: How to hide objects outside artboards in Illustrator? Is it possible to hide the objects that are outside of the artboard? As you can see in the picture below, the polygons are shown outside

@Angie364

I did an Action.

1- Before record the action, set Fill and Stroke color to none (transparent).

2- Make a frame using the rectangle tool anywhere.

3- Create a new action.

4- In the dialog I named it "Stroke Artboard" and set Shift F6 (on Mac) as shortcut.

5- Open stroke color panel and set #5d5d5d (dark gray frame background color), click OK.

6- Set stroke weight to 1000pt and Align Stroke to outside.

7- Stop record. Done.

Every time you need, make the rectangle first and run the action.

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@Eichhorn212

This is a super easy workaround that I've used quite a bit if you want to view what it will look like on the page. I originally learned about it on this group somewhere, but cannot find the original post.

Open the Navigator panel (Window > Navigator) and make the window as big as you like. It will show what the document will look like without the pasteboard.

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@Karen819

I usually just create a rectangle with no fill and the heaviest stroke possible (1000pt). Then align the stroke to outside. Then I change the line colour to match the grey background. Set this as the top layer and you can easily toggle it on and off, or lock the layer and simply work around it. Way easier than messing around with clipping masks.

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@Nimeshi706

Using a clipping mask is one option, but can be annoying if you want to keep the mask while you are working with the ability to turn it on and off.

This may not be the best option but is what I sometimes do.


Create a new layer above all your other layers





Draw a rectangle that exactly fits your artboard (or bleed, or whatever you want). If you have smart guides on you should be able to just drag the rectangle over the artboard, if not you can just copy the dimensions and position from the transform panel.





Zoom out further than you normally would and draw a large rectangle. Color this rectangle the color you want everything outside the artboard to be, I normally use the same color outside the artboard is normally but you can use any color.





Send the larger shape to the back (Object → Arrange → Send to Back).





Use the Pathfinder panel to subtract the smaller rectangle from the large rectangle.




You can then lock the overlay layer and show or hide the layer whenever you like. Just remember to keep that layer above all the other layers.

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