Illustrator's Type Tool: A Comprehensive Introduction

1. How to Use the Type Tool in Illustrator

Type Tool in Illustrator (T)
Click on the artboard to begin a Point Text object. Alternatively, click and drag, or
click on a closed path to create an Area Type object.

Area Type Tool in Illustrator

Click on a closed path to create an Area Type object, which constrains text within
that path. This is the basis of the Area Type Tool in Illustrator.
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Type on a Path Illustrator Tool

The Type on a Path Tool can be really useful for different designs. Click on a path to
constrain text along that path.

Would you like to know more about the Type on a Path Illustrator tool? Check out this
tutorial:

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 Working With Type on a Path in Illustrator

Vertical Type Tool in Illustrator

Click on the artboard to begin a Point Text object with vertically flowing text.
Vertical Area Type Tool

The vertical Type Tool has many more uses. Click on a closed path to create an Area
Type object containing vertically flowing text.

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Vertical Type on a Path Tool

Here's another use of the path type tool in Illustrator. Click on a path to constrain
vertically flowing text along that path.
Touch Type Tool in Illustrator (Shift-T)

Click on characters from a piece of text and use the handles to rotate, scale, or move
a selected character. And that's the Touch Type Tool in Illustrator.

2. What Are the Different Cursors?

The type Illustrator tool takes on different forms depending on which you select. Each
cursor intuitively makes you aware of the action you are about to perform.
3. How to Use Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts

Wondering about the Illustrator keyboard shortcuts for working with type? Here are
the most useful:

 Select the Type Tool (T)

 Select the Touch Type Tool (Shift-T)
 Show/Hide the Character panel (Control-T)
 Show/Hide the OpenType panel (Alt-Shift-Control-T)
 Show/Hide the Paragraph panel (Alt-Control-T)
 Show/Hide the Tabs panel (Shift-Control-T)
 Create Outlines (Shift-Control-O)
 Show/Hide Hidden Characters (Alt-Control-I)
4. How to Use Keyboard Controls

Press the Esc key when you're done typing to quickly release your text and switch to
the Selection Tool as your text object remains selected.

Hold Shift whilst the Type Tool, Area Type Tool, or Type on a Path Tool is selected
to switch between vertical and horizontal orientation.

Hold Alt whilst the Area Type Tool is selected to switch to the Type on a Path
Tool or vice versa.

Hold Alt whilst the Vertical Area Type Tool is selected to switch to the Vertical Type
on a Path Tool or vice versa.

5. What Are the Different Type Panels?

Type is a huge part of what Illustrator does, and as a result, the list of options for
defining text is immense.

The most appropriate panels when working on text-based documents can be revealed
by going to Window > Workspace > [Type]. This default workspace will give you all
the essential type-editing panels.

Further panels can be found under Window > Type, and the most crucial are listed
below with brief descriptions.

The Character Panel in Illustrator

This is your text-editing workhorse. Here you can alter the appearance of your type,
character by character. Here are some useful terms found in the Character panel
(Window > Type > Character):

1. Font Family: self-explanatory, in this case Alma Mono Bold

2. Font Style: version of the font such as Regular, Bold, Light, Condensed, etc.
3. Font Size: set the size of the text
4. Leading: sets the spacing between lines of text
5. Kerning: sets the spacing between two characters
 6. Tracking: sets the character spacing across selected text
7. Vertical Scale: sets the character height
8. Horizontal Scale: sets the character width
9. Baseline Shift: sets the height of the baseline upon which text sits
10.Character Rotation: sets the rotation of the specified characters
11.All Caps/Small Caps: turns the selected text into capital or lowercase letters
12.Superscript/Subscript - turns the selected text into superscript or subscript
13.Underline/Strikethrough: underline or strikethrough text
14.Language: sets the language of the text, which will also dictate the
hyphenation rules
15.Anti-Aliasing: can be used to adjust the smoothness of the text

Check out this tutorial if you wish to learn more about the Character panel in
Illustrator:

A Beginner's Guide to the Character Panel in Illustrator

The Paragraph Panel

The Paragraph panel (Window > Type > Paragraph) provides all your basic options
for defining paragraphs (sections of text separated by line breaks). Options here
include indentation, alignment, bulleted or numbered lists, and spacing above and
below paragraphs.

Also worth noting is the Hyphenation option. When checked, this allows words to be
hyphenated (-) should they be too long for the text area and need wrapping to the
following line. Where exactly the words become hyphenated is defined by the
selected language from the Character panel. Make sure, therefore, that if you choose
Hyphenation, the selected language corresponds with the language of the text.

The OpenType Panel

The OpenType panel (Window > Type > OpenType) is used to define how you wish to
display alternate OpenType characters within your document. Alternative characters
available for the selected font family can be seen in the Glyphs panel.
The Glyphs Panel

The Glyphs panel (Window > Type > Glyphs) displays alternative characters available
for any given font. With the type cursor prepared for typing on your artboard, click on
a glyph to insert it into your document. This panel allows different-sized thumbnails
for ease of viewing, a selection menu to display only certain glyphs, and drop-down
menus for alternatives.
The Character Styles Panel

When building a document with recurring styles, you can use the Character
Styles panel (Window > Type > Character Styles) to predefine styles to apply to
multiple instances of type.

For example, let's say you have a header which you set to 18pt, Bold, and underlined.
Use the New Character Style button from the panel submenu to save these attributes
as a style. Future instances of text to which you apply this style will adopt this
appearance. Editing the style and using the Redefine Character Style command will
instantly update all text instances that use your style.

The Paragraph Styles Panel

The Paragraph Styles panel (Window > Type > Paragraph Styles) acts in the same
way as the Character Styles panel but (obviously) applies styles to paragraphs.
The Tabs Panel

Whilst text is selected, open this panel to have it appear directly above your text.
Add and edit tabs to apply immediate results to the selected text.

Type Toolbar Options

All your fundamental type options can also be found in the Toolbar (Window >
Toolbar).

Pressing the Character or the Paragraph underlined text will open the Charater or
the Paragraph panels.
6. How to Set Up Type Illustrator Preferences

Preferences

Go to Edit > Preferences > Type. Listed here are some of the more important options
under the Type Preferences dialogue:

 Size / Leading: Line height.

 Tracking: Character spacing across a selected text.
 Baseline Shift: Height of baseline upon which text sits.
 Show East Asian/Indiac Options: Enable East Asian or Indic language settings.
o Type Object Selection by Path Only: Allows the selection of type only
by clicking on the object's path, not the text.
o Show Font Names in English: Displays the font names in English.
o Auto Size New Area Type Tool: Enlarges the object in which you type to
make it fit all the text.
o Enable in-menu Font Previews: Determines whether or not font
previews are displayed.

o Number of Recent Fonts: Set how many recently used fonts are shown
when you open the Fonts list.
o Enable Japanese Font Preview in 'Find More': Lets you preview
Japanese fonts when you're in the Find More tab.
o Enable Missing Glyph Protection: When a font is missing a certain glyph,
Illustrator keeps the one from the previous font.
o Une Inline Input for Non-Latin Text: Make all the text go left-to-right
and top-to-bottom, including non-Latin text.
o Highlight Substituted Fonts: Highligts text which uses fonts that you do
not have installed.

o Fill New Type Objects With Placeholder Text: Adds Lorem Ipsum
placeholder text to any new text object that you create.

o Show Character Alternates: Display the glyph alternatives when

selecting a character from the text.
 o Automatic Bulleted and Numbered lists while typing: Keep this
enabled to automatically turn your text into a list whenever you
press + followed by a space. Also applies to the * and - symbols.

Hyphenation

Go to Illustrator > Preferences > Hyphenation. Just as explained under The

Paragraph Panel, this determines the base language of your text for hyphenation
purposes. Exceptions are also allowed for text which won't be hyphenated when text
wrapping is needed. In this example, EnvatoTuts+ and Illustrator are made exempt
from hyphenation.
7. What Are the Other Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts and Tips?

Text Flow Between Containers

Using the Direct Selection Tool (A), click on the small red cross icon on an Area Type
Object (this appears when text is too large for the container). Clicking again on the
artboard will create a container of equal dimensions.
Clicking and dragging will create a container of whatever dimensions you determine.
Your text will automatically flow between the newly linked containers.

Deleting Empty Type Objects

Go to Object > Path > Clean Up and select Empty Text Paths to remove unwanted
empty type objects which may have slipped your attention.
Handling Type on a Path

Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to edit handle positions along a Type Path. Handles
affect start points, end points, position, and the baseline (whether above or below a
path).

Use the central handle to flip the baseline or go to Type > Type On A Path > Type On
A Path Options, select Flip, and click OK.