User Guide Cancel

Special characters

Search
Illustrator

Illustrator

Open on web
  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

Learn to view and insert glyphs and special characters in your text.

About character sets and alternate glyphs

Typefaces include many characters in addition to the ones you see on your keyboard. Depending on the font, these characters can include ligatures, fractions, swashes, ornaments, ordinals, titling and stylistic alternates, superior and inferior characters, old‑style figures, and lining figures. A glyph is a specific form of a character. For example, in certain fonts, the capital letter A is available in several forms, such as swash and small-cap.

Adobe Illustrator deeplink

Try it in the app
Use the Glyph panel to insert glyphs in a few simple steps.

Open Illustrator

There are three ways to insert alternate glyphs:

  • The Selection in-context menu lets you view and insert glyphs available for a selected character.
  • The Glyphs panel lets you view and insert glyphs from any typeface.
  • The OpenType panel lets you set up rules for using glyphs. For example, you can specify that you want to use ligatures, titling characters, and fractions in a given text block. Using the OpenType panel is easier than inserting glyphs one at a time and ensures a more consistent result. However, the panel works only with OpenType fonts.

Replace a character with on-canvas alternate glyphs

Introduced in Illustrator CC 2017 release

When you're working on a type object, you can select a character to quickly view alternate glyphs right next to it in the in-context menu. Simply click the alternate glyph to replace the character with it.

In-context alternate glyphs

Note:

Illustrator displays a maximum of five alternate glyphs for a selected character on the canvas. If more than five alternatives are available, Illustrator displays the  icon to the right of the displayed alternate glyphs. Click the  icon to open the Glyphs panel and view more alternatives.

Glyphs panel overview

You use the Glyphs panel (Window > Type > Glyphs) to view the glyphs in a font and insert specific glyphs in your document.

By default, the Glyphs panel displays all the glyphs for the currently selected font. You can change the font by selecting a different font family and style at the bottom of the panel. If any characters are currently selected in your document, you can display alternate characters by selecting Alternates For Current Selection from the Show menu at the top of the panel.

Glyphs panel
Glyphs panel

A. Show menu B. Font family C. Font style D. Zoom buttons 

When you select an OpenType font in the Glyphs panel, you can restrict the panel to display certain kinds of glyphs by selecting a category from the Show menu. You can also display a pop‑up menu of alternate glyphs by clicking the triangle in the lower right corner of the glyph box where applicable.

Pop‑up menu for alternate glyphs
Pop‑up menu for alternate glyphs

Insert or replace a character using the Glyphs panel

  1. To insert a character, click with a type tool to place the insertion point where you want to enter the character, and then double-click the character you want to insert in the Glyphs panel.
  2. To replace a character, choose Alternates For Current Selection from the Show pop‑up menu, select a character in your document using a type tool. Double-click a glyph in the Glyphs panel, if one is available.
    Note:

    Additional replacement options are available for Asian glyphs.

OpenType panel overview

You use the OpenType panel (Window > Type > OpenType) to specify how you want to apply alternate characters in OpenType fonts. For example, you can specify that you want to use standard ligatures in new or existing text.

Keep in mind that OpenType fonts vary greatly in the kinds of features they offer; not all options in the OpenType panel are available in every font. You can view the characters in a font using the Glyphs panel.

OpenType panel
OpenType panel

A. Standard Ligatures B. Contextual Alternates C. Discretionary Ligatures D. Swash E. Stylistic Alternates F. Titling Alternates G. Ordinals H. Fractions I. Stylistic Sets J. Panel menu K. Figure type L. Character position 

Note:

Additional features may be available for Asian OpenType fonts.

You can access additional commands and options in the OpenType panel menu in the upper right corner of the panel. 

Highlight alternate glyphs in the text

  1. Choose File > Document Setup.
  2. Select Highlight Substituted Glyphs, and click OK. Substituted glyphs in the text are highlighted.

Use ligatures and contextual alternates

Ligatures are typographic replacement characters for certain letter pairs. Most fonts include ligatures for standard letter pairs such as fi, fl, ff, ffi, and ffl. In addition, some fonts include discretionary ligatures for letter pairs such as ct, st, and ft. Although the characters in ligatures appear to be joined, they are fully editable and do not cause the spell checker to flag a word erroneously.

Contextual alternates are alternate characters included in some script typefaces to provide better joining behavior. For example, when using Caflisch Script Pro with contextual alternates enabled, the letter pair “bl” in the word “bloom” is joined so that it looks more like handwriting.

  1. Select the characters or type objects to which you want to apply the setting. If you don’t select any text, the setting applies to new text you create.
  2. Make sure that an OpenType font is selected.
  3. In the OpenType panel, do any of the following:

    • Click the Standard Ligatures button to enable or disable ligatures for standard letter pairs (such as fi, fl, ff, ffi, and ffl).

    • Click the Discretionary Ligatures button to enable or disable optional ligatures (if available in the current font).

    • Click the Contextual Alternates button to enable or disable contextual alternates (if available in the current font).

Use stylistic sets

A stylistic set is a group of glyph alternates that can be applied to a selected block of text. When you apply a stylistic set, the glyphs defined in the set replace the font’s default glyphs in the selected text. The name of the stylistic set provided by the Font Developer is shown in various places in Illustrator. For some fonts, Illustrator displays the stylistic set names as Set 1, Set 2, and so on. You can apply multiple stylistic sets to a range of text.

  1. Select the text box or the text range to which you want to apply a stylistic set.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Choose Window > Type > OpenType to open the OpenType panel. Now, do one of the following:
      • Click the Stylistic Sets icon () at the bottom of the panel and choose the desired set.
      • Select Stylistic Sets from the panel menu and choose the desired set.
    Apply stylistic sets using the OpenType panel

    A. Click the icon at the bottom of the panel B. Choose the desired stylistic set from the panel menu 

    • Choose Type > Glyphs to open the Glyphs panel. Choose a stylistic set from the Show drop-down list in the Glyphs panel.
    Apply stylistic sets using the Glyphs panel

Note:

You can remove the stylistic set that you’ve applied to a text range by deselecting it in the OpenType panel or the Glyphs panel.

Add stylistic sets to a character or a paragraph style

  1. Choose Window > Type > Character Styles/ Paragraph Styles to open the Character Styles panel or the Paragraph Styles panel.

  2. Choose the New Character/ Paragraph Style option from the panel menu.

  3. Select the OpenType Features tab on the left of the New Character/ Paragraph Style dialog.

  4. Click  and choose the desired stylistic sets from the list.

    Add stylistic sets to a character style

  5. Click OK.

Use swashes, titling alternates, or stylistic alternates

Many OpenType fonts include stylized characters that let you add decorative elements to type. Swashes are characters with exaggerated flourishes. Titling alternates are characters (usually all in capitals) designed for use in large-size settings, such as titles. Stylistic alternates are stylized characters that create a purely esthetic effect.

  1. Select the characters or type objects to which you want to apply the setting. If you don’t select any text, the setting applies to new text you create.
  2. Make sure that an OpenType font is selected.
  3. In the OpenType panel, do one of the following:

    • Click the Swash button to enable or disable swash characters (if available in the current font).

    • Click the Stylistic Alternates button to enable or disable stylistic alternates (if available in the current font).

    • Click the Titling Alternates button to enable or disable titling alternates (if available in the current font).

Insert symbols, hyphens and dashes, and quotation marks

Introduced in Adobe Illustrator CC 2017

  1. Position the insertion point where you want to insert a character using the Type tool.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Choose Type > Insert Special Character
    • Right click and choose Insert Special Character from the context menu.

  3. Choose one of the following options: Symbols, Hyphens And Dashes, and Quotation Marks. 

  4. Choose the desired character from a wide variety of options provided by Illustrator.

Insert white space characters

Introduced in Adobe Illustrator CC 2017

  1. Position the insertion point where you want to insert a white space character using the Type tool.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Choose Type > Insert White Space Character
    • Right click and choose Insert White Space Character from the context menu.

  3. Select one of the following options:

    Em Space

    The space is equal to the size of the type. For example, in 12‑point type, an em space is 12 points wide.

    En Space

    The space is half the width of an em space. For example, in 12-point type, an en space is 6 points wide.

    Hair Space

    The space is one‑twenty‑fourth the width of an em space. For example, in 12-point type, a hair space is 0.5 point wide.

    Thin Space

    The space is one‑eighth the width of an em space. For example, in 12-point type, a thin space is 1.5 points wide.

Note:

Representative symbols of the white space characters appear when you choose Type > Show Hidden Characters.

Insert a break character

Introduced in Adobe Illustrator CC 2017

You can insert a break character to start a new line without starting a new paragraph.

  1. Position the insertion point where you want to insert the break character using the Type tool.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Choose Type > Insert Break Character > Forced Line Break.
    • Right click and choose Insert Break Character > Forced Line Break.

To remove a break character, choose Type > Show Hidden Characters to see non-printing characters. You can then select and delete the break character.

Show or hide nonprinting characters

Nonprinting characters include hard returns (line breaks), soft returns (line breaks), tabs, spaces, nonbreaking spaces, double-byte characters (including spaces), discretionary hyphens, and the end-of-text character.

To make the characters visible as you format and edit type, choose Type > Show Hidden Characters. A check mark indicates that nonprinting characters are visible.

More like this

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 would love to hear from you and see your creations.

 Adobe

Get help faster and easier

New user?

Quick links

View all your plans Manage your plans
View quick links
Hide quick links

Legal Notices    |    Online Privacy Policy