Select Window > Type > Tabs to open the Tabs panel.
- What’s new
-
Add and import files
-
Start new files
- Create documents using presets
- Create and save custom document presets
- New Document dialog overview
- Create documents using blank templates
- Create files with large canvases
- Create documents using templates from Adobe Stock
- Rotate canvas view
- Organize, share, and collaborate using Projects
- Access projects in the Illustrator workspace and other apps
- Find and edit Adobe Express templates
- Import from other apps
- Import other file types
-
Start new files
-
Use generative AI
- Common questions about generative AI features in Illustrator
- Generate similar variations without text prompts
- Generate scenes, subjects, and icons
- Partner models in Adobe Illustrator
- Use Auto Select
- Generate patterns
- Manage pattern variations
- Edit generated patterns
- Generate shape fills
- Scenarios with repeat shape fill generation
- Recolor artwork with text prompts
- Generate vector graphics to expand artwork
- Options to expand the expanded artwork
- Generate print bleed
- View 2D objects from new angles
- Scenarios with linked variations
- Manage generated variations
-
Measure and align
- Use grids and guides
- Plot and measure
-
Paint and fill
-
Learn painting basics
- About fills and strokes
- Fill and stroke controls
- Apply fill colors
- Apply stroke colors
- Create multiple fills and strokes
- Convert strokes to compound paths
- Remove fills or strokes
- Select objects with same fill and stroke
- Paint tools overview
- Paint with the Live Paint Bucket tool
- Live Paint Bucket tool options
- Create Live Paint groups
- Isolate Live Paint groups
- Merge paths using the Blob Brush tool
- Blob brush options and best practices
- About Live Paint
- Find and close gaps in Live Paint groups
- Expand and release Live Paint groups
- Resize objects or paths within Live Paint groups
- Select faces, edges, and paths in Live Paint groups
- Add paths to a Live Paint group
- Live Paint limitations
-
Apply and edit strokes
- About brushes
- Brushes panel overview
- Draw paths with brush strokes
- Apply brush strokes to paths
- Remove brush strokes
- Customize arrowheads
- Add arrowheads to paths
- Paintbrush tool options
- Create brush libraries
- Import brushes
- Create brushes
- Create dotted or dashed lines
- Modify brushes
- Change the caps or joins of a line
- Convert brush strokes to outlines
- Create and edit gradients
- Create and edit meshes
- Create and edit patterns
-
Learn painting basics
-
Design with text
- Add and manage text
- Edit and format text
- Work with fonts and scripts
-
Create and manage artboards
- Add and edit artboards
-
Organize and manage artboards
- Use the artboard context menu
- Cut, copy, and paste artboards
- Move artboards
- Rearrange artboards
- Reorder artboards
- Align and distribute artboards
- Lock artboards
- Modify display settings of artboards
- Set artboard views
- Apply colors to artboards
- Set video display options for artboards
- Export selected artboards
- Manage colors
-
Manage layers
- Lock and hide layers
-
Manage objects
- Select objects
-
Reshape and transform objects
- Pathfinder panel overview
- Edit areas of overlapping objects with Pathfinder
- Create compound shapes with Pathfinder
- Transform objects
- Transform panel overview
- Scale objects
- Scale multiple objects
- Distort object
- Distort objects with envelopes
- Edit the contents of envelopes
- Envelope panel options
- Shear objects
- Intertwine objects
- About perspective drawing
- Draw objects in perspective
- Perspective grid options
- Define and manage perspective grid preset
- Move the perspective grid and adjust its vanishing points
- Adjust grid cell size and grid extent
- Adjust horizon heights and grid planes
- Adjust the perspective grid and the active plane widget
-
Create traces, mockups, and symbols
- Convert images to vector graphics
- Image Trace panel options
- Edit image trace results
- Save image trace presets
- Edit mockups
- Create mockups for images
- Save mockups as templates
- Create and place symbols
- Symbols panel options
- Edit symbols
- Create or import symbol libraries
- Maintain proportions while scaling symbols
- Transform symbols
-
Apply special effects and styles
- Apply filter effects
- Create 3D graphics
- Apply graphic styles
-
Automate and visualize data
-
Automate actions
- Actions panel overview
- Create new actions
- Insert non-recordable tasks into actions
- Specify playback speed
- Insert stops in actions
- Exclude commands from actions
- Add commands to actions
- Re-record actions
- Manage a set of actions
- Play actions on a batch of files
- Batch options
- Install and run scripts
- Merge data
- Set up data source files
- Import data source files
- Variable panel overview
- Work with variables
- Edit dynamic objects
-
Visualize data
- Data sets and label options
- Create graphs
- Add graph data
- Add graph labels and data sets
- Adjust decimal digits and column width
- Format columns, bars, and lines
- Select parts of a graph
- Change graph types
- Change graph value axes
- Assign different scales to value axes
- Change the position of legend in graphs
- Combine different graph types
- Add drop shadows to graphs
- Apply marker designs to graphs
- Format pie graphs
- Format graph text
- Reuse graph designs
-
Automate actions
- Troubleshoot
-
Save and export
- Export files to different formats
- Export to other apps
- Get started
Align graphic objects with Tabs
Learn how to align graphic objects with the Tabs panel in Adobe Illustrator.
You can position the Tabs panel anywhere in the work area. However, it's usually helpful to align the Tabs panel with a type object.
Select the magnet icon to move the panel directly over the selected text object, with the 0 point aligned with the left margin.
Drag the resize handle at the bottom right of the panel to adjust its width.
Snap tab stops to the ruler units
By default, you can position tab stops anywhere along the tab ruler.
Select the panel menu .
Select Snap to Unit, or hold Shift as you drag a tab stop.
Set tabs
Tab stops apply to an entire paragraph. When you set the first tab, Illustrator deletes all default tab stops to the left of that stop. As you set more tab stops, Illustrator deletes all default tabs between the tabs you set.
Select a type object to set tab stops for all paragraphs in the object.
In the Tabs panel, select a tab-alignment button to specify how text aligns relative to the tab’s position:
- Left-Justified Tab: Align horizontal text to the left, keeping the right margin ragged.
- Center-Justified Tab: Center text on the tab mark.
- Right-Justified Tab: Align horizontal text to the right, keeping the left margin ragged.
- Decimal-Justified Tab: Place text in alignment with a specified character, such as a period or a dollar sign. This option is useful for creating columns of numbers.
A. Left-Justified Tab B. Center-Justified Tab C. Right-Justified Tab D. Decimal-Justified Tab
To change tab ruler units, select Edit > Preferences > Units to set General units for all documents, or use Document Setup to set units just for the current file. These settings control the tab ruler's measurement system.