Working with Text

Beyond the mostly standard keyboard shortcuts for navigating through text and selecting it, Illustrator offers keyboard shortcuts for setting leading, kerning, and alignment.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Navigating Through Text

Windows [], Mac []

Move to the left by one character

Windows [], Mac []

Move to the right by one character

Windows [], Mac []

Move up by one line

Windows [], Mac []

Move down by one line

Windows [Ctrl]-[], Mac [ z ]-[]

Move to the left by one word

Windows [Ctrl]-, Mac [ z ]-[]

Move to the right by one word

Windows [Ctrl]-, Mac [ z ]-[]

Move up by one paragraph

Windows [Ctrl]-, Mac [ z ]-[]

Move down by one paragraph

Keyboard Shortcuts for Selecting Text

Windows [Shift]-, Mac [Shift]-[]

Select one character to the left

Note

These shortcuts work both for extending an existing selection (or creating a new selection) and for reducing an existing selection. For example, you can press [Shift]- to decrease an existing selection by one character.

Windows [Shift]-[], Mac [Shift]-[]

Select one character to the right

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[]

Select one word to the left

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[]

Select one word to the right

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[]

Select one paragraph upward

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[]

Select one paragraph downward

Keyboard Shortcuts for Working with Type

Windows [Shift]-[Enter], Mac [Shift]-[Return]

Insert a soft return

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[X], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[X]

Reset the horizontal scale to 100 percent

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[>], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[>]

Increase the point size

This shortcut and the next change the point size by the increment specified in the Size/Leading text box on the Type & Auto Tracing sheet of the Preferences dialog box.

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[<], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[<]

Decrease the point size

Windows [Shift], Mac [Shift]

Switch among the Type tools

Press [Shift] to switch temporarily between the Type tool and the Vertical Type tool, the Area Type tool and the Vertical Area Type tool, and the Path Type tool and the Vertical Path Type tool.

Windows [Alt]-click the Type tool, Mac [Option]-click the Type tool

Switch between the Area Type tool and the Type tool, the Path Type tool and the Area Type tool, and the Vertical Path Type tool and the Vertical Area Type tool.

Windows [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[I], Mac [ z ]-[Option]-[I]

Toggle the display of hidden characters

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[O], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[O]

Create outlines

Press this shortcut to convert the selected type into outlines that you can manipulate as graphic objects.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Setting Leading

Windows [Alt]-[], Mac [Option]-[]

Decrease the leading

This shortcut and the next change the leading by the increment specified in the Size/ Leading text box on the Type & Auto Tracing sheet of the Preferences dialog box.

Windows [Alt]-[], Mac [Option]-[]

Increase the leading

Windows [Alt]-[Shift]-[], Mac [Option]-[Shift]-[]

Increase the baseline shift

This shortcut and the next change the baseline shift by the increment specified in the Baseline Shift text box on the Type & Auto Tracing sheet of the Preferences dialog box.

Windows [Alt]-[Shift]-[], Mac [Option]-[Shift]-[]

Decrease the baseline shift

Keyboard Shortcuts for Kerning

Windows [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[Q], Mac [ z ]-[Option]-[Q]

Reset the tracking and kerning to 0 (zero)

Windows [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[K], Mac [ z ]-[Option]-[K]

Highlight kerning

Windows [Alt]-[], Mac [Option]-[]

Increase the kerning

This shortcut and the next several change the kerning (the space between two characters) by the increment specified in the Tracking text box on the Type & Auto Tracing sheet of the Preferences dialog box.

Windows [Alt]-[], Mac [Option]-[]

Decrease the kerning

Windows [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[], Mac [ z ]-[Option]-[]

Increase the kerning by five times the increment value

Windows [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[], Mac [ z ]-[Option]-[]

Decrease the kerning by five times the increment value

Windows [Ctrl]-[Alt]-[\], Mac [ z ]-[Option]-[\]

Increase the kerning between the selected words by the increment value

Keyboard Shortcuts for Aligning Paragraphs

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[L], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[L]

Left-align the paragraph

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[R], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[R]

Right-align the paragraph

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[C], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[C]

Center the paragraph

Windows [Ctrl]-[Shift]-[J], Mac [ z ]-[Shift]-[J]

Justify the paragraph