The Multi-Artboard Era. Previously, you could only work on one "canvas" per file. CS4 changed the game.
Standardized dockable palettes and introduced the vertical text tool. adobe illustrator versions by year
Illustrator CS (v11) – Introduced 3D effects (extrude/revolve) and OpenType support. The Multi-Artboard Era
Adobe worked to unify the user experience across its products, particularly aligning Illustrator with Photoshop. The Multi-Artboard Era. Previously
Introduced Live Trace (image vectorization) and Live Paint.
The Windows Arrival. Adobe finally ported Illustrator to Windows (3.1). To match the boring corporate aesthetic of early Windows, the UI became gray (losing the classic Mac black-and-white checkerboard).