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Change artboard size in Adobe Illustrator

How to resize the artboard (canvas) in Adobe Illustrator for a vector logo: the main methods, the steps, and what to check before you export.

Published

Contents
  1. The short answer
  2. Before you start
  3. Method 1: Enter exact dimensions
  4. Method 2: Drag the artboard
  5. Method 3: Fit the artboard to the logo
  6. Method 4: Document Setup or the Artboards panel
  7. Settings that change the result
  8. Exporting after a resize
  9. Final check
  10. Limits of this guide

The short answer

Illustrator does not have a separate canvas size command like a raster editor. The canvas is the artboard, the bounded area that defines what prints and exports. You resize it in one of four ways: with the Artboard Tool, with the width and height fields in the Properties or Control panel, through the Artboard Options dialog, or with the Object > Artboards commands that fit the artboard to your artwork. Changing the artboard size does not scale the logo. It only changes the space around the logo.

The grey area outside the artboard is the pasteboard. Artwork placed there stays in the file, but standard artboard-based exports leave it out. For logo work, this means the artboard decides how much padding a delivered file has, so resize it on purpose.

Before you start

  • An Illustrator file that opens with editable artwork. Don't assume a file contains vector paths just because of its extension or file name. Open it and check that the logo selects as paths, not as a single embedded image.
  • The target dimensions or padding you need, if a brief or handoff specification gives them.
  • Permission to edit the artwork. Being allowed to download a logo is not the same as being allowed to modify it, use its fonts, or use the trademark it represents.

To check what the logo is made of, select it and look at the Properties or Control panel. Vector paths and groups appear as path, group or compound path objects. A placed or embedded photo-like file appears as an image. Resizing the artboard around an embedded raster image does not add resolution or turn it into vector artwork.

Method 1: Enter exact dimensions

  • 1. Select the Artboard Tool from the toolbar (shortcut Shift+O). A dashed border and handles appear around the active artboard.
  • 2. In the Properties panel or the Control panel, type new values into the width (W) and height (H) fields.
  • 3. Use the reference point locator next to those fields to pick the fixed point. The center keeps the logo centered while the artboard grows or shrinks evenly on all sides.
  • 4. Press Enter, then press Escape or switch to the Selection Tool to leave artboard editing mode.

You can also double-click the Artboard Tool icon to open the Artboard Options dialog. It offers the same width and height fields along with preset sizes and orientation.

Method 2: Drag the artboard

With the Artboard Tool active, drag any edge or corner handle. Hold Shift to keep the proportions. Dragging is quick but imprecise, so check the final values in the W and H fields if the size matters for delivery.

Two commands under Object > Artboards resize the artboard automatically:

  • Fit to Artwork Bounds: shrinks or grows the artboard to the outer edges of all visible artwork on it.
  • Fit to Selected Art: fits the artboard to only the objects you have selected.

Both commands leave no margin, so the artboard edges touch the outermost points of the logo. That works for tight-cropped exports. If you need clear space around the mark, use Method 1 and enter the dimensions yourself.

Method 4: Document Setup or the Artboards panel

File > Document Setup has an Edit Artboards button that switches to the Artboard Tool. The Artboards panel (Window > Artboards) lists every artboard in the file. Double-click an artboard's icon in the panel to open its options. This is the clearest route when a file has several artboards, such as separate full-color, one-color and reversed versions of a logo, because each one is resized on its own.

Settings that change the result

  • Move/Copy Artwork with Artboard: when this option is on, moving an artboard also moves the artwork on it. Resizing alone does not scale the artwork, but a repositioned artboard can carry artwork with it.
  • Reference point: decides which edge or corner stays fixed during a numeric resize. A corner reference adds or removes space from only the opposite sides.
  • Units: the W and H fields use the document's units. Confirm them in Document Setup or under Preferences > Units before entering values from a specification.
  • Multiple artboards: only the selected artboard changes. Click the one you mean before editing.

Exporting after a resize

In File > Export > Export As, turn on Use Artboards so the export uses the artboard bounds. Otherwise many formats crop to the artwork instead. Export for Screens and Save As PDF also work per artboard, and you can choose which artboards to include. If the delivered files need padding, it has to exist on the artboard before you export.

Final check

  • Switch to the Selection Tool and confirm the logo has not moved off-center or been clipped by the new artboard edge.
  • Use Outline view (View > Outline) to see whether anything sits on the pasteboard that should be on the artboard, or the other way around.
  • Compare the artboard W and H against the required specification in the correct units.
  • Open or place one exported file to confirm the bounds and padding are what you intended.

Limits of this guide

No version-specific documentation, measurements or maximum artboard dimensions were supplied for this article, so none are stated here. Menu names and panel layouts can differ between Illustrator releases. If a command is not where it is described above, check the Help search in your installed version.