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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
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Create documents
      3. Tools
      4. Default keyboard shortcuts
      5. Customize keyboard shortcuts
      6. Artboards
      7. Customize the workspace
      8. Properties panel
      9. Set preferences
      10. Touch Workspace
      11. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
      12. Recovery, undo, and automation
      13. Rotate view
      14. Rulers, grids, and guides
      15. Accessibility in Illustrator
      16. Safe Mode
      17. View artwork
      18. Use the Touch Bar with Illustrator
      19. Files and templates
      20. Synchronize settings using Adobe Creative Cloud
    3. Tools in Illustrator
      1. Selection
        1. Overview
        2. Selection
        3. Direct Selection
        4. Lasso
        5. Artboard
      2. Navigation
        1. Overview
        2. Zoom
        3. Rotate View
      3. Paint
        1. Overview
        2. Gradient
        3. Shape Builder
      4. Type
        1. Overview
        2. Type
        3. Type on Path
  3. 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
  4. Cloud documents
    1. Basics
      1. Work with Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
      3. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
      4. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
    2. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
      2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
  5. 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. Image Trace
      7. Simplify a path
      8. Define perspective grids
      9. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
      10. Adjust path segments
      11. Design a flower in 5 easy steps
      12. Perspective drawing
      13. Symbols
      14. Draw pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
    2. 3D effects and Adobe Substance materials
      1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
      2. Create 3D graphics
      3. Create 3D objects
      4. Create 3D Text
    3. 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
    4. 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
    5. Select and arrange objects
      1. Select objects
      2. Layers
      3. Group and expand objects
      4. Move, align, and distribute objects
      5. Stack objects    
      6. Lock, hide, and delete objects
      7. Duplicate objects
      8. Rotate and reflect objects
    6. 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
    7. Type
      1. Create text
      2. Fonts and typography
      3. Format type
      4. Import and export text
      5. Format paragraphs
      6. Special characters
      7. Create type on a path
      8. Character and paragraph styles
      9. Tabs
      10. Text and type
      11. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
      12. Update text from Illustrator 10
      13. Arabic and Hebrew type
      14. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
      15. Create 3D text effect
      16. Creative typography designs
      17. Scale and rotate type
      18. Line and character spacing
      19. Hyphenation and line breaks
      20. Text enhancements
      21. Spelling and language dictionaries
      22. Format Asian characters
      23. Composers for Asian scripts
      24. Create text designs with blend objects
      25. Create a text poster using Image Trace
    8. Create special effects
      1. Work with effects
      2. Graphic styles
      3. Create a drop shadow
      4. Appearance attributes
      5. Create sketches and mosaics
      6. Drop shadows, glows, and feathering
      7. Summary of effects
    9. Web graphics
      1. Best practices for creating web graphics
      2. Graphs
      3. SVG
      4. Create animations
      5. Slices and image maps
  6. Import, export, and save
    1. Import
      1. Import artwork files
      2. Import bitmap images
      3. Import artwork from Photoshop
      4. Place multiple files | Illustrator CC
      5. Unembed images
      6. Import Adobe PDF files
      7. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
      8. Links information
    2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator 
      1. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
    3. Save
      1. Save artwork
    4. Export
      1. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
      2. Export artwork
      3. Collect assets and export in batches
      4. Package files
      5. Create Adobe PDF files
      6. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
      7. Adobe PDF options
      8. File information and metadata
  7. 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
  8. Automate tasks
    1. Data merge using the Variables panel
    2. Automation with scripts
    3. Automation with actions
  9. Troubleshooting 
    1. Crash issues
    2. Recover files after crash
    3. File issues
    4. GPU device driver issues
    5. Wacom device issues
    6. DLL file issues
    7. Memory issues
    8. Preferences file issues
    9. Font issues
    10. Printer issues
    11. Share crash report with Adobe

To organize and lay out your artwork, you use tools for selecting, positioning, and stacking objects precisely. You can measure and align objects; group objects so that they are treated as a single unit; and selectively isolate, lock, or hide objects.

Selection options and preferences

Options for selecting objects

Before you can modify an object, you must distinguish it from the objects around it. You do that by selecting the object. Once you’ve selected an object, or a part of an object, you can edit it.

Illustrator provides the following selection methods and tools:

Layers panel

Lets you quickly and precisely select individual or multiple objects. You can select a single object (even if it’s in a group), all objects within a layer, and entire groups.

Selection tool

  Lets you select objects and groups by clicking or dragging over them. You can also select groups within groups and objects within groups.

Group Selection tool

Lets you select an object within a group, a single group within multiple groups, or a set of groups within the artwork. Each additional click adds all objects from the next group in the hierarchy.

Perspective Selection tool

Lets you bring objects and text in perspective, switch active planes, move objects in perspective, and move objects in perpendicular direction.

Lasso tool

Lets you select objects, anchor points, or path segments by dragging around all or part of the object.

Magic Wand tool

Lets you select objects of the same color, stroke weight, stroke color, opacity, or blending mode by clicking the object.

Live Paint Selection tool

Lets you select faces (areas enclosed by paths) and edges (portions of paths between intersections) of Live Paint groups.

Selection commands

(located in the Select menu) Let you quickly select or deselect all objects, and select objects based on their position relative to other objects. You can select all objects of a specific type or that share specific attributes, and save or load selections. You can also select all objects in the active artboard.

Specify selection preferences

Selecting paths and points in complex images can be challenging. Using the Selection and Anchor Display preferences, you can specify the tolerance for pixel selection and choose other options that can make selection easier for a particular document.

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display (macOS).

  2. Specify any of the following Selection options:

    Tolerance

    Specifies the pixel range for selecting anchor points. Higher values increase the width of the area around an anchor point that you can click to select it.

    Object Selection By Path Only

    Specifies whether you can select a filled object by clicking anywhere in the object or whether you have to click a path.

    Snap To Point

    Snaps objects to anchor points and guides. Specify the distance between the object and anchor point or guide when the snap occurs.

Isolate artwork for editing

Isolation mode isolates objects so that you can easily select and edit particular objects or parts of objects. You can isolate any of the following: layers, sublayers, groups, symbols, clipping masks, compound paths, gradient meshes, and paths.

In Isolation mode, you can delete, replace, and add new art relative to the isolated art. When you exit isolation mode, replaced or new art is added at the same location as the original isolated art. Isolation mode automatically locks all other objects so that only the objects in isolation mode are affected by the edits you make— you don’t must worry about what layer an object is on, nor do you must manually lock or hide the objects you don’t want affected by your edits.

Note:

When you edit a symbol’s definition, the symbol appears in isolation mode. (See Edit or redefine a symbol.)

Isolate Artwork
Isolating the butterfly group

When isolation mode is active, the isolated object appears in full color, while the rest of the artwork appears grayed out. The isolated object’s name and location (sometimes referred to as bread crumbs) appears in the isolation mode border, and the Layers panel displays only the artwork in the isolated sublayer or group. When you exit isolation mode, the other layers and groups reappear in the Layers panel.

You can view isolated objects in outline mode or preview mode.

See the video Use isolation mode to isolate artwork for editing.

Isolate a path, object, or group

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Double-click the path or group using the Selection tool.

    • Select the group, object, or path and click the Isolate Selected Object button  in the Control panel.

    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) the group and click Isolate Selected Group.

    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) the path and click Isolate Selected Path.

    • Select the group, object, or path in the Layers panel and choose Enter Isolation Mode from the Layers panel menu or click the Isolate Selected Object button in the Control panel.

Isolate a path inside a group

  1. Select the path by using the Direct-Selection tool or by targeting it in the Layers panel.

  2. Click the Isolate Selected Object button  in the Control panel.

Isolate a layer or sublayer

  1. Select the layer or sublayer in the Layers panel, and click Enter Isolation Mode from the Layers panel menu.

Exit isolation mode

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Press Esc.

    • Click Exit Isolation Mode  one or more times (if you’ve isolated a sublayer, one click takes you back a level, two clicks exits isolation mode).

    • Click anywhere in the isolation mode bar.

    • Click Exit Isolation Mode  in the Control panel.

    • Using the Selection tool, double-click outside of the isolated group.

    • Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) and click Exit Isolation Mode.

Select behind objects

In Illustrator, you can select objects that lie underneath other objects using Ctrl+click (Windows) or Command+click (macOS). The pointer changes to Select Behind on the first Ctrl+click (Windows) or Command+click (macOS). On subsequent usage of Ctrl+click (Windows) or Command+click (macOS), the selection iterates through the objects directly underneath the pointer position.

Select the next object in the stacking order

You can select an object above or below a selected object in the stacking order. These commands do not work when in isolation mode.

  1. To select the nearest object above or below the selected object, click Select > Next Object Above, or Select > Next Object Below.

Select objects using the Layers panel

  1. In the Layers panel, locate the object you want to select. You may have to click a toggle arrow to expand a layer or group, or scroll up or down in the panel to locate the object.

  2. Do any of the following:

    • To select individual objects, click in the object’s selection column (between the target button and the scroll bar). Shift-click to add or to remove objects from the selection.

    • To select all artwork in a layer or group, click in the layer’s or group’s selection column.

    • To select all artwork in a layer based on the currently selected artwork, click Select > Object > All On Same Layers.

      Selection color boxes appear next to each selected item in the panel.

Select an object with the Selection, Lasso, or Magic Wand tool

Select objects with the Selection tool

  1. Select the Selection tool .

  2. Do either of the following:

    • Click an object.

    • Drag a marquee around part or all of one or more objects.

  3. To add or remove objects from the selection, hold down Shift and click or drag around the objects you want to add or remove.

    Tip: When the Selection tool is over a deselected object or group, it changes to . When it is over a selected object or group, the tool changes to  . When it is over an anchor point on a deselected object, a hollow square appears next to the arrow .

    Selecting objects
    Dragging over objects to select them

Select objects with the Lasso tool

  1. Select the Lasso tool .

  2. Drag around or across the objects.

Select objects with the Magic Wand tool

Use the Magic Wand tool to select all objects in a document with the same or similar fill attributes (such as color and pattern).

You can customize the Magic Wand tool to select objects based on stroke weight, stroke color, opacity, or blending mode. You can also change the tolerances used by the Magic Wand tool to identify similar objects.

Select objects based on fill color with the Magic Wand tool

  1. Select the Magic Wand tool .

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To create a selection, click the object containing the attributes you want to select. All objects with the same attributes that were clicked are selected.

    • To add to the current selection, press Shift and click another object containing the attributes you want to add. All objects with the same attributes that were clicked are also selected.

    • To subtract from the current selection, press Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the object containing the attributes you want to subtract. All objects with the same attributes are removed from the selection.

Customize the Magic Wand tool

  1. Do one of the following to open the Magic Wand panel:

    • Double-click the Magic Wand tool in the tool panel.

    • Select Window > Magic Wand.

  2. To select objects according to their fill color, select Fill Color, and then enter a Tolerance value from 0 through 255 pixels for RGB or 0 and 100 pixels for CMYK.

    Low tolerance values select objects that are similar to the object you click; higher tolerance values select objects with a broader range of the selected property.

  3. Choose Show Stroke Options from the Magic Wand panel menu, and do any of the following:

    • To select objects according to their stroke color, select Stroke Color, and then enter a Tolerance value from 0 through 255 pixels for RGB or 0 and 100 pixels for CMYK.

    • To select objects according to their stroke weight, select Stroke Weight, and then enter a Tolerance value from 0 through 1000 points.

  4. Click Show Transparency Options from the Magic Wand panel menu and do any of the following:

    • To select objects according to their transparency or blending mode, select Opacity, and then enter a Tolerance value from 0 through 100%.

    • To select objects according to their blending mode, select Blending Mode.

Select filled objects

The Object Selection By Path Only preference determines whether you can select a filled object by clicking anywhere within the object’s area with the Selection or Direct Selection tools, or whether you must click a path segment or anchor point with these tools. By default, this preference is off. Sometimes, you may want to turn on the preference—for example, when you work with overlapping filled objects and you want to easily select underlying objects.

Note:

The Object Selection By Path Only preference is not applicable when selecting unfilled objects or when viewing artwork as outlines. In these cases, you can never select an object by clicking inside the object’s path. (See View artwork as outlines.)

With Object Selection By Path Only deselected, clicking inside the object and dragging selects and moves an object.
With Object Selection By Path Only deselected, clicking inside the object and dragging selects and moves an object.

With Object Selection By Path Only selected, dragging with the Direct Selection tool selects points and segments within a marquee.
With Object Selection By Path Only selected, dragging with the Direct Selection tool selects points and segments within a marquee.

  1. Click Edit > Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display (macOS), and select Object Selection By Path Only.

Select groups and objects in a group

Once objects are grouped, selecting any part of the group with the Selection tool or the Lasso tool selects the entire group. If you are unsure whether an object is a part of a group, select it with the Selection tool.

The Direct-Selection tool and Lasso tool let you select a single path or object that is part of one group or several groups. If you have groups of objects within other groups, you can select the next group in the grouping hierarchy by using the Group-Selection tool. Each successive click adds another subset of grouped objects to the selection.

Select one or more groups with the Selection tool

  1. Click the Selection tool .

  2. Do one of the following to any object that’s within the group:

    • Click the object.

    • Drag around part or all of the object.

  3. To add or remove a group to the selection, hold down Shift while clicking the group to add or remove.

Select objects and groups within groups with the Selection tool

  1. Select the Selection tool .

  2. Double-click a group. The group appears in isolation mode.

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Double-click to select further down into the group structure.

      Tip: Double-clicking is a handy way to select objects (as opposed to faces and edges) within a Live Paint group.

    • Click to select an object within the selected group.

    • Draw to add an object to the selected group.

  4. Double-click outside the group to deselect the group.

Select a single object within a group

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Select the Group Selection tool , and click the object.

    • Select the Lasso tool , and drag around or across the object’s path.

    • Select the Direct Selection tool , and click within the object, or drag a marquee around part or all of the object’s path.

  2. To add or remove an object or group to or from the selection (with any selection tool), hold down Shift and select the object to add or remove.

Select objects and groups with the Group Selection tool

  1. Select the Group Selection tool , and click an object that’s within the group you want to select. The object is selected.

  2. To select the object’s parent group, click the same object again.

  3. Click the same object again to select more groups that are grouped with the selected group until you have selected everything you want to include in your selection.

    Group selection
    The first click with the Group Selection tool selects an object in a group (left); the second click selects the object’s group (right).

    Group selection
    The third click adds the next group to the selection (left); the fourth click adds the third group (right).

Select faces and edges in a Live Paint group

You select faces and edges of a Live Paint tool using the Live Paint Selection tool. If you want to select the entire Live Paint group, simply click it with the Selection tool.

  1. Select the Live Paint Selection tool .

  2. Move the tool over the Live Paint group until the face or edge you want to select is highlighted. (When the Live Paint Selection tool is over an edge, the tool changes to .)

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Click to select the highlighted face or edge.

    • Drag a marquee around multiple faces or edges. Any face or edge that is fully or partially enclosed by the marquee is included in the selection.

    • Double-click a face or edge to select all connected faces/edges of the same color (flood select).

    • Triple-click a face or edge to select all faces/edges of the same color (select same).

      Tip: If you have difficulty selecting a small face or edge, magnify the view or set the Live Paint Selection tool options to select only fills or strokes.

  4. To add or remove faces and edges from the selection, hold down Shift and click the faces/edges you want to add or remove.

Live Paint Selection tool options

You access the Live Paint selection tool options by double-clicking the tool in the tool panel.

Select Fills

Selects the faces (the area within edges) of Live Paint groups.

Select Strokes

Selects the edges of Live Paint groups.

Color

Sets the color for the highlight. You can choose a color from the menu or click the paint swatch to specify a custom color.

Width

Specifies how thick to make the selection highlight.

Select objects by characteristic

You can select objects based on various groupings, including by formatting attribute, by layer, or by kind, such as brush strokes or clipping masks.

  1. To select all objects in a file, click Select > All. (To deselect all objects, choose Select > Deselect.)

  2. To select all objects with the same attributes, select one with the attribute you want, click Select > Same, and then select an attribute from the list: Blending Mode, Fill & Stroke, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, Stroke Weight, Style, Symbol Instance, or Link Block Series.

    Link Block Series automatically selects threaded text boxes. You can select one of the text boxes and then use this command to select all the other text boxes linked to that one. For more information, see Threading text between objects.

    Note:

    You can also use the Magic Wand tool to select all objects with the same color, stroke weight, stroke color, opacity, or blending mode.

  3. To select all objects of a certain kind, deselect all artwork, click Select > Object, and then choose an object type (Brush Strokes, Clipping Masks, Stray Points, or Text Objects).

Select Same by text characteristics

You can now change the properties of all selected text boxes of a document at a time. You can select the text of multiple text objects based on the text characteristics like font size, text fill color, font style, font, and so on. 

Watch this 15-seconds video to learn how to change the font color of a text at multiple locations in a document at one go. 

To select all text objects with the same attribute, select a text, click Select > Same, and then choose an attribute from the list: 

  • Font Family
  • Font Family & Style
  • Font Family, Style & Size
  • Font Size
  • Text Fill Color
  • Text Stroke Color
  • Test Fill & Stroke Color

All the text boxes with similar attributes are selected. You can now change the font, size, and so on, from the Properties > Character panel. The changes are reflected in all the selected text boxes. 

You can create keyboard shortcuts or create actions for each of the Select > Same text tasks based on each attribute. 

Repeat, invert, or save a selection

Repeat or invert a selection

  • To repeat the last selection command used, choose Select > Reselect.

  • To select all deselected objects, and deselect all selected objects, choose Select > Inverse.

Save a selection

  1. Select one or more objects, and click Select > Save Selection.

  2. In the Save Selection dialog box, type a name in the Name text box, and click OK.

    You can reload a saved selection by choosing the selection name from the bottom of the Select menu. You can also delete or rename a selection by choosing Select > Edit Selection.

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