CreateCutline help and frequently asked questions

Open Adobe Illustrator and choose Window > Extensions > CreateCutline. CreateCutline is a dockable Illustrator panel; it does not appear under File > Scripts and it is not a separate application.

If Illustrator was open during installation, quit the entire application and open it again first. Closing and reopening only the panel is not enough because Illustrator looks for newly installed extensions when the application starts.

Check these items in order:

1. Quit Illustrator completely and reopen it.
2. Look under Window > Extensions, not File > Scripts.
3. Confirm that you are using Adobe Illustrator 2025 or 2026.
4. Unzip the complete CreateCutline download before running the installer. Keep the installer and its Resources folder together.
5. Run the installer again and read the result shown in its window.

If the installation still fails, email support@createcutline.com. On macOS, attach /tmp/createcutline-install.log. On Windows, attach %TEMP%\createcutline-install.log. The log records the installation result; it does not contain your artwork.

1. Unzip the download.
2. Double-click CreateCutline-1.0.pkg (the version number changes with each release).
3. Follow Apple's installer. It asks for your Mac password, because the plug-in is installed for every user on the computer.
4. Quit Illustrator completely, reopen it, and choose Window > Extensions > CreateCutline.

The macOS installer is signed and notarised by Apple, so there is no security warning to work around.

1. Unzip the download.
2. Double-click Install CreateCutline.bat.
3. Windows checks anything downloaded from the internet. It shows Open File - Security Warning, saying the publisher could not be verified. Click Run. On some setups Windows shows Windows protected your PC instead; in that case choose More info > Run anyway.
4. If Windows asks for administrator permission, allow it. That is Adobe's installer writing to a system folder, and it lets Adobe Creative Cloud manage the plug-in. If you dismiss it, the plug-in installs into your own user folder and works exactly the same.
5. Quit Illustrator completely, reopen it, and choose Window > Extensions > CreateCutline.

No. Adobe's system-wide installer may request a password or administrator approval. If you decline it, the CreateCutline installer can place the panel in your own user extension folder instead. The panel works the same way, although a user-folder installation may not appear in Creative Cloud's list of managed plug-ins.

The current customer release supports Adobe Illustrator 2025 and 2026 on macOS and Windows. If you use an older Illustrator version, test the free trial before buying rather than assuming it is supported.

Open the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app and go to Stock & Marketplace > Plugins > Manage plugins. Find CreateCutline and choose uninstall.

Creative Cloud may say it failed, or sit on "Uninstalling plugin..." without finishing. It usually still works anyway: quit and reopen Creative Cloud and CreateCutline is gone from the list, and quit and reopen Illustrator and the panel is gone. There is no need to try again.

If CreateCutline is not listed in Creative Cloud, or you do not have the Creative Cloud app, remove it by hand:

Windows: double-click Uninstall CreateCutline.bat in the folder you extracted from the download, or delete whichever of these exists (paste a path into the File Explorer address bar to go straight to it):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CreateCutline
%APPDATA%\Adobe\CEP\extensions\com.mylesspandorf.createcutline

macOS: in Finder choose Go > Go to Folder..., paste this path, and drag CreateCutline to the Bin. Your Mac asks for your password, as it did to install.

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/CreateCutline

Restart Illustrator afterwards. Removing the plug-in deliberately leaves your local licence details in place so a reinstall can recognize them. If you are moving to another computer, use Deactivate this machine in the panel before uninstalling, so the activation is freed.

Download the current package for your operating system from createcutline.com/download, unzip the whole download, and run the installer again. Then quit Illustrator completely and reopen it. The installer replaces the panel files; your trial or licence record is stored separately and remains in place.

Do not keep an old manual panel copy beside the installed version. The current installer removes known earlier manual locations to prevent Illustrator from loading two different copies.

The trial provides the full CreateCutline panel for seven days on one computer. It does not require a credit card or an account, and the panel displays the number of days remaining. When the trial ends, the panel still opens, but a licence key is required before it will create another cutline.

Download free trial

No. CreateCutline is a $20 one-time purchase. The licence does not expire as long as its terms are followed, and there is no recurring subscription charge.

Updates released for your licence are included. There is no separate update subscription, although no particular future feature or delivery date is promised. Install a newer release over the existing panel; your licence remains on the computer.

Yes. Commercial production is permitted, including work for your own customers. You may sell the stickers, signs, printed goods, and cutlines you produce. CreateCutline claims no rights over your artwork or output.

There are two ways to buy, and createcutline.com/buy lets you choose.

If you buy a licence key, Lemon Squeezy handles the purchase and emails the key. Open the CreateCutline panel, click Enter key, paste the key, and click Activate. You do not need to download or reinstall a different version after purchasing.

If you buy on Adobe Exchange, there is no key: the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app installs the plug-in and your Adobe account is the licence. Restart Illustrator after it installs.

Buy - $20

Yes. CreateCutline on Adobe Exchange is the same plug-in at the same $20, bought through Adobe and installed by the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app. There is no download, no trial and no licence key: your Adobe account is the licence, and there is nothing to enter in the panel.

The two routes are separate: a key bought on this site does not apply to the Exchange copy, and an Exchange purchase does not come with a key. If you already have the trial from this site installed, the Exchange copy replaces it. Restart Illustrator after installing.

Open Window > Extensions > CreateCutline. In the licence row below the Create Cutline button, click Enter key. Paste the complete key into the field that appears, then click Activate.

Once the licence is active, the licensing controls disappear from the normal panel. Click the small information button in the upper-right corner of the panel to see the current licence state and a masked version of the stored key.

The number of activations is shown when you purchase. One activation means one computer. Installing multiple supported Illustrator versions on the same computer does not turn that computer into multiple machines.

On the old computer, open CreateCutline and click the small information button in the upper-right corner. Choose Deactivate this machine. Then install CreateCutline on the new computer and activate it with the same key.

If the old computer is unavailable because of a failed drive, loss, or replacement, email support@createcutline.com so the old activation can be freed.

An internet connection is required to activate a licence and periodically verify it. After a successful check, a licensed copy can continue working offline for up to 30 days. It rechecks automatically when the computer is back online.

If the panel says it has been offline for 30 days, reconnect to the internet and try Create Cutline again. You should not buy another licence or re-enter the key just to resolve an expired offline allowance.

No. Trial and licence information is stored separately from the panel, so uninstalling and reinstalling does not restart the trial. A normal reinstall on the same computer also finds the existing licence information.

First confirm that the complete key was pasted without extra text and that the computer is online. A key can also be refused if its activation limit has been reached, it belongs to a different product, or it is no longer active.

If you are replacing another computer, deactivate that installation first. If you cannot, send the purchase email address and the error shown in the panel to support@createcutline.com. Do not post your full licence key publicly.

If CreateCutline does not work for you, contact support@createcutline.com within 14 days of purchase for a refund. Lemon Squeezy is the merchant of record and handles the payment and refund transaction. This does not remove any additional rights you may have under the laws where you live. Read the complete Terms of Sale and Licence.

1. Open the artwork in Illustrator.
2. Open Window > Extensions > CreateCutline.
3. Choose Selected artwork or All visible artwork on active artboard.
4. Leave Shape on Auto (recommended) for the first attempt.
5. Choose the offset and smoothness you need.
6. Confirm the layer and spot-colour names required by your production workflow.
7. Click Create Cutline.
8. Inspect the new path before printing or cutting.

For a more detailed production walkthrough, read How to make a cutline in Adobe Illustrator.

Selected artwork builds from the objects you currently selected. All visible artwork on active artboard builds from all usable visible art on the active artboard. Use selection when a document contains several separate jobs and you want a cutline around only one of them.

Hidden artwork and objects outside the active source should not be expected to affect the result. If the panel reports that it cannot find artwork, confirm that the intended objects are visible, unlocked, and either selected or on the active artboard.

Yes. Keep Trace raster artwork (recommended) enabled when the source contains placed raster images. CreateCutline can derive the outside shape from placed artwork without requiring you to redraw it manually. It also works with vector artwork and mixed vector/raster layouts.

By default it adds a new top-level layer named Cutline containing one closed vector path. The path has no fill and a 1 pt overprinting spot-colour stroke named CutContour. The layer name and swatch name can be changed in the panel before the path is created.

CreateCutline does not move, flatten, rasterize, or otherwise modify the original artwork.

Yes. Enter the exact name required by your RIP or cutting software in the Swatch field. The panel includes common presets such as CutContour, PerfCutContour, CutContour1, CutContour2, Kiss-cut, and Thru-cut.

Names can be case-sensitive. Confirm the required spelling in the production software's documentation or an existing file that is known to work.

Auto shape evaluates the artwork and chooses a practical outside contour. It can retain an organic contour or use a cleaner regular shape when tracing every detail would create unnecessary wobble. You can override it with Contour, Rectangle / Square, Circle, or Oval.

Offset controls how far the cutline sits from the artwork:

• A positive offset moves the cutline outward and creates a border or safety margin.
• Zero offset follows the artwork as closely as practical.
• A negative offset moves the cutline inward.

The panel follows the active Illustrator document's measurement units. Always inspect the result at useful zoom and test expensive jobs on scrap material.

Smoothness reduces small bumps and unnecessary anchor complexity in a contour. Higher values produce a more relaxed path, while lower values preserve more of the source detail. The best value depends on the artwork, offset, finished size, and how tightly the cutter can turn.

At zero or negative offset, CreateCutline defaults to 0% smoothness because the goal is to stay true to the original boundary. If you want a visibly cleaner, more relaxed path, use a small positive offset and then increase smoothness.

That can be expected. A zero-offset cutline is intended to stay true to the artwork, so CreateCutline cannot freely smooth away detail if doing so would move the path across the source boundary. The safety constraint can make two smoothness settings look very similar.

For a visibly smoother result, add a small positive offset so the path has room to relax, then compare the smoothness settings again. Zero offset is best used when matching the original form matters more than reducing detail.

No. CreateCutline creates the cut path inside Illustrator. Registration marks, copies, nesting, media settings, blade conditions, RIP setup, and sending the job remain in your normal print-and-cut software.

CreateCutline is device-independent because it creates a normal closed vector path with a named spot-colour stroke in Illustrator. If your workflow accepts Illustrator vector cut paths, CreateCutline supplies the same kind of path you would otherwise draw manually.

The exact spot-colour name, file format, registration marks, and output steps are controlled by your RIP or cutting software. See the printer, cutter, and RIP workflow guides for examples.

Check all of the following:

• The cutline is still a vector path.
• Its stroke uses a spot colour, not a process colour.
• The swatch name exactly matches what the RIP expects, including capitalization.
• The file format preserves vector and spot-colour data.
• The cut path was not flattened or rasterized during export.

The magenta appearance alone does not make a line a cut instruction. The spot-colour type and exact swatch name carry that meaning.

Yes. CreateCutline is a production tool, not a proof. Check every path before printing, cutting, or sending the job to production. When an error would waste significant media or machine time, test the job on scrap first.

No. Cutline generation runs on your computer, and CreateCutline does not upload your artwork. Licence checks send only the licence key and an anonymous machine identifier to Lemon Squeezy. The plug-in itself has no telemetry, usage tracking, advertising identifier, cloud artwork processing, or crash reporting.

This website counts page visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which uses no cookies and does not identify you or follow you across other sites. That is separate from the plug-in and never sees your artwork or your work.

Read the complete CreateCutline privacy policy.

Click the small information button in the upper-right corner of the CreateCutline panel. It shows the customer-facing version, engine build, licence state, and a masked licence key. The same screen contains Deactivate this machine, Terms, Privacy, and Support links.

Email support@createcutline.com with:

• the exact message shown in the CreateCutline panel;
• your macOS or Windows version and Illustrator version;
• whether the problem occurs on all files or one particular file;
• the source type, settings, and intended cutline result; and
• a screenshot of the artwork and result, if you are comfortable sharing it.

For a cutline-generation problem, also attach CreateCutline-last.log. It is in the CreateCutline folder inside Adobe's user-data location; searching your computer for that exact filename is usually the quickest way to find it. The diagnostic log stays on your machine unless you choose to send it.

For an installation problem, attach /tmp/createcutline-install.log on macOS or %TEMP%\createcutline-install.log on Windows.