Artboard

Updated: 12/05/2021 by Computer Hope
Artboards in Adobe Photoshop

An artboard is an individual workspace in a Photoshop or Illustrator file. It can be thought of as a virtual piece of paper on a larger canvas. Multiple artboards can be added to a canvas, which helps you compare different design iterations, test color schemes, or ensure your designs are consistent with one another. Like any other object in photo editing software, an artboard can be duplicated, moved, resized, and renamed. Artboards and the layers in them are automatically categorized into groups in the Layers panel for organization.

While artboards have been in Adobe Illustrator since 2008, they were more recently added to Photoshop in 2015. Both programs incorporate artboards in a slightly different way, but they serve the same function. To view steps on adding artboards to your file in either program, follow the instructions below.

Adding artboards in Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator files include a single artboard by default. To add more, follow these steps.

  1. Create or open an Adobe Illustrator file.
  2. Select the Artboard tool Artboard tool from the Tools panel.
  3. Click-and-drag your cursor from corner to corner to create a new artboard.
  4. To resize an artboard, click it using the Artboard tool, and drag the bounding box until it has the desired dimensions.
Tip

To create an exact copy of an artboard and its contents, click-and-drag an existing artboard while holding the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac).

Adding artboards in Adobe Photoshop

In Photoshop, your canvas does not have any artboards by default. To create them, follow these steps.

  1. Create or open a Photoshop file.
  2. Click-and-hold the Move tool Move tool in the Tools panel to reveal more options.
  3. Select the Artboard tool Artboard tool.
  4. Click-and-drag anywhere on the canvas from corner to corner to create a new artboard.
  5. Select the + button on any side of the artboard to create a duplicate of equal size.
Note

Because Photoshop files do not have artboards by default, any layers that exist before you add artboards are moved outside. They can then be dragged from the dark grey canvas area into any artboard.

Image editor, Photoshop terms, Software terms