Toolbar in Illustrator on desktop

A. Getting Started toolbar B. Basic toolbar C. Advanced toolbar D. All Tools drawer E. Flyout menu F. A tool already available in the toolbar G. A tool that can be dragged into the toolbar H. Tool category

Illustrator provides the following types of toolbar:

Getting Started: This toolbar is the default toolbar if you're a new user. It contains the most essential tools, arranged in categories, to help you get started with Illustrator. To view the complete list of tools, select Edit Toolbar ... at the bottom of the Getting Started toolbar. The All Tools drawer appears with all the tools.
Basic: This toolbar contains a select set of frequently used tools. Open the All Tools drawer to view the complete list of tools.
Advanced: This toolbar contains all the tools available in Illustrator.

To switch between toolbars, navigate to Window > Toolbars, or open the All Tools drawer flyout menu.

For the Middle East and North African (MENA) versions of Illustrator, if you can't see the MENA Type tools in the Getting Started or Basic toolbar, do one of the following to use these tools:

Open the All Tools drawer, and drag the MENA Type tools from the drawer to the toolbar.
Open the Advanced toolbar.

Work with the toolbar

Select a tool in the toolbar

To select a tool, do one of the following:

Click a tool in the toolbar. If there is a small triangle at a tool’s lower-right corner, hold down the mouse button to view the hidden tools, and then click the tool you want to select.
Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS), and then click a tool to cycle through and select hidden tools.
Press the tool’s keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut is displayed in its tooltip. For example, you can select the Move tool by pressing the V key.

To hide tool tips, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (macOS), and deselect Show Tool Tips.

View tool options

Some tools in the toolbar have options that appear in the Properties panel. Additionally, you can also double-click a tool in the toolbar to view and change the settings for that tool.

Move the toolbar

You can move the toolbar by dragging its title bar.

View the toolbar in double-stack or single-column

Click the double-arrow on the title bar to toggle between the single-column and double-stack view of the toolbar.

Hide the toolbar

To show or hide the toolbar, do one of the following:

Select Window > Toolbars.
Click the close button on the title bar.

Customize the toolbar

You can customize a toolbar by moving tools between the toolbar and the drawer. You can add more tools from the drawer to the toolbar or remove tools from the toolbar.

The tools can be added, removed, or rearranged in the toolbar only when the drawer is open. The toolbar is locked for editing when the drawer is closed.

Add and remove tools

You can add one tool or multiple tools together as a group from the All Tools drawer to the toolbar.

To add one tool at a time to the toolbar, drag the tool and drop it at the divider line between the tools.

To remove a tool from the toolbar, drag the tool from the toolbar and drop it anywhere in the drawer. The tool is automatically added to the category to which it belongs.

To go back to the original settings, select Reset in the flyout menu of the drawer.

A. Adding a tool as a group on the toolbar B. Adding a tool separately on the toolbar

Add multiple tools as a group

You can select multiple tools from the drawer, irrespective of the categories they belong to, and add them as one group to the toolbar:

Press the Shift key and click the tools you want to add to the toolbar. Alternatively, use Ctrl+ click (Windows) or Cmd+click (macOS) to select multiple tools.
Drag the selection and drop it at the divider line between tools in the toolbar.

The icon for the tool you select first is displayed in the toolbar.

Similarly, to remove multiple tools together, you can select them using the Shift key and drag them from the toolbar to the drawer.

A. Adding multiple tools as a group within a tool on the toolbar B. Adding multiple tools in a separate group on the toolbar

Note:

If you install any third-party tools, by default, they are shown in the toolbar. If you've added more custom toolbars, the third-party tools are available in their drawers.

Change tool pointers

The pointer for most tools matches the tool’s icon. Each pointer has a different hotspot, where an effect or action begins. With most tools, you can switch to precise cursors, which appear as cross hairs centered on the hotspot, and provide for greater accuracy when working with detailed artwork. Do one of the following:

Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > General (macOS), and select Use Precise Cursors.
Press Caps Lock on the keyboard.

Show or hide controls

You can show or hide the following controls in the toolbar by selecting their icons in the Show section displayed at the bottom of the drawer:

Fill Stroke controls
Coloring controls
Draw Mode controls
Screen Mode controls

Change drawing modes and screen modes from the toolbar

Select the Drawing Modes icon at the bottom of the toolbar to change the drawing mode from Draw Normal () to Draw Behind () or Draw Inside ().

Additionally, you can also change the screen mode by selecting the Change Screen Mode icon () at the bottom of the toolbar and choosing the desired screen mode.

Create and manage toolbars

Do the following to create your own customized toolbars:

In the drawer of the toolbar, choose New Toolbar in the flyout menu.
Select Window > Toolbars > New Toolbar.

After you provide a name and select OK, a blank toolbar is created. Select the Edit Toolbar button to open the drawer and add tools to the toolbar.

Manage toolbars

When you have multiple toolbars, do the following to manage them:

Do one of the following to open the Manage Toolbars dialog box:
- Select Window > Toolbars > Manage Toolbars.
- Select Manage Toolbars in the flyout menu of the drawer.
In the Manage Toolbars dialog box, do one of the following:
- Rename: Select a toolbar from the list, and type a new name for the toolbar in the text box.
- New/Copy: To create a copy of a toolbar, select the toolbar from the list, and select the + button. If no toolbar is selected, a new toolbar is created.
- Delete: Select a toolbar from the list, and then select the Delete button.