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I am working in Illustrator (15.0.2 (CS5) or 16.0.0 (CS6)) and when I try to move objects small distances, they snap to the nearest two pixels on some invisible grid. I can't find anything in the preferences. Here are some screen shots:

move issue

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  • You can manually move the object to that location. Using the arrow keys will result in a 1px change, meaning if you're working on a partial-pixel level, it will move further than you may want it to.
    – Hanna
    Feb 16, 2012 at 4:02
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    Did you try turning off all snapping under view?
    – HellaMad
    Feb 16, 2012 at 4:20
  • Possible duplicate: graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/5689/…
    – Scott
    Feb 16, 2012 at 4:24
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    yup, that was one of the first few places i looked. I think it SHOULD be there... its weird that its in the transform panel!
    – AndyPerlitch
    Feb 16, 2012 at 5:15
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    This drove me crazy almost always as there was nothing in Transform box, but I had to look in the comments to find the answer (unselect view>snap to pixel). I really don't care if it a duplicate as Scott said. Thanks a ton.
    – Yannis Dran
    Jan 21, 2019 at 9:32

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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For new objects, turn off "Align to Pixel Grid" on the Transform panel.

transform panel

For existing objects, select them first, then turn off Align to Pixel Grid using the checkbox at bottom of Transform panel.

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    This option doesn't exist in the latest version of Illustrator
    – Pier
    Jun 12, 2018 at 23:00
  • @Pier see my answer below with the updated instructions for modern Illustrator versions.
    – Keavon
    Apr 10, 2019 at 4:23
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It was driving me crazy too... you can deselect the Align to Pixel Grid checkbox on the Transform panel (shows up on "show options"), but new objects will always retain the snapping behaviour.

To turn it of permanently, click on the flyout menu at the top right of the transform panel then uncheck Align new objects to pixel grid.

Phew...

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    Where is "show options"?
    – Jason Axelson
    Jul 1, 2018 at 17:52
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THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED IN VERSION 23.0.1 You have to turn OFF "snap to grid" behavior. The preferences for alignment of objects are in three DIFFERENT places:

  1. In VIEW menu uncheck "Snap to Point" (NOTE: this has moved in latest version to Preferences menu (see #3 below)
  2. In the TRANSFORM PALETTE un-check "Align to Pixel Grid"
  3. Other related options in PREFERENCES -"Disable Snap to Point"

enter image description here enter image description here

This has finally been updated by Adobe in the latest version of Illustrator v.23.01 and later.

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  • Although I heartily sympathise with your point, it does not answer the question, and is a comment at best.
    – Vincent
    Dec 8, 2015 at 9:01
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    I updated the post, ttok out hte commentary and clarified where the various places to edit preferences are (hidden) in Illustrator. I hope it helps people find them.
    – WildOutWest
    Jan 8, 2016 at 1:19
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    Where are the settings for this in the preferences panel ? I'm unable to find anything about this in there on CC 2015.5
    – Focused Muffin
    Aug 10, 2016 at 20:38
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    There are no setting in the preferences panel for this snap-to pixel grid option...- I commented on this earlier, and was asked to take the commentary out... It's absurd that you have to set this in the TRANSFORM sub menu... (little pop up menu on the side of the incredibly small top right hand side menu button. Good luck keeping your eyesight intact.
    – WildOutWest
    Oct 22, 2016 at 6:06
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    There's one more sneaky one: you must TURN OFF SMART GUIDES! This also is in the View menu. It's easy to overlook because it's not named as a snapping feature, but it is a snapping feature! Smart Guides means Illustrator will randomly decide what it wants you to snap to... could be a handle, an intersection, an anchor, a path... just about anything! It tells you what it's snapping to in magenta text, so if you see this text, it means your snapping problem is caused by the stupid Smart Guides.
    – Mentalist
    Jul 13, 2021 at 16:21
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In Illustrator 2019, the snap-to-pixel toggle has been moved to a more convenient location in the top right of the application. It is the magnet icon connected to three vertical squares.

Snap to pixel in the top right of the Illustrator window

Clicking it toggles snap-to-pixel and the dropdown arrow to its right opens an advanced options menu with additional settings.

Pixel Snapping Options menu

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