Do one of the following:
- 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
About preferences
The Illustrator preferences file manages the commands and panel settings in Illustrator. When you open Illustrator, the positioning of panels and commands are stored in the Illustrator preferences file. In addition, numerous program settings are stored in the preference file, including general display options, file-saving options, performance options, type options, and options for plug‑ins and scratch disks. Most of these options are set in the Preferences dialog box. Preference settings are saved each time you quit the application.
Unexpected behavior may indicate damaged preferences. If you suspect damage to preferences, restore preferences to their default settings.
Set a preference
-
(Windows) Choose Edit > Preferences > [preference set name].
(macOS) Choose Illustrator > Preferences > [preference set name].
With nothing selected, click the Preferences button on the Control panel.
-
Select an option from the menu on the left of the Preferences dialog box to switch to another preference set.
Reset preferences
To reset the preferences for Illustrator:
- Click the Reset Preferences button in the General tab of the Preferences dialog.
Preferences will be reset only when you restart Illustrator.
To manually restore preferences to default
- Remove or rename the Adobe Illustrator Prefs file. When you restart Illustrator, a new preference file will be created in the original location.
To restore preferences quickly using a keyboard shortcut
- Press and hold Alt+Control+Shift (Windows) or Option+Command+Shift (macOS) as you start Illustrator. The new preferences files are created the next time you start Illustrator.
You can access the Illustrator preferences file from this location:
- macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Illustrator <version> Settings/<locale>/Adobe Illustrator Prefs
- Windows: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator <version> Settings\<locale>\x64\Adobe Illustrator Prefs
- Replace <version number> with the version of Illustrator installed on your system.
- The folder name may vary depending on the language version you've installed.
- In Windows, the Application Data folder is hidden by default. To make this folder visible, open Folder Options in Control Panel and select the View tab. In the Advanced Settings pane, select the Show Hidden Files and Folders or Show hidden files, folders, or drives option.
- If you cannot locate the preferences file, use your operating system’s Find command, and search for AIPrefs (Windows) or Adobe Illustrator Prefs (macOS).
Video: Create a backup and reset your Illustrator preferences
Watch these 1-minute videos to quickly learn how to create a backup of the Illustrator preferences folder and reset them manually on your device.
macOS
Windows
About plug-in modules
Plug-in modules are software programs that add features to Adobe Illustrator. A number of special effects plug-ins come with your program and are automatically installed in the Plug-ins folder inside the Illustrator folder.
You can install any commercial plug-in designed for use with Photoshop or Illustrator. To install an Adobe plug-in module, use the installer if one is provided. Otherwise, drag a copy of the module to the Plug-ins folder inside the Illustrator folder. Then restart Illustrator for the plug-in to take effect. To install a third-party plug-in module, follow the installation instructions that came with the plug-in module.
The open architecture of the Adobe Illustrator program allows developers outside Adobe to create features that are accessible from within Adobe Illustrator. If you are interested in creating plug-in modules compatible with Adobe Illustrator, visit https://developer.adobe.com/illustrator/