- Illustrator User Guide
- Get to know Illustrator
- Introduction to Illustrator
- Workspace
- Workspace basics
- Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
- Create documents
- 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 and dimensioning
- 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
- Image Trace
- 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
- Measure and plot dimensions
- 3D objects and materials
- Color
- Painting
- Select and arrange objects
- 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
- 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
- Create 3D text effect
- 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 and dimensioning
- Import, export, and save
- Import
- Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
- Save and export
- Printing
- Prepare for printing
- Printing
- Automate tasks
- Troubleshooting
Learn how to work with the MacBook Pro Touch Bar in Illustrator.
Illustrator supports Touch Bar, the multitouch display at the top of the new MacBook Pro keyboard. Using the Touch Bar, you can access Illustrator features and controls right in the context of your current task on the main screen. The Touch Bar supports familiar gestures, such as tap, drag, and slide.
For more information about Touch Bar fundamentals, see this Apple documentation page.
Touch Bar interface
By default, a part of the Touch Bar interface is reserved for macOS system controls. Controls for Illustrator are displayed in the app-specific area in the middle of the Touch Bar interface.
A. Illustrator controls B. macOS system controls (Control Strip and Esc)
Contextual operations
Several context-specific operations become available depending on what you're working on in Illustrator.
- In the Start workspace, the Touch Bar displays the controls to create and open a document.
- When no object is selected in the Illustrator workspace, the Touch Bar displays controls to create and open a document, place a file, show or hide rulers, grids, and guides, and work with artboards.
- When a path object is selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the fill color, stroke color, opacity, alignment, and arrangement.
- When multiple path objects are selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the fill color, stroke color, opacity, alignment, and arrangement. You can also apply Pathfinder effects and g roup selected objects.
- When a text object is selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the fill color, stroke color, opacity, alignment, arrangement, paragraph alignment, and font size.
- When multiple text objects are selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the fill color, stroke color, opacity, alignment, arrangement, and paragraph alignment. You can also group the selected text objects using the Touch Bar.
- When your selection contains a text object and a path object, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the fill color, stroke color, opacity, alignment, and arrangement. You can also group the selected objects using the Touch Bar.
- When an image is selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust its opacity, alignment, and arrangement. You can also choose the option to crop or mask the image using the Touch Bar.
- When you select a grouped object, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the opacity, alignment, and arrangement of the group. You can also ungroup the objects using the Touch Bar.
- When any other object is selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the opacity, alignment, and arrangement.
- When multiple other objects are selected, the Touch Bar displays controls to adjust the opacity, alignment, and arrangement. You can also group the objects using the Touch Bar.
Illustrator controls in the Touch Bar
Icon | Control name | Description |
---|---|---|
New | Use this control to jump to the New Document dialog box that lets you create a document in Illustrator. You can choose from a wide variety of presets and templates, including templates from Adobe Stock. | |
Open | Opens Illustrator documents and other compatible files using the File > Open command | |
Place | Imports a file into the currently open document using the File > Place command | |
Ruler | Shows or hides the ruler | |
Grid | Shows or hides the grid | |
Guides | Shows or hides guides | |
Artboards | Displays additional options to create or delete an artboard | |
Navigate artboards | Navigates to the first, last, previous, or next artboard in your document | |
Fill color | Displays a color picker. Adjust the sliders to select a fill color | |
Stroke color | Displays a color picker. Adjust the sliders to select a stroke color | |
Opacity | Adjusts the opacity (0-100%) of the selected object | |
Align | You can align the selected object using the options available in the Align panel and align to a selection, an artboard, or a key option. | |
Arrange | Changes the stacking order of the selected object in your artwork. You can choose one of the following options: Bring To Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward, and Send To Back. For details, see Stack objects. | |
Paragraph alignment | Lets you align and justify the text using options available in the Paragraph panel | |
Font size | Lets you use the slider to adjust the font size | |
Pathfinder | Lets you choose the desired options from the Shape Modes and the Pathfinder Effects to combine multiple objects into new shapes | |
Crop | Launches the cropping interface in Illustrator. You can crop linked or embedded images using intuitive widget controls. Then, select Apply to crop the image or Cancel to exit the cropping interface using the Touch Bar. | |
Mask | Creates a clipping mask | |
Group | Combines the selected objects into a group so that they are treated as a single unit | |
Ungroup | Ungroups a grouped selection so that the objects are treated as individual elements |