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Create, Resize, Export, and Manage Artboards in Illustrator

Use Shift+O or the Artboards panel to create layouts, set precise dimensions and position, scale artwork when needed, and export selected artboards separately.
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In Illustrator, an artboard is a work area for arranging a design; one document can contain multiple artboards. Press Shift+O to create or edit artboards, set their dimensions and position in Artboard Options, and select the artboards you want before exporting. Resizing an artboard changes its boundary, not necessarily the artwork inside it.

What artboards do

Artboards let you organize separate layouts in one Illustrator document—for example, different sizes or versions of a design. Adobe’s Introduction to artboards documentation, last updated August 25, 2026, states that a document can contain up to 1,000 artboards. That is Adobe’s stated maximum, not a guarantee that every document or workflow will be practical at that scale.

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Create an artboard

Draw one on the canvas

  1. Press Shift+O to activate the Artboard tool.

  2. Drag on the canvas to draw an artboard. Its size and placement follow your drag.

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  3. To make another artboard, continue dragging where you want it.

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Add one from the Artboards panel

  1. Choose Window > Artboards.

  2. Select New Artboard in the panel.

Adobe’s current desktop help also describes controls at the edges of a selected artboard for adding another artboard of the same size when there is enough canvas space. Exact control placement can vary by Illustrator version and workspace.

Set an artboard’s size, name, and position

For exact dimensions or a named layout, select an artboard with the Artboard tool and open Artboard Options. Choose a preset or enter custom width and height; you can also set the name, orientation, reference point, and X and Y position. The reference point determines which point is used when positioning the artboard.

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Dragging the artboard boundary is convenient for an approximate adjustment. For exact dimensions and coordinates, use Artboard Options instead. Adobe’s desktop help identifies Artboards, Properties, Control, and Artboard Options as places where artboards can be resized, renamed, or assigned reference points; available controls depend on the Illustrator version and workspace.

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Decide whether the artwork should scale too

Changing an artboard’s boundary and scaling its artwork are separate actions. If you only resize the boundary, the design does not necessarily resize with it.

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When you want the artwork and artboard to change size proportionally, enable Scale artwork with Artboard in the Properties or Control panel before resizing. Leave it off when the goal is to change the work area without scaling the design. Check the result after resizing, especially if the design contains elements near the artboard edge.

Export selected artboards as separate files

  1. Press Shift+O to select the Artboard tool.

  2. Select the artboards you want on the canvas. Use the Artboards panel to check which artboards are selected.

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  3. Right-click, or Control-click, the selection and choose Export.

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  4. In Export for Screens, choose the format, save location, and any other required export options.

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Illustrator exports selected artboards as separate files. Confirm the selection before exporting so you do not accidentally omit a layout or include artboards you did not intend to deliver.

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Delete artboards

  1. Choose Window > Artboards.

  2. Select the artboard or artboards to remove, then choose Delete Artboard.

  3. To remove empty artboards, use Delete Empty Artboards in the panel menu.

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An Illustrator document must retain at least one artboard. If you try to delete every artboard, artboard 1 remains.

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