Fit Artboards to Artwork Bounds
Script for Adobe Illustrator
✦ Available exclusively on Patreon for Pro supporters.
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Description
This Adobe Illustrator script automatically resizes artboards to fit their artwork content with customizable margins. It's designed to streamline the process of adjusting artboard dimensions to match the actual content on each artboard, eliminating the need for manual resizing.
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Key Features:
- Batch processing of all artboards or selected artboards only
- Two boundary calculation methods: Visible Bounds (includes effects and strokes) or Geometric Bounds (paths only)
- Flexible margin system with unified or individual side controls
- Interactive margin slider and keyboard shortcuts for quick adjustments
- Real-time artboard preview with double-click zoom functionality
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Installation
1. Download the Fit Artboards to Artwork Bounds.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.
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Using the Script
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- Open Adobe Illustrator with your document.
- Go to File > Scripts > Fit Artboards to Artwork Bounds.
- A dialog window will appear with multiple options:
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➊ Select Artboards to Process
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In the "Artboards to Process" panel:
- Process all artboards: Select this to apply margins to every artboard in your document.
- Process selected artboards: Choose this to work with specific artboards only.
- Use the list below to select artboards (Ctrl+click for multiple selection).
- Double-click any artboard name to zoom to that artboard for preview.
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➋ Choose Boundary Type
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In the "Boundary Type" panel, select:
- Visible Bounds: Includes all visual elements including strokes, effects, drop shadows, and other visual effects.
- Geometric Bounds: Only considers the actual object paths, ignoring any visual effects.
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➌ Set Margins
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In the "Margins" panel:
For Uniform Margins:
- Use the "All Sides" input field to set the same margin for all sides.
- Drag the slider for quick adjustments (range: -50 to +50 units).
- Use arrow keys in the input field (Up/Down arrows, hold Shift for 10-unit increments).
- Click the "All Sides:" label to quickly reset to 0.
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For Individual Margins:
- Check "Use individual margins" to enable separate controls.
- Set different values for Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins.
- Click any margin label to reset that specific margin to 0.
- Use arrow keys in any input field for precise adjustments.
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Margin Behavior:
- Positive values: Expand the artboard outward from the content.
- Negative values: Contract the artboard inward toward the content.
- Zero values: Fit the artboard exactly to the content bounds.
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➍ Execute the Script
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- Click "OK" to apply the settings
- The script will process each selected artboard:
- Skip empty artboards (no content).
- Show warnings for excessive negative margins.
- Allow you to confirm or skip problematic artboards.
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Additional Options:
- ✚: Adjusts the view to show all artboards at once.
- Cancel: Closes the dialog without making any changes.
- ⏼: Provides access to user guide information.
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This script is particularly useful for designers working with multiple artboards who need to ensure consistent spacing around their artwork or prepare files for export with specific margin requirements.
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