sets the vertical number of cells with the same 10-step major ticks.
• Horizontal and Vertical: Set the absolute distance between columns and rows when Use Object Size is off.
• Use Object Size: Uses each object's width and height as the base cell spacing. Its toggle shares a row with Reverse Order.
• H Gutter and V Gutter: Replace Horizontal and Vertical when Use Object Size is enabled. Positive values add space and negative values create overlap.
• Link Columns & Rows: Keeps both grid counts synchronized. Its tall icon-only button sits directly beside the Columns and Rows labels and spans both input rows.
• Link Horizontal & Vertical: Synchronizes either the spacing pair or the gutter pair. Its matching two-row icon button sits beside the Horizontal and Vertical labels, below the divider.
• Offset: Chooses None, Rows, or Columns for an alternating brick-style shift.
• Shift: Sets the alternating shift as a percentage of the active horizontal or vertical step.
• Reverse Order: Reverses the assignment and stacking of instances and shares a row with Use Object Size.

Use Object Size with zero gutters creates edge-to-edge cells. A Rows offset with a 50 percent Shift produces a classic running-bond layout.

In the Editor tab, the Grid Interactive Controls diagram provides draggable X and Y spacing handles, column and row steppers, link toggles, Use Object Size, offset mode, Shift, and Reverse Order without leaving the visual grid preview.

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➌ Honeycomb Mode

Honeycomb mode arranges instances on a true hexagonal grid using a shared cell radius.

Controls

• Columns: Sets the number of horizontal honeycomb cells; major slider ticks represent 10-step increments.
• Rows: Sets the number of vertical honeycomb cells; major slider ticks represent 10-step increments.
• Radius: Controls the distance from each hexagon center to its corners and therefore the grid spacing. The slider has magnetic 100-unit detents.
• Orientation: Switches between Pointy Top and Flat Top cells.
• Reverse Order: Reverses instance placement and stacking.
• Grid Preview: Displays an orange dashed hexagonal overlay while Preview is active.

The grid overlay is created on a temporary non-printing top layer. Shared borders are drawn once, and each edge receives evenly fitted dash-gap cycles so overlapping cells do not produce solid-looking lines.

In the Editor tab, the Honeycomb Interactive Controls diagram shows the actual pointy-top or flat-top lattice. Drag the highlighted hexagon or Radius track, scrub Columns and Rows, change Orientation, reverse the order, or toggle Grid Preview directly in the editor. Grid Preview is aligned at the far right of the controls row for quick access.

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➍ Radial Mode

Radial mode distributes instances around a center using a radius and an angular range.

Controls

• Count: Sets the number of radial instances.
• Radius: Sets the distance from the center to each instance. Drag near a 100-unit tick to snap to it, or hold Shift to snap strictly in 100-unit increments.
• Start Angle: Sets the first position in the circle or arc.
• End Angle: Sets the final extent of the circle or arc.
• End Opacity: Blends opacity from the first instance to the last.
• Original: Preserves the source orientation.
• Outward: Rotates instances to face away from the center.
• Inward: Rotates instances to face toward the center.
• Reverse Order: Reverses the placement and stacking order.
• Randomize tab: Optionally adds independent X/Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, and horizontal/vertical flipping while preserving the underlying radial arrangement.

A 360-degree range creates an evenly spaced full circle without duplicating the endpoint. Partial arcs include both endpoints so the final object reaches the End Angle.

In the Editor tab, drag the Radial radius square or the start and end angle handles, scrub Count, and use Original or Full Circle shortcuts to restore common arc setups.

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➎ Spiral Mode

Spiral mode moves instances progressively from the center toward a maximum distance across an angular spread.

Controls

• Count: Sets the number of instances in the spiral.
• Distance: Sets the maximum distance reached by the last instance. Its marked 100-unit positions provide magnetic detents; Shift-drag locks to those increments.
• Spread: Sets the total angular range of the spiral.
• Twist: Rotates instances progressively along the spiral.
• End Opacity: Blends opacity across the sequence.
• Reverse Order: Reverses placement and stacking.
• Randomize tab: Optionally adds independent X/Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, and horizontal/vertical flipping while retaining the spiral's overall structure.

Increase Spread for additional turns and increase Distance for a wider spiral. Count 1 is supported and places a valid single instance without invalid coordinates.

In the Editor tab, drag the Spiral outer square to change Distance and use the visual tracks for Distance, Spread, Twist, and End Opacity. Count can be scrubbed or stepped below the diagram.

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➏ Random Mode

Random mode scatters instances inside a rectangular region while keeping the current arrangement stable during editing.

Controls

• Count: Sets the number of scattered instances.
• Width: Sets the horizontal size of the distribution area.
• Height: Sets the vertical size of the distribution area.
• Link Width & Height: A compact vertical icon between the Width/Height labels and their aligned numeric fields keeps both dimensions synchronized for a square distribution.
• Randomize tab: Provides shared X/Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, and horizontal/vertical flip controls.
• Random Seed: Identifies the current deterministic arrangement and appears in Randomize.
• Randomize All: Creates a new seed for the Random arrangement and every enabled Randomize channel while preserving disabled-channel seeds. The Random Editor also provides its own Regenerate control.

Changing Width, Height, or another Random option preserves the same seed, so the layout does not reshuffle unexpectedly. Record or reuse a seed when you want to reproduce a specific arrangement.

In the Editor tab, drag the Random area’s right, bottom, or corner handle to resize the distribution region. Its side tracks provide direct access to the shared Rotation, Size, and Opacity amounts, while Regenerate produces a new seeded arrangement. The area rectangle is intentionally translucent so the scattered instances remain easy to inspect.

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➐ Wave Mode

Wave mode spaces instances horizontally and offsets them vertically using one of four waveform calculations.

Controls

• Count: Sets the number of instances along the wave.
• Distance: Sets the horizontal spacing between instances. Minor ticks appear every 50 units, major ticks every 100, and Shift-drag snaps to 100-unit values.
• Amplitude: Sets the maximum vertical displacement.
• Period: Sets the number of wave cycles across the sequence.
• Wave Type: Selects Sine, Cosine, Triangle, or Square.
• End Opacity: Blends opacity from the source to the final instance.
• Reverse Order: Reverses placement and stacking.
• Randomize tab: Optionally adds independent X/Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, and horizontal/vertical flipping while preserving the selected waveform.

Sine and Cosine produce smooth paths, Triangle creates straight peaks, and Square creates stepped alternation. Increase Period for more frequent cycles or Amplitude for a taller wave.

In the Editor tab, drag the Wave D and A handles for Distance and Amplitude, refine the values on the side tracks, scrub Count, and cycle the waveform directly in the diagram.

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➑ Fibonacci Mode

Fibonacci mode uses the golden angle and square-root radial growth to create natural phyllotaxis patterns.

Controls

• Count: Sets the number of instances in the pattern.
• Spacing: Controls how quickly the spiral expands outward and must be greater than zero.
• Rotation: Adds an orientation offset to every instance from −360° to 360°.
• End Opacity: Blends opacity toward the outside of the pattern.
• Reverse Order: Reverses instance placement and stacking.
• Randomize tab: Optionally adds independent X/Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, and horizontal/vertical flipping while retaining the phyllotaxis structure.

Lower Spacing values create compact seed-like clusters. Higher values open the pattern for sunflowers, mandalas, particle bursts, and galaxy-style arrangements.

In the Editor tab, drag the Fibonacci outer square to change Spacing and use the visual tracks for Spacing, Rotation, and End Opacity. Count can be scrubbed or stepped below the diagram.

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Editor and Interactive Controls

The dedicated Editor workspace uses the supplied pointer-click icon and always displays the Interactive Controls for the currently selected cloning mode. Its mode selector mirrors those in Settings and Randomize, and edits made in the diagram remain synchronized with the precise numeric controls.

• Choose a mode: Use the color-coded selector in Settings, Editor, or Randomize. All three selectors remain synchronized.
• Always available: The active mode's editor is visible and enabled whenever Editor is open; each editor is initialized on demand the first time its mode is shown.
• Drag arrangement handles: Use the highlighted handles in the diagram to reshape the active arrangement directly.
• Scrub or step counts: Drag the displayed count, or use the − and + buttons when present.
• Use visual tracks: Drag a parameter track to make a focused adjustment while watching the arrangement update.
• Scale the source: Use the icon-led Scale control and numeric field below the canvas to resize the selected source and every instance together. Its 0–200% track has twenty 10% divisions, starts at 100% in the center, and extends left for reductions or right for enlargements; the enforced minimum is 1%, and the field accepts values above 200%. This multiplies mode-specific and randomized scaling without changing arrangement spacing.
• Rotate the source: Use the adjacent Rotate control and numeric field to rotate the selected source and every instance. The track covers −180° to 180° with 5° minor ticks, 10° major ticks, and gentle 5° magnetic detents, while the field accepts angles beyond that range. Rotation is added after mode-specific orientation and before per-instance Randomize variation.
• Use modifiers: Hold Shift while dragging to snap to a control-appropriate round interval: commonly 10, 15° for angles, or 100 document units for Radius and Distance.
• Reset the editor: Option-click on macOS, Alt-click on Windows, or right-click the interactive canvas to restore that editor's defaults.
• Keep exact control: Switch to Settings whenever an exact numeric value is required.

The dialog is intentionally not manually resizable. It changes height automatically when switching workspaces or modes, keeping every control aligned and visible.

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Presets

The Presets workspace contains a permanent built-in Default preset plus reusable settings you create for individual cloning modes.

• Default: The first row restores all modes, shared Editor transforms, Randomize channels, visibility options, and the active mode to their built-in values. Its fixed seed keeps the reset result reproducible. Default cannot be renamed, deleted, or reordered.
• Save Preset: Captures the current mode and that mode's settings, adds a numbered row, and opens its name for editing. Pressing Enter while the Presets tab is active also starts this action unless a name or context menu is already open.
• Quick Save: Right-click the Presets workspace tab from Settings, Editor, Randomize, or Presets to save immediately without changing workspaces. The new preset uses the next available numbered name and can be renamed later.
• Apply: Click a row to load its mode-specific values and make that cloning mode active without replacing settings belonging to other modes.
• Mode-colored badges: Default is marked D; each user preset is numbered and uses the accent color assigned to its saved cloning mode.
• Rename: For a user preset, double-click only the name line, use the inline rename icon, choose Rename from the context menu, or click Rename Preset. Enter saves, Escape cancels, and leaving the field saves. The complete name is selected when editing begins.
• Delete: Hover a user preset for the inline delete action, choose Delete from its context menu, or click Delete Preset.
• Reorder: Right-click, or Ctrl-click on macOS, to open Rename, Delete, Move Up, and Move Down commands for user presets. User rows can also be dragged into a new order beneath Default.
• Names: Preset names are limited to 64 characters. If a normalized name already exists, Cloner reserves room for a numeric suffix and creates a unique final name.
• Immediate persistence: Saving, renaming, deleting, and reordering presets writes the library immediately, even if the main dialog is later closed with Cancel. If writing fails, the in-memory change is reverted and the Presets panel title shows Save failed; hover the panel for details.

Use Default to reset the complete script, or use individual reset controls when only one value should change.

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Randomize

The dedicated Randomize workspace applies deterministic per-instance variation after any of the eight arrangement modes has built its base layout. Its frameless layout keeps every channel and its right-side dice button visible within the dialog width.

• Randomize ON / OFF: Temporarily bypasses or restores all seven channels for an immediate before-and-after comparison. It preserves every channel toggle, amount, and the current seed.
• Per-channel shuffle: Click the dice button at the right of any enabled channel to generate a different pattern for that property without changing the other six channel seeds. The new seed is also shown in the Random Seed field.
• Randomize All: Uses a prominent button matching the master toggle's size to regenerate enabled channels and the Random mode placement together. Disabled-channel seeds remain unchanged.
• Seed history: The Random Seed label and field are left-aligned. Use the adjacent Undo and Redo buttons to move backward or forward through individual-channel and Randomize All seed shuffles. A typed seed remains a draft until Enter is pressed or the field loses focus; committing it or applying a preset begins a fresh history.
• X Offset: Moves each instance left or right by up to the chosen amount in document ruler units.
• Y Offset: Moves each instance up or down by up to the chosen amount in document ruler units.
• Size: Scales each instance above or below its arranged size by up to the chosen percentage, with a 1% minimum.
• Rotation: Rotates each instance clockwise or counterclockwise by up to the chosen angle.
• Opacity: Reduces each instance's arranged opacity by up to the chosen percentage, clamped at 0%.
• Flip Horizontal: Gives each instance an independent 50% chance of mirroring left-to-right.
• Flip Vertical: Gives each instance an independent 50% chance of mirroring top-to-bottom. Enabling both channels can flip an instance on both axes.
• Independent toggles: Click a channel's icon or label to enable it. Disabled labels, sliders, −/+ icons, and reset controls appear faded and have no effect.
• Stable variation: Changing an amount scales the same seeded values instead of generating a different pattern on every preview refresh.
• Random Seed and Randomize All: Enter a positive integer to establish a common seed for all channels, or click Randomize All to assign a new seed only to enabled channels. The displayed seed also drives Random mode placement, while per-channel dice actions create tracked seed overrides; Undo and Redo restore earlier or later complete seed snapshots.
• Reset and persistence: Right-click a slider or use its reset control to return its amount to 0. Channel states, amounts, and independent seeds are saved with settings and presets.

Randomize is separate from Random mode: Random mode defines a scattered base layout, while Randomize can add controlled irregularity to that layout or to any structured mode.

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Preview and View Controls

Preview uses temporary duplicates, leaving the original objects untouched until the result is confirmed.

The dialog is displayed before the initial preview is generated. Mode changes use a 200 ms trailing delay, so moving quickly across several modes rebuilds the document preview only for the final selection.

• Preview ON / OFF: Enables or disables live generation while values change.
• Hide / Show Edges: Deselects or reselects preview objects without changing Illustrator's global edge-display preference.
• Zoom to Fit: Fits the current preview or source selection in the active window. Click it again to restore the center and zoom captured when Cloner launched.
• Honeycomb Grid Preview: Adds or removes the temporary dashed hexagonal overlay independently of the final artwork.

Refreshing or cancelling Preview removes only the objects generated by Cloner. It does not call a generic Undo command, so unrelated document history remains safe.

Each refresh is staged completely before the originals are hidden. If any selected source cannot be duplicated or generation fails, Cloner removes the partial staging result, restores the originals, turns Preview off, and reports the failure.

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Precise Input and Reset Controls

Every numeric row supports several input methods for quick exploration and exact values.

• Slider: Drag to adjust within the displayed range. Tick positions are based on actual values rather than equal visual subdivisions.
• Magnetic ticks: Radius and Distance sliders gently settle on nearby 100-unit marks without preventing values between them.
• Rows and Columns ticks: Small ticks represent single steps; larger ticks represent exact multiples of 10.
• Shift-drag: Locks the active slider to a useful round interval—typically 10, 15° for angles, or 100 for large distance-based controls.
• Minus and plus buttons: Change the value by one step; hold Shift for larger increments.
• Text field: Type an exact value or a calculation using +, -, *, /, and parentheses, including supported values beyond the slider limits. The field changes to the result when you finish editing. Count, Rows, and Columns must resolve to positive whole numbers.
• Arrow keys: Press Up or Down to adjust the focused numeric field; hold Shift to change by five.
• Reset indicator: A colored dot marks a modified value; hover to reveal the reset arrow and click it to restore the default.
• Row-label reset: Option-click on macOS or Alt-click on Windows to reset that row.
• Slider reset: Right-click a slider to restore its default.
• Reset all numeric values: Option-click or Alt-click Cancel to reset numeric controls without closing the dialog.

Incomplete input such as a minus sign, decimal point, empty field, or unfinished calculation does not become zero. Cloner keeps the last valid value until the edit is completed.

Before preview or final creation, Cloner validates every active numeric value. Linear End Scale accepts any finite value of 0% or greater, including values above its 200% slider range; opacity accepts 0–100%; Fibonacci Spacing must be positive and Rotation accepts −360° to 360°. Non-finite measurements and fractional counts are rejected with a specific message.

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Apply or Cancel

Use the bottom action controls after the preview matches the intended result.

• OK: Removes any temporary preview, builds the final arrangement transactionally from the original source objects, groups the complete result, saves the current settings, and closes. This keeps source identity consistent whether Preview was on or off.
• Cancel: Removes temporary preview objects, restores the source selection, and closes without changing the previously saved settings.
• Window close: Performs the same safe preview cleanup as Cancel, including temporary guide layers, without saving settings.

Saved settings: Cloner restores the last values, selected mode, toggles, Preview preference, and dialog position from the previous successful OK action. Cancel and the window close button leave those stored settings unchanged. Preset-library actions are saved immediately.

When a requested arrangement exceeds 1,000 resulting objects, Cloner displays the estimated total and asks for confirmation. Requests above 10,000 resulting objects are rejected. Both totals include every selected source multiplied by its requested positions.

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Workflow and Performance

Start with broad structural choices, then refine the transformation controls.

1. Choose the mode in Settings or Editor.
2. Use Settings to enter Count, Rows, Columns, spacing, radius, distance, area, and other exact values.
3. Switch to Editor for direct visual adjustments; its mode selector and values remain synchronized with Settings.
4. Refine opacity, twist, scale, distribution, or stacking order.
5. Open Randomize to enable any X/Y Offset, Size, Rotation, Opacity, Horizontal Flip, or Vertical Flip variation.
6. Use Zoom to Fit if the arrangement leaves the visible canvas.
7. Confirm with OK when the preview is ready.

• Disable Preview temporarily when working with complex source artwork.
• Increase large counts gradually and review the warning estimate before proceeding.
• Use direct numeric entry for values beyond a slider's normal range.
• Apply Cloner repeatedly to a grouped result to build nested patterns.
• Use negative Linear/Grid spacing or gutters intentionally for overlapping designs; radius, Wave distance/amplitude, and Fibonacci Spacing must remain positive.

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☻ Wrap-Up

Cloner brings structured repetition, organic distribution, and precise pattern control into one consistent Illustrator workflow. Use live preview to explore quickly, then rely on deterministic seeds, safe cleanup, and automatic grouping to produce a clean final result. Combining modes across grouped results makes it possible to build sophisticated patterns from simple source artwork.

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