Limits of 'Fit to Artwork Bounds' in Illustrator: Exclusion of Locked, Hidden, and Symbol Objects

Goal

To resize an artboard so that it encloses every piece of visible artwork that a designer intends to keep, including objects on locked layers, hidden layers, and symbol instances.

Observed Limitation

When using Object → Artboards → Fit to Artwork Bounds, Illustrator shrinks the artboard to the bounds of only the visible, unlocked objects. Objects that are on locked layers, hidden layers, or are part of a symbol instance are ignored, even if the symbol is expanded and visible. Text frames that extend beyond the artboard are truncated and the artboard is not enlarged to include the overflow.

Unresolved Questions

1. Is the exclusion of locked and hidden layers a documented design decision, or an oversight in the help text?
2. Why does the command omit symbol instances, and should it consider the full geometry of an expanded symbol?
3. How should partially clipped text be handled by the “Fit to Artwork Bounds” feature?