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Illustrator

Illustrator

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  1. Illustrator User Guide
  2. Get to know Illustrator
    1. Introduction to Illustrator
      1. What's new in Illustrator
      2. Common questions
      3. Illustrator system requirements
      4. Illustrator for Apple silicon
      5. GPU performance
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Create documents
      3. Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
      4. Accelerate workflows using the Contextual Task Bar
      5. Toolbar
      6. Default keyboard shortcuts
      7. Customize keyboard shortcuts
      8. Introduction to artboards
      9. Manage artboards
      10. Customize the workspace
      11. Properties panel
      12. Set preferences
      13. Touch Workspace
      14. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
      15. Undo edits and manage design history
      16. Rotate view
      17. Rulers, grids, and guides
      18. Accessibility in Illustrator
      19. View artwork
      20. Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
      21. Files and templates
    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Tools at a glance
      2. Select tools
        1. Selection
        2. Direct Selection
        3. Group Selection
        4. Magic Wand
        5. Lasso
        6. Artboard
      3. Navigate tools
        1. Hand
        2. Rotate View
        3. Zoom
      4. Paint tools
        1. Gradient
        2. Mesh
        3. Shape Builder
      5. Text tools
        1. Type
        2. Type on a Path
        3. Vertical Type
      6. Draw tools
        1. Pen
        2. Add Anchor Point
        3. Delete Anchor Point
        4. Anchor Point
        5. Curvature
        6. Line Segment
        7. Rectangle
        8. Rounded Rectangle
        9. Ellipse
        10. Polygon
        11. Star
        12. Paintbrush
        13. Blob Brush
        14. Pencil
        15. Shaper
        16. Slice
      7. Modify tools
        1. Rotate
        2. Reflect
        3. Scale
        4. Shear
        5. Width
        6. Free Transform
        7. Eyedropper
        8. Blend
        9. Eraser
        10. Scissors
        11. Dimension
    4. Generative AI (not available in mainland China)
      1. Generate scenes, subjects, and icons using text prompts
      2. Generate vector patterns using text prompts
      3. Generate vector shape fills using text prompts
      4. Recolor your artwork using text prompts
    5. Quick actions
      1. Retro text
      2. Neon glow text
      3. Old school text
      4. Recolor
      5. Convert sketch to vector
  3. Illustrator on the web (beta)
    1. Illustrator on the web (beta) overview
    2. Illustrator on the web (beta) FAQ
    3. Troubleshooting issues FAQ
    4. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the web (beta)
    5. Create and combine shapes on the web
    6. Add and edit text on the web
    7. Apply colors and gradients on the web
    8. Draw and edit paths on the web
    9. Work with cloud documents on the web
    10. Invite collaborators to edit on the web
  4. Illustrator on the iPad
    1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
      1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
      2. Illustrator on the iPad FAQs
      3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
      4. What you can or cannot do on Illustrator on the iPad
    2. Workspace
      1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
      2. Touch shortcuts and gestures
      3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
      4. Manage your app settings
    3. Documents
      1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
      2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
    4. Select and arrange objects
      1. Create repeat objects
      2. Blend objects
    5. Drawing
      1. Draw and edit paths
      2. Draw and edit shapes
    6. Type
      1. Work with type and fonts
      2. Create text designs along a path
      3. Add your own fonts
    7. Work with images
      1. Vectorize raster images
    8. Color
      1. Apply colors and gradients
  5. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Share documents for review
      4. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      5. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  6. Add and edit content
    1. Drawing
      1. Drawing basics
      2. Edit paths
      3. Draw pixel-perfect art
      4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
      5. Draw simple lines and shapes
      6. Draw rectangular and polar grids
      7. Draw and edit flares
      8. Trace images
      9. Simplify a path
      10. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      11. Adjust path segments
      12. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      13. Create and edit a perspective grid
      14. Draw and modify objects on a perspective grid
      15. Use objects as symbols for repeat use
      16. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
    2. Measurement
      1. Measure and plot dimensions
    3. 3D objects and materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Map artwork over 3D objects
      4. Create 3D Text
      5. Create 3D objects
    4. Color
      1. About color
      2. Select colors
      3. Use and create swatches
      4. Adjust colors
      5. Use the Adobe Color Themes panel
      6. Color groups (harmonies)
      7. Color Themes panel
      8. Recolor your artwork
    5. Painting
      1. About painting
      2. Paint with fills and strokes
      3. Live Paint groups
      4. Gradients
      5. Brushes
      6. Transparency and blending modes
      7. Apply stroke on an object
      8. Create and edit patterns
      9. Meshes
      10. Patterns
    6. Select and arrange objects
      1. Select objects
      2. Layers
      3. Expand, group, and ungroup objects
      4. Move, align, and distribute objects
      5. Align, arrange, and move objects on a path
      6. Snap objects to glyph
      7. Snap objects to Japanese glyph
      8. Stack objects    
      9. Lock, hide, and delete objects
      10. Copy and duplicate objects
      11. Rotate and reflect objects
      12. Intertwine objects
      13. Create realistic art mockups
    7. Reshape objects
      1. Crop images
      2. Transform objects
      3. Combine objects
      4. Cut, divide, and trim objects
      5. Puppet Warp
      6. Scale, shear, and distort objects
      7. Blend objects
      8. Reshape using envelopes
      9. Reshape objects with effects
      10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Builder tools
      11. Work with Live Corners
      12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch support
      13. Edit clipping masks
      14. Live shapes
      15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
      16. Global editing
    8. Type
      1. Add text and work with type objects
      2. Reflow Viewer
      3. Create bulleted and numbered lists
      4. Manage text area
      5. Fonts and typography
      6. Convert text within images into editable text
      7. Add basic formatting to text
      8. Add advanced formatting to text
      9. Import and export text
      10. Format paragraphs
      11. Special characters
      12. Create type on a path
      13. Character and paragraph styles
      14. Tabs
      15. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
      16. Arabic and Hebrew type
      17. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
      18. Creative typography designs
      19. Scale and rotate type
      20. Line and character spacing
      21. Hyphenation and line breaks
      22. Spelling and language dictionaries
      23. Format Asian characters
      24. Composers for Asian scripts
      25. Create text designs with blend objects
      26. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    9. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Appearance attributes
      4. Create sketches and mosaics
      5. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      6. Summary of effects
    10. Web graphics
      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Slices and image maps
  7. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Place multiple files
      2. Manage linked and embedded files
      3. Links information
      4. Unembed images
      5. Import artwork from Photoshop
      6. Import bitmap images
      7. Import Adobe PDF files
      8. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
    3. Save and export
      1. Save artwork
      2. Export artwork
      3. Create Adobe PDF files
      4. Adobe PDF options
      5. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      6. Collect assets and export in batches
      7. Package files
      8. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      9. Document info panel
  8. Printing
    1. Prepare for printing
      1. Set up documents for printing
      2. Change the page size and orientation
      3. Specify crop marks for trimming or aligning
      4. Get started with large canvas
    2. Printing
      1. Overprint
      2. Print with color management
      3. PostScript printing
      4. Print presets
      5. Printer's marks and bleeds
      6. Print and save transparent artwork
      7. Trapping
      8. Print color separations
      9. Print gradients, meshes, and color blends
      10. White Overprint
  9. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  10. Troubleshooting 
    1. Fixed issues
    2. Known issues
    3. Crash issues
    4. Recover files after crash
    5. Safe mode
    6. File issues
    7. Supported file formats
    8. GPU device driver issues
    9. Wacom device issues
    10. DLL file issues
    11. Memory issues
    12. Preferences file issues
    13. Font issues
    14. Printer issues
    15. Share crash report with Adobe
    16. Improve Illustrator performance

Looking for the right font for your artwork? Learn how to access, activate, and edit a font that's perfect for your typographic design.

Illustrator automatically imports and loads all fonts that are installed on your Windows or macOS. To use a new font, you must download that font on your computer. For more details, see Add a new font.

Get in-app help, tips, and learn-resources within the Discover panel.

Explore font resources
Discover Panel with the word font in the search field

Access fonts

 Before you start, type your text using the Type tool. For more details, see Create text.

To view and browse through a wide variety of font families and font types:

  • Open the Character panel. Do one of the following:
    • Choose Windows > Type > Character.
    • Select the text to view Character settings in the Control panel or Properties panel.
    • Press Command+T (macOS) or Ctrl+T (Windows).
  • Click the Set Font Family drop-down. 

 To look for a font, you can type the font name (if you know it already) in the Font family drop-down in the Character panel or Control panel.

View the font list

Preview fonts in real time

  1. Select a text on your artboard or choose a sample text from the drop-down.
  2. Hover the pointer over a font name in the font list available in the Control panel or Character panel.

To turn off the preview, deselect Preferences > Type > Enable in-menu font previews.

Change the text size while previewing by clicking Sample Size small, Sample Size medium, and Sample Size large icons.

Preview in real-time
Preview fonts

Activate Adobe Fonts

Not found that right font? Activate more fonts from Adobe fonts.

You can choose a font from the Adobe's subscription-based online font library, Adobe Fonts, which offers unlimited high-quality fonts from hundreds of type foundries. Browse and activate these fonts instantly from within Illustrator or go to fonts.adobe.com. Activated fonts become available for use in all Creative Cloud applications.

  1. In the Character panel, click the Find More tab.
  2. Browse the font list and select a font. To preview the font on the selected text, hover over the font name.
  3. Click the Activate icon displayed next to the font. The Activate icon shows a check mark after the font is activated and available for use.
Activate Adobe Fonts
View and activate Adobe fonts

Know more about Adobe Font icons

Activate Adobe Fonts icons

A. Activated fonts filter B. Activated family font C. Font to be activated D. Activated font E. Deactivated font F. Activate font G. Font activation in progress H. Font family drop-down I. Number of font family styles J. More details about this font 

Looking for a Japanese font?

In the Find More tab, you can browse and preview all Japanese fonts available on fonts.adobe.com. 

To set the preference to enable the preview of Japanese fonts:

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Type.
  2. Select Enable Japanese Font Preview in 'Find More'.

The changes are applied only when you relaunch Illustrator.

More resources

 Watch this video to quickly get started with Adobe Fonts.

Edit fonts

You can modify the font size, font family, font style, and typeface to match your requirements.

 You can also change the default font (Myriad Pro) in Illustrator. For more details, see How to change the default font in Illustrator?

Change the font size

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.
Change the font size
Change the font size

By default, font size is measured in points (a point equals 1/72 of an inch). 

 You can change the unit of measurement for type in the Preferences dialog box.

Change the font family and style

Select the text you want to change. If you do not select a text, the font applies to new text you create. Do the following to select a font type or a style:

  • In the Control or Character panel, choose a font and a font style from the Font Family and Font Style drop-down list.
  • Choose Type > Font / Recent Fonts and select a font name. 
  • Click the current font name and type the first few characters of the font you want.

 To change the number of fonts in the Recent Fonts, choose Edit > Preferences > Type (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Type (macOS), and set the Number of Recent Fonts option.

Use keyboard shortcuts to stylize fonts

You can apply bold and italic styles to your fonts, and underline them using keyboard shortcuts.

Shortcuts

Windows

macOS

Bold

Shift + Ctrl + B

Shift + Command + B

Italic

Shift + Ctrl + I

Shift + Command + I

Underline

Shift + Ctrl + U

Shift + Command + U

The keyboard shortcuts for bold and italic styles won't work if the font family doesn't have those styles or if those styles aren't installed on your system. If you try to switch from bold/italic to regular but the font family lacks a regular style, it defaults to a style in that font family that is closest to Myriad Pro Regular.

You can also customize these keyboard shortcuts.

Auto-activate missing fonts

When an Illustrator document contains any missing Adobe Fonts, they are automatically activated if all the fonts are available in Adobe Fonts. This task runs in the background without displaying the Missing Fonts dialog. 

auto activate missing fonts
When Auto-activate Adobe Fonts is enabled

By default, this Auto-activate Adobe Fonts is disabled in Illustrator. To enable, select Auto-activate Adobe Fonts from Edit > Preferences > File Handling.

When Auto-activate Adobe Fonts is enabled

If there are missing fonts in your document, then Illustrator checks and automatically activates fonts from Adobe Fonts site as per the below scenarios:

  • If all the missing fonts are available in Adobe Fonts, they are activated in the background. You can continue to work with documents.
  • If only some of the missing fonts are available in Adobe Fonts, they are activated in the background. A Missing Fonts dialog appears with a list of missing fonts. 
    • Click Replace Fonts and get the missing fonts from other sources or
    • Close the dialog. The missing fonts will be replaced with default fonts.  
  • If none of the missing fonts are available in Adobe Fonts, a Missing Fonts dialog appears with a list of missing fonts.

You can also check the progress of activation of missing fonts in Background Tasks panel. To view the background tasks, use one of the below two options: 

  • Click Window > Utilities > Background Tasks.
  • Click the blue spinner icon in the upper-right corner of Illustrator application header.

Organize and filter fonts

You can quickly find fonts that you use frequently and filter them in the Fonts tab of the Character panel or Properties panel.

Filter options for fonts

A. Classification filter B. Favorites C. Show recently added D. Activated font E. Sample text options F. Sample text size options G. Font type H. Add to favorites I. View similar 

In the Classification Filter drop-down list, select your preferred font classes to narrow down the font list. By default, all font classes are displayed. Only Roman fonts can be filtered using this filter.

 Click Clear All to remove the filter.

Font classification filter
Apply Classification filter

To set frequently used fonts as favorites, hover over a font and then click the Favorite icon displayed next to the font name. To filter all your favorite fonts, click the Show only Favorites filter.

Apply favorites filter
Apply Show only Favorites filter

To filter all the fonts that you added and activated in the last 30 days, click the Show Recently Added icon.

Note: Recently used and starred fonts are preserved across Illustrator sessions.

To filter fonts that are visually similar, hover over a font and click the View Similar icon. Fonts closest in visual appearance to the selected font appear on top in the search results.

Find similar fonts
View similar fonts

Use variable fonts

The variable font is an OpenType font for which you can customize the attributes, such as weight, width, slant, optical size. These fonts provide flexibility and customization of font attributes to create responsive web lettering and typography. 

Vary width

Vary width

Vary slant

To adjust the weight, width, and slant for variable fonts using slider controls:

  • 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.
Variable fonts
Adjust the weight, width, and slant for a variable font

See also: Variable fonts, a new kind of font for flexible design

Find and replace fonts

find fonts
Find and replace fonts in a document

To find and replace fonts in a document:

  • Choose Type > Find Fonts. 
  • Select the name of a font. The first occurrence of the font is highlighted in the document window.
  • Select a replacement font in the Replace With Font From drop-down. 
    • Choose Document to list only the fonts that are used in the document
    • Choose System to list all fonts installed on your computer. Click Change to change just one occurrence of the selected font.
  • Click Change All to change all occurrences of the selected font.
    Font name is removed from the list when it's all occurrences are removed from the document.

Know the type of fonts supported in Illustrator

Font Types

Icons

OpenType

Variable fonts

SVG

  • Provides multiple colors and gradients in a single glyph.
  • Covers Emoji fonts – smileys, flags, street signs, animals, people, food, landmarks, and so on.

 

Adobe Fonts

TrueType 

Multiple Master

Composite


What's next

This article got you started with adding, activating, and editing a font in Illustrator. Now, use the power of fonts to design your typographic artwork. If you still have any questions, check out the Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips.

Want to create your own font? Check out this page.

Have a question or an idea?

Ask the community

If you have a question to ask or an idea to share, come and participate in Adobe Illustrator Community. We'd love to hear from you!

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