Select File > Open.
- Illustrator User Guide
- Get to know Illustrator
- Introduction to Illustrator
- Workspace
- Workspace basics
- Create documents
- Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
- Accelerate workflows using the Contextual Task Bar
- Toolbar
- Default keyboard shortcuts
- Customize keyboard shortcuts
- Introduction to artboards
- Manage artboards
- Customize the workspace
- Properties panel
- Set preferences
- Touch Workspace
- Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
- Undo edits and manage design history
- Rotate view
- Rulers, grids, and guides
- Accessibility in Illustrator
- Safe Mode
- View artwork
- Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
- Files and templates
- Tools in Illustrator
- Tools at a glance
- Select tools
- Navigate tools
- Paint tools
- Text tools
- Draw tools
- Modify tools
- Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
- Quick actions
- Illustrator on the web (beta)
- Illustrator on the web (beta) overview
- Illustrator on the web (beta) FAQ
- Troubleshooting issues FAQ
- Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the web (beta)
- Create and combine shapes on the web
- Add and edit text on the web
- Apply colors and gradients on the web
- Draw and edit paths on the web
- Work with cloud documents on the web
- Invite collaborators to edit on the web
- Illustrator on the iPad
- Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
- Workspace
- Documents
- Select and arrange objects
- Drawing
- Type
- Work with images
- Color
- Cloud documents
- Basics
- Troubleshooting
- Add and edit content
- Drawing
- Drawing basics
- Edit paths
- Draw pixel-perfect art
- Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
- Draw simple lines and shapes
- Draw rectangular and polar grids
- Draw and edit flares
- Trace images
- Simplify a path
- Symbolism tools and symbol sets
- Adjust path segments
- Design a flower in 5 easy steps
- Create and edit a perspective grid
- Draw and modify objects on a perspective grid
- Use objects as symbols for repeat use
- Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
- Measurement
- 3D objects and materials
- Color
- Painting
- Select and arrange objects
- Select objects
- Layers
- Group and expand objects
- Move, align, and distribute objects
- Align, arrange, and move objects on a path
- Snap objects to glyph
- Snap objects to Japanese glyph
- Stack objects
- Lock, hide, and delete objects
- Copy and duplicate objects
- Rotate and reflect objects
- Intertwine objects
- Create realistic art mockups
- Reshape objects
- Crop images
- Transform objects
- Combine objects
- Cut, divide, and trim objects
- Puppet Warp
- Scale, shear, and distort objects
- Blend objects
- Reshape using envelopes
- Reshape objects with effects
- Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
- Work with Live Corners
- Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
- Edit clipping masks
- Live shapes
- Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
- Global editing
- Type
- Add text and work with type objects
- Reflow Viewer
- Create bulleted and numbered lists
- Manage text area
- Fonts and typography
- Convert text within images into editable text
- Add basic formatting to text
- Add advanced formatting to text
- Import and export text
- Format paragraphs
- Special characters
- Create type on a path
- Character and paragraph styles
- Tabs
- Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
- Arabic and Hebrew type
- Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
- Creative typography designs
- Scale and rotate type
- Line and character spacing
- Hyphenation and line breaks
- Spelling and language dictionaries
- Format Asian characters
- Composers for Asian scripts
- Create text designs with blend objects
- Create a text poster using Image Trace
- Create special effects
- Web graphics
- Drawing
- Import, export, and save
- Import
- Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
- Save and export
- Printing
- Prepare for printing
- Printing
- Automate tasks
- Troubleshooting
Got queries on fonts? Check out some common questions and learn troubleshooting tips.
Add new fonts
To use a new font, you must download that font on your computer. Once the font is downloaded, follow the steps below to add them in Windows and macOS Fonts folders.
- Open the Control panel to view the fonts folder:
- [Windows] Go to Start > Settings and navigate to Appearance and Personalization > Fonts.
- [macOS] Go to Users > Library > Fonts.
- Double-click the font. In the font preview window, click Install to create a copy of this font in the Fonts folder.
- Copy or drag the downloaded font in the fonts folder.
All the fonts you add will be available in the Character panel of Illustrator.
You can access your own fonts across Adobe apps and other desktop applications (for example, Microsoft Office) by uploading them to the Creative Cloud desktop app. You can then use these fonts in your creative designs and projects.
See also: Use your own fonts in Creative Cloud apps.
Edit fonts
The default font in Illustrator is Myriad Pro. To change the default font, edit one of the default document templates:
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Navigate to the following location:
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator <version>/<locale>/New Document Profiles
- Windows: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator <version> Settings\<locale>\x64\New Document Profiles
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Open a default document template.
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Select Window > Type > Character Styles.
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Double-click Normal Character Style in the Character Styles panel.
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Select Basic Character Formats in the Character Style Options dialog.
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Select the desired font from the Font Family menu. Modify other settings as needed.
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Select File > Save As and replace the original document template.
Select a text and do one of the following:
- Choose a size from Type > Size.
- Set a font size in Font Size drop-down the Character or Control panel
See also: Change the font size
To use a variable font:
- Search for variable in the font list or look for the icon next to the font name.
- Click Variable Font icon () in the Control panel, Character panel, Character Styles panel, and Paragraph Styles panel.
- Use the slider controls to adjust the weight, width, and slant for variable fonts.
If you need to send your documents for print output, choose File > Package. Fonts are by default included with a package to ensure that the document fonts are always available.
To access packaged fonts, you must have the necessary fonts available on your computer and licensed via Creative Cloud subscription. The Adobe terms of service do allow font data to be embedded in PDF and other digital documents. Creating a PDF file is the best and most reliable way to ensure typographic fidelity in documents destined for print output.
Access Adobe Fonts
Adobe Fonts offers thousands of fonts from over 150 type foundries as part of your Creative Cloud subscription. This Adobe Fonts library is included as part of all paid Creative Cloud plans.
All of the fonts are licensed for personal & commercial use; read about the font licensing in the Terms of Use.
See also:
No. Adobe Fonts can be transferred to another user or computer only if they have the font license available either through Creative Cloud or as a traditional desktop license.
Packaging feature (File > Package) is often used to send documents for print output. Fonts are usually included with a package to ensure that the document fonts are always available.
For more information, see Packaging font files.
Activate Adobe Fonts
- You can activate a font using the Character panel of Illustrator. For more information, see Using Fonts in Illustrator.
- You can use Adobe's subscription-based online service (Adobe Fonts) that offers an unlimited library of high-quality fonts from hundreds of type foundries. You can browse these fonts from within Creative Cloud application or go to Adobe Fonts to activate instantly and use in your artwork.
- Sign in to the Creative Cloud desktop app with a named-user Creative Cloud subscription. If you aren't able to install the Creative Cloud desktop app for any reason, you won't be able to activate fonts.
- All activated fonts are available for use in all Creative Cloud applications.
- If you face any problems while activating a font or the font is disabled, see Troubleshooting guide: Activating fonts.
All fonts included with Creative Cloud can be used on mobile on iOS13.1 (and newer) apps that support Apple's custom font APIs. Search for your favorite font families or discover new ones with just a few swipes. For more information, see Activate fonts on Creative Cloud mobile.
When you activate fonts from Adobe Fonts, they will appear in the font menus of all your desktop applications, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Microsoft Office, and iWork. Use these fonts for print design, website mockups, word processing, and more.
For more details, see Activate fonts on your computer.
Troubleshooting tips
If you face any font activation issues, try these troubleshooting steps:
- Sign-in again into Creative Cloud
- Restart your computer
- Check your network connection
See the following articles:
To identify a font used in your document, use the Find Font option (Type > Find Font). For more details, see Find and replace a font in your document.
- Adobe Fonts helps you find fonts matching with the text used in images. You can select a font displayed in the search results to immediately activate it. Once activated, the font becomes available in various Creative Cloud apps.
- You can upload the image for scanning in the Adobe Fonts online app. Click the camera icon or drag-and-drop the image file. Align the text and click Next Step. To activate a font, click the Activate Font button.
- For more information, see Find fonts from images.
If your document contains fonts that are not installed on your system, you will receive an alert message when you open the document. Illustrator indicates the missing fonts and substitutes missing fonts with available matching fonts.
- To substitute missing fonts with a different font, select the text that uses the missing font and apply any other available font.
- To make missing fonts available in Illustrator, either install the missing fonts on your system or activate the missing fonts from the Adobe Fonts service. For more information, see Add fonts.
- To highlight substituted fonts for easy identification, choose Preferences > Type > Highlight Substituted Fonts.
For more details, see Resolve missing fonts in desktop applications.