How to Edit Text in Illustrator

In this guide, we’re going to explore how to edit text effectively in Adobe Illustrator. We'll cover text options, as well as character and paragraph styling options, to enhance your design workflow. Illustrator offers versatile tools to make typography adjustments that can align with your creative vision. Let’s dive into it step-by-step.

Text Tool Overview

The primary tool for text editing in Illustrator is the Type Tool, easily accessible by pressing the shortcut key T. It appears as the letter T icon in your tool panel. There are several type tools available, but the most commonly used is the Type Tool.

Types of Text: Point Type and Area Type

Point Type: Click once on your document to create Point Type. This type does not wrap and has no bounding text box.
Area Type: Click and drag to create a text box where the text wraps within the defined area.

To exit selected text, press the Escape key, which switches you back to the Selection Tool, allowing you to move and resize your text.

Text Box Edges: Adjusting the edges of a text box changes the size and forces text to wrap.
Point Type Scaling: Adjusting Point Type scales and skews the text as you resize it. By holding Shift, you can maintain the text’s proportions.

Use Area Type when working within a specific space and Point Type for quickly placing and resizing text.

Text Editing Options

Navigate to Window > Type in the dropdown menu to access text settings like Character and Paragraph adjustment panels.

Character Panel

Fill: Change the fill color of the text.
Stroke: Add a stroke to your text, adjusting its size and color.
Font: Change the font type and style, including bold and italic settings.
Font Size: Adjust the size of the font using the input field or dropdown menu.
Line Spacing: Modify the spacing between lines of text.
Kerning and Letter Spacing: Adjust the space between individual letters (kerning) or all selected text (tracking).

Additionally, the Character Panel offers more advanced options such as changing text case, superscripting, subscripting, underlining, anti-aliasing methods, and more.

Paragraph Panel

Alignment: Quickly align text to the left, center, right, or justify it within the text box.
Hyphenation: Choose to enable or disable automatic hyphenation.
Advanced Spacing and Indent Options: Adjust paragraphs' indentations and spacing.
Bullets and Numbering: Add and customize bullets and numbering if you are using updated versions of Illustrator.

Advanced Text Box Options

Using the Type dropdown in the main menu, you can explore additional options:

Converting Text Types: Convert Area Type to Point Type and vice versa.
Area Type Options: Adjust width, height, rows, columns, and text alignment within a text box. Enable Auto Size to automatically adjust the text box size to fit the content.
Special Characters: Insert special characters, change text case, or initiate find and replace operations.

Threading Text Boxes

If your text overflows a text box, you can thread it into another text box. Click the small plus icon that appears at the edge of an overflowing text box, then create a new text box to continue the text flow.

Finalizing Text for Print

To ensure text appears correctly when shared or sent for printing, you may need to outline your text:

Creating Outlines: Go to Type > Create Outlines. This converts your text into editable shapes, ensuring compatibility regardless of the available fonts.

Illustrator versus InDesign

While Illustrator offers substantial text editing capabilities, Adobe InDesign is generally better suited for extensive text-based projects like brochures or spreads. Consider using InDesign for more complex text layouts, as it provides more advanced text handling features.

Keywords

Illustrator
Text Editing
Type Tool
Point Type
Area Type
Character Panel
Paragraph Panel
Text Box
Kerning
Tracking
Justification
Hyphenation
Threading Text Boxes
Creating Outlines
InDesign

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between Point Type and Area Type in Illustrator? A: Point Type is created by clicking once and doesn’t wrap around; it scales with resizing. Area Type is created by clicking and dragging, which creates a text box that allows text to wrap.

Q: How can I avoid text distortion when resizing Point Type? A: Hold the Shift key while resizing to maintain the text proportions and avoid distortion.

Q: Where can I find the options to change text font and size? A: These options are located in the Character panel, accessible through Window > Type > Character or in the Properties panel when text is selected.

Q: How do I thread text boxes together in Illustrator? A: Click the plus icon that appears when your text overflows a text box, then click and drag to create a new text box. The text will automatically flow into the new box.

Q: When should I consider using InDesign instead of Illustrator for text editing? A: Use InDesign for projects with extensive amounts of text, such as brochures or magazines, as it offers more advanced text handling and layout options compared to Illustrator.