How to change artboard size in Illustrator

There are different ways you can change your artboard size in Illustrator. The easiest one is clicking Shift+O and then clicking and dragging along the edge of the artboard.

This post will show you how you can resize it, plus a lot of the other things you can do with artboards in Illustrator. We will cover creating, duplicating, deleting, resizing, and rearranging Illustrator artboards.

Resizing Artboards

1. Method 1: Resizing All Artboards at Once
2. Method 2: Changing Dimensions
3. Method 3: Changing from the Artboards Panel

Step 1: With the artboard open, click Shift+O. You will notice a marquee selection around the artboard.

Step 2: Click on the square knob or anywhere along the line and drag to the side you want to enlarge or make smaller. That is it. You will notice that you can not set specific sizes. To do this, go to the top menu after step 1 above.

Method 3: Change the values of the menu labeled as W and L to represent length and width. The artboard immediately resizes when you enter a figure. You can revert by doing the opposite.

Step 4: If you have multiple artboards, you can use the artboard window to manage and resize them. Go to Window>Artboard.

Step 5: A pop-up window appears showing a list of artboards. Click on the icon to bring up the dimensions. 

Step 6: Change them as per your requirements. You can also change the artboard’s orientation from landscape to portrait.

How to create artboards in Illustrator

The easiest way to create an artboard is to do it as you start your project.

Step 1: Go to File > New Shortcut Control+N on PC or Command+N on Mac. A menu will pop up to show the document setup options.

Step 2: When you click OK, a new artboard comes up.

Step 3: You can set the size and number of the artboards you want to have in your document. Additionally, you will also be able to set the document bleed size and color modes. Orientation refers to whether you want a landscape or portrait artboard.

Step 4: Next to the Number of Artboards tab, there is an inactive order of artboards that is only active when you have more than 1 artboard. This shows how you want many artboards to flow, from left to right or up to down.

It is important to note that this setup is not final, and all these changes can be changed as you proceed with your work.

How to duplicate artboards in Illustrator

Once you open one artboard, you might want to create an exact copy of the artboard you have made. There are 2 ways you can duplicate artboards. You can duplicate the Artboard Menu. To do this,

1. Go to Window>Artboards. A pop-up will come up.
2. Click the 3 lines on the top right corner and choose Duplicate Artboard.

Alternatively, click Shift+0, hold down ALT, then click the artboard and drag with your mouse. Make sure to hold down the ALT key, then click and drag the artboard to duplicate it.

Rearranging Artboards in Illustrator

Go to Window>Artboards to bring up the artboards tab. Here you will see all your artboards in a document.

This menu will allow you to do a number of things. To rearrange artboards, just click on one and drag it up or down as per the new position you want it to be.

The + icon at the bottom will allow you to add an artboard with the same specifications as the others. You will notice a trash icon right next to it. Click on it if you want to delete an artboard directly from this menu.

To edit and change the size of existing artboards, click on the icon on the right of the artboard name. It will bring up a menu to edit the size of the artboards. If it is still unclear, check out the video guides.

1. How to Copy in Illustrator
2. How to use Illustrator
3. How to draw an Arrow

Frequently Asked Questions