Touch workspace in Illustrator

If you've used Illustrator with a mouse and keyboard, you might wonder how a touch-based device can offer the same precision for vector work. The Touch workspace answers that by reimagining the interface for stylus and finger input.

The Touch workspace is designed for Windows devices with touch support. It adapts vector editing tools in Illustrator for stylus and finger input. It consolidates tools and controls into a streamlined touch-friendly layout with larger targets, gesture-based navigation, and contextual panels.

The Touch workspace organizes tools and controls into four areas:

App bar: Create, save, close, and share documents, switch workspaces, and open Help Overlays that describe the workspace and supported gestures.

Tool bar: Access tools and basic editing actions. Tool groups open drawers that contain related tools.

Control panel: Access panels available for the selected tool or object, such as Color, Stroke, Transparency, Transform, Align, and Text.

Document bar: Switch between artboards, navigate artboards, create artboards, and change the view or magnification.

Tool consolidation for touch input

The Touch workspace groups related tools into drawers to keep the tool bar simple. For example, the Shape tools drawer combines the Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, and Ellipse tools, and the Pen tools drawer combines the Curvature, Pen, and Anchor Point tools. Select a drawer, and then select a tool inside it.

This consolidation keeps essential tools accessible without removing functionality. Larger touch targets make tools and controls easier to select, while precise cursors help you place path points accurately with a finger or stylus.

The Control panel also consolidates options for the selected tool or object, so you can access relevant settings without opening multiple panels.

Supported gestures

Use these gestures to navigate the artboard and work with objects in the Touch workspace:

Zoom in: Pinch outward to increase magnification.

Zoom out: Pinch inward to reduce magnification.

Pan: Drag with two fingers across the screen to pan the artboard.

Context widget: Tap and hold an object to open the Context widget.

Switch Selection / Drawing modes: Tap with two fingers to switch between selection and drawing modes.

The two-finger tap gesture lets you avoid manually switching tools when moving between drawing and editing tasks.

Switch between workspaces

The Touch workspace integrates with the standard workspace system in Illustrator, allowing you to switch between the touch and classic interfaces at any time. Use the Touch workspace icon in the App bar or select Touch from the Workspaces menu. On devices with a detachable keyboard, Illustrator switches to the Touch workspace when you detach the keyboard, and returns to the previous workspace when you attach it again.

When you switch workspaces, Illustrator keeps your document open and adapts the interface for touch or keyboard-and-mouse input. Your panel layout and tool arrangement return when you switch back to a classic workspace.