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- 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
Learn how to use accessibility features in Illustrator and how to create accessible designs using Illustrator.
Accessibility of software involves features in it that help people with visual, auditory, speech, motor, cognitive, and mobile disabilities use it with less difficulty. By extension, it also involves the usability of assistive technologies like screen readers and screen magnifiers with the software.
Illustrator has some tools and functionalities that are accessibility-friendly. It also lets you create accessible designs.
Illustrator isn't accessibility-friendly for people with full vision loss. It does partially support people with limited vision. Learn more about screen readers.
Native accessibility- friendly features of Illustrator
Explore the native accessibility-friendly features in Illustrator.
Keyboard support
- Some Illustrator functionalities, such as menu options, can be operated through a keyboard interface. However, most functions can only be performed using the mouse.
- Illustrator offers many keyboard shortcuts. When you press a keyboard shortcut, it not only invokes the tool but also announces the name of the tool (while you use VoiceOver Utility in macOS).
- Keyboard shortcuts can be remapped and removed, but Illustrator requires a mouse or touch to do so. Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts in the Illustrator workspace to remap keyboard shortcuts.
Users with limited manipulation cannot rely on a keyboard alone to interact with user interfaces. Though there are key combinations to perform certain functions, certain features cannot be accessed with the keyboard-only operation.
User interface customization
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You can change the brightness of the Illustrator user interface to Dark, Medium Dark, Medium Light, or Light. Go to Edit > Preferences > User Interface. Select the appropriate brightness icon next to Brightness and select OK. |
Large Tabs |
You can change the size of document tabs. Go to Edit > Preferences > User Interface. Check Large Tabs and select OK. |
Selection & Anchor display |
You can increase the size of selection handles, anchor points, and bezier controls. Go to Illustrator > Preferences > Selection & Anchor display and move the slider of Anchor points, Handle and Bounding Box Display to its max value. |
UI Scaling |
Screens with larger resolutions have an option for UI scaling. Go to Edit > Preferences > User Interface. Move the slider next to UI Scaling to select the required scaling and select OK. |
Appearance of Black |
You can set the appearance of black as Rich Black on RGB and grayscale devices for on-screen or printing/exporting appearance. Go to Edit > Preferences > Appearance of Black. Choose Rich Black for On Screen or Printing/ Exporting and select OK. |
Color contrast
Text |
Most text meets minimum contrast requirements except when tools are highlighted, the light blue text on the light gray background lacks sufficient contrast. |
Non-text elements |
Most meaningful non-text content elements have sufficient contrast except in some functions, a control has a dark blue outline on a dark gray background. |
Illustrator does not fully support high contrast mode on Windows. Illustrator does not respond to high contrast mode except for title bars and menus.
Text resize
Illustrator allows operating system display scaling to resize text up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality for most functions. Exceptions include:
- The opening video that can have its controls disappear at that zoom level.
Wacom support
Illustrator supports Wacom tablets. To enable Wacom, go to Edit > Preferences > Devices, and check Enable Wacom.
Support for assistive technologies
Explore the usability of assistive technologies in Illustrator.
Most non-text elements in Illustrator don't have correct text alternatives for use by screen readers. For example, icons that visually indicate the state and status of tool options. To use the screen reader, ensure that you've enabled VoiceOver (macOS) and installed JAWS Client (Windows).
Follow these steps to enable the screen reader:
- When you press the keyboard shortcut to invoke the tool, the VoiceOver Utility announces the name of the tool.
- It also announces the name of the artboard when you access it in the Presentation Mode (Shift + F).
The screen reader is supported on the following UI items:
- Toolbar, status bar, properties panel, menu items, Dialog.
Panels are partially supported.
Screen magnifiers
Illustrator works with screen magnifiers in general.
Create accessible content on Illustrator
You can create Color Blind Safe color themes for your design using Adobe Color. Once you create them, you can access them from Window > Libraries, or Window > Color Themes. To learn more, see Adobe Color | Accessibility tools.
To see how your design appears for people with Protanopia and Deuteranopia, go to View > Proof Setup and choose Color blindness - Protanopia-type and Color blindness - Deuteranopia-type respectively. You can adjust your design colors accordingly.
Illustrator does not provide you an option to add text alternatives to non-text elements in PDF documents. Text alternatives can be added using Adobe Acrobat.
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