Unlock a locked object where it sits: click the lock icon on the canvas instead of hunting for it in the Layers panel. Shipped in Illustrator 24.3.
- Illustrator 24.3, August 2020
- Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display
- Right-click > Unlock > object name
Locked objects in Illustrator used to be unlocked from the Layers panel, which in a deep document means finding the right sublayer first. Since Illustrator 24.3, a lock icon appears on locked objects right on the canvas, and clicking it unlocks the object.
It is turned on in Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display > Select and Unlock Objects on Canvas. Without the setting, right-click a locked object and choose Unlock with that object's name. It answered a long-standing community request for an InDesign-style lock icon on locked objects.
What I did
- I was a core contributor to Unlock Objects on Canvas in Illustrator.