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.
- Illustrator User Guide
- Get to know Illustrator
- Introduction to Illustrator
- Workspace
- Workspace basics
- Create documents
- Learn faster with the Illustrator Discover panel
- Accelerate workflows using the Contextual Task Bar
- 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
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- Drawing
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- Basics
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- Add and edit content
- Drawing
- Drawing basics
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- Draw pixel-perfect art
- Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
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- Simplify a path
- Symbolism tools and symbol sets
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- 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
- Measurement
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- Composers for Asian scripts
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Learn about the Basic and Advanced toolbars, how to customize the toolbar, and create and manage multiple toolbars.
When you open a document in Illustrator, a toolbar appears at the left of the screen that contains various tools to create your artwork.
Toolbar types
Illustrator provides the following types of toolbar:
- Basic: This toolbar is displayed by default when Illustrator is launched. It includes a selective set of tools that you frequently need while working on Illustrator. To view the complete list of tools, select the Edit Toolbar (...) icon displayed at the bottom of the Basic toolbar. The All Tools drawer appears listing all the tools available in Illustrator.
- Advanced: This toolbar includes all the tools available in Illustrator. To switch from the Basic toolbar to Advanced, do one of the following:
- Select Window > Toolbars > Advanced.
- Select Advanced in the flyout menu of the drawer.
(For MENA locales) If you are not able to view the MENA Type tools in the Basic toolbar, which is displayed by default, do one of the following to use these tools:
- Open the All Tools drawer of the Basic toolbar by selecting the Edit Toolbar button and drag the MENA Type tools from the drawer to the toolbar.
- Open the Advanced toolbar.
A. Basic toolbar B. Advanced toolbar C. All Tools drawer D. Flyout menu E. Tool category F. Tool available in the toolbar G. Tool available in the drawer
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 tool tip. 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.
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:
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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
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:
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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.
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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.
A toolbar is persistent in the workspace it is created in. If you change to another workspace and then return to the original workspace, any toolbars created are retained and reopened.
We've got you started on how to customize and manage the toolbar. Take a step forward and learn about all the brushes, default keyboard shortcuts, and tools in Illustrator that will help you easily illustrate your ideas on the artboard.
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