Select the text you want to adjust or highlight a specific pair of characters.
Last updated on
Oct 27, 2025
Learn how to adjust kerning and tracking to fine-tine character spacing in Illustrator.
Kerning is the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters. Kerning and tracking values affect Japanese text, but they are typically used to adjust the spacing between Roman characters.
Adjust kerning
Select Window > Type > Character.
In the Character panel, perform one of the following actions as needed:
- In the Set the kerning between two characters dropdown, select Auto or Metrics - Roman Only to apply the font’s built-in kerning values for selected characters.
- In the Set the kerning between two characters dropdown, select Optical to automatically adjust spacing based on the shapes of the selected characters.
- In the Set the kerning between two characters dropdown, enter a specific value in the dropdown to manually adjust spacing.
- In the Set the kerning between two characters dropdown, set the kerning value to 0 to turn off kerning for selected characters.
Tip
Press Alt + Left or Right Arrow (Windows) or Option + Left or Right Arrow (macOS) to decrease or increase the kerning between two characters.
Adjust tracking
Tracking is the process of loosening or tightening the spacing between the characters in selected text or an entire block of text.
Select the text you want to adjust.
Select Window > Type > Character.
In the Character panel, set the tracking value in the Set the tracking for the selected characters dropdown.
Tip
In the Set the tracking for the selected characters dropdown, enter a positive value to increase the spacing between all characters in the selected text.
In the Set the tracking for the selected characters dropdown, enter a negative value to decrease the spacing between characters.
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