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
 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 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.

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:
1. 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.
2. 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:
1. 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.

2. 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.
Note:
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.