Selective Unlock | Adobe Illustrator Tutorial
Overview
With the release of Adobe Illustrator 24.3 at the end of August 2020 Adobe released a new feature titled Selective Unlock. This feature enables you to select any object that is locked and unlock that one object. While this is not a major feature, it is a quality of life update that will help with the overall flow of designing complex vector graphics.
The Problem
Before, if you had multiple locked objects and you wanted to unlock only one of said objects, well you’re in for a treat. You were stuck with one of the following options
- Opening the Layers panel and looking for the object that is locked (hoping it is not buried in a wasteland of groups or objects).
- Going up to Object > Unlock All, however this would unlock all layers and isn’t what you want to do.
The Solution
Instead now one can just hover over the locked item on the artboard and right click on the Unlock > <object name>. Also you can click the lock icon if it is visible to toggle the unlock.
Conclusion
Selective Unlock is not revolutionary, but definitely a feature that is long overdue. It helps create a smoother flow to the design experience with less hassle and is the epitome of modern UI/UX design. Solve the problems of the user in an intuitive method to improve the experience with the program. Features like these are key to Adobe staying at the forefront of the design space. Check out our other articles on the 24.3 update: Snap to Glyph | Vertical Text Alignment | Font Height Resizing Options | Align to Glyph Bounds.
