Illustrator 101: Escape Text Boxes without the Mouse
This is a quick Illustrator tip, but in my opinion, a priceless one if its new to you. Have you ever been typing in Illustrator and hit the “V” key to select the move tool (or any other tool shortcut for that matter), but instead, Illustrator just types a v? Yeah, it happened to me all the time, until I figured this out. Are you tired of having to click on the move tool, then click on the artboard, then click the text tool, and then click again, just to start another empty text box? It’s truly annoying to be stripped of your tool shortcuts while you’re editing an active text box, but help is only one keystroke away.
While editing an active text box, like above, chances are there are 1 of 3 things you’d like to do next. 1) Move the text box, 2) Change something about the font (size, color, etc), or 3) Select a different tool once your done in order to continue doing something else. If you try to type a shortcut for a tool, you’re just typing letters. Man that can get annoying…
Instead of using the mouse to select a new tool to get out of your text box, all you need to do is hit the “Escape” key (Windows + Mac). This will get you out of the editing mode of the text box and keep the text box selected. It also automatically selects the Move tool (Black Arrow). From there, you can hit your keyboard shortcuts for any tool you want, adjust your font (since the text box is still selected), or move the text box with your mouse or keyboard nudges. Truly a time saver. I hope you all get to know this keystroke intimately. :) Believe it or not, this doesn’t work in Photoshop. In Photoshop, hitting the Escape key deletes the current text box, as well as the layer.
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Tags: Illustrator, Textbox, Workflow
I feel bad for people who are just discovering this…
THANK YOU! This has been irking me for a very long time, so nice to finally know the trick!
Any solution for photoshop?
You can also do this in Photoshop (commit text) by hitting Enter on the Numeric Keypad (not the Return key). It doesn’t automatically select the Move tool afterwards like this Illustrator tip, but you can immediately start selecting other keyboard shortcuts.
Cool! Thanks Robbie S.
In PS you can use the enter key on the num pad like Robbie S sayd, or you can also hit ctrl+enter.
This difference is one adobe inconsistency i wish adobe would address.
CMD+Return seems to work in photoshop. Also, in Illustrator hold down the CMD key and click out side the text box, will still be in the text tool, but can use your short cuts again. I like the later illustrator trick just b/c i usually have a finger closer to the CMD key than ESC. Regardless, I like this new tip…great to know.
Yep, I use the num keyboard Enter key all the time in Photoshop to commit changes — it’s very convenient as after I type something I move my right hand towards the mouse and on the way I use my thumb to hit the right most Enter key.
I also use the Esc key in Photoshop to discard type changes.
Gawd, it’s about time I learned this tip! Thanks.
ahhh, me thankee so much!
Now I have the trick in Ill and PS! Was wondering a better method for PS typing, grrrrr that v key!
Thanks Bitt, and the aforementioned!
Wow, this is great! Thanks for the tip!
One really nice thing about MultiAd Creator (if you know it, I feel for you since it probably means you lay out grocery ads) was that the keypad enter key was a toggle from the black arrow to the text tool. You could have a text box selected, hit enter, do whatever to your copy, hit enter, move the text box. It sounds odd at first, but I still, 5 years later, find myself stabbing at the enter key with my right thumb.
Another way out of the text box in Illy is to hit the command key and click out of your text box.
Thanks you soo much!!! This bothered me soo much too!!
hey jimmy! SUCK IT!
I do this a lot in InDesign when I’m editing documents. I’ll type some text, then I’ll hit the spacebar to select the hand tool so I can more somewhere else in the page. I’ll end up typing a line or two of empty spaces before I realize what I’m doing. Unfortunately the esc key doesn’t work in InDesign either :-(
I haven’t really dealt with large text blocks in Illustrator before, but thank you for the tip! Indesign is usually more efficient at handling longer text documents.
Thank God for this shortcut! thank you thank you thank you!
Cool, thanks for the tip!
Thanks.
:héhé:
Thx for this tip dude :)
IT was fkin irritating to have that “v” constantly ;)
HF^
…GASP!!!
you mean i have one less reason to get really T-O’ed! Muchas Gracias!
Sounds obvious enough, so why didn’t I already know about it :) Thank you for the tip.
i use “ctrl + enter”
Hey Jimmy… you ever figure there are people out there that are only starting to use this application now, I reckon a mighty handy tip at the begining of the game… I’m with mk on this one… shot for another handy tip BB… Rock oN and Rock OuT!i
This does work in InDesign CS3.
the greatest thing on this site is this tip:
In PS you can use the enter key on the num pad like Robbie S sayd, or you can also hit ctrl+enter.
THANKS!
especially when you’ve used the tab-key to blank out the toolbar!
you just changed my life.
does anyone know of a shortcut for this in indesign?? that would be fantastical! thanks! :)
@Kristin - see below
Holding down the CMD/CTL key will swap you temporarily over to the Selection Tool (the V tool, as many folks like to call it), allowing you to move anything you want and/or back out of a text box. I find this a better option than hitting Escape or Enter, because if I’m working on text, I don’t have to hit “T” again to bring up the Text Tool. All I have to do is release CMD/CTL. That’s one less keystroke needed to get around. I use InDesign a lot, which is where this temp Selection Tool feature is an extremely valuable technique. It also works in Photoshop if you wish to move around your active text box, but the difference there is that the cursor will remain in the text box, ready to edit, after you release CMD/CTL.
Someday, maybe, Adobe will manage to get all these programs behaving more like one another.
Great trick - I can’t even say how many times one of our copywriters wonders why there is a random “v” in the copy block. I had my clicking and key maneuvers worked out perfectly to get around this too.
I second (or third) the Apple+Return shortcut in PS to get out text boxes; that also saves some time.
Keep up the good work - this is why Bittbox is part of my morning design blog session.
Thanks Bitt. You don’t know how many times a rough has come back to me with an extra “v” or “t” in the copy!
Oh THANK YOU! I’m just stunned that it’s that easy (and obvious).
WOW!!! Thats’ golden!! Thanks Bitt.. a real mug-saver… (’Cos I’d eventually end up throwing it against a wall :-P)
yep, i’m one of the slow ones who just learned this today… thanks for the helpful tips! all these shortcuts really do add up to some serious time-saving.
evrerybody know this no-tips … FAKE !!
DK, on June 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Any solution for photoshop?
>>> JUST use “enter” touch on the chiffer panel
Umm….I feel like a dumbass for not knowing this earlier. Thanks for making me laugh at myself and posting this simple trick.
No-tips? If they didn’t write it anywhere, I wouldn’t found it..
thanks.. It was really pissing me off, everytime over and over and over and over..
So I’m reading the first paragraph going, “Yes….yes….yes, yes…yes….” After a boisterous “AMEN!” I read the rest of the article. I knew it could be done, but I didn’t know how. And I certainly didn’t want to search for it…. you know, waste precious web time surfing for a tip when I could be getting freebies… :)
Anyway, thanks. I’m one of the sad souls now rejoicing. :)
I too had the problem with photoshop… especially when i was in black f mode with hide menus (don’t know what that is actually called) and would hit escape because it was the only way to get back my menu to get my v tool! I think I love you….!
thanks you :)
I would also prefer a shortcut for this too!
WOW. so simple!
but something i’ve wondered how to do for a long time now!
HA. thanks bittbox.
Damn! you have changed my illustrator experience. Thank you bittbox.
thanks…
Really? Seems so obvious… I’m guessing a lot of people aren’t aware of the ESC key in general. You can use it as the “cancel” button in most dialog boxes in most programs (and in general on OSX).
I wonder what other sort of keyboard shortcuts people are oblivious to…
I figured this out after a keyboard bang of frustration! so SO helpful
Andy…I had the same thoughts. I use the ESC key all the time, i never thought other people didn’t.
wow i love you, thank you so much, you just solved my pet peve.
thanks you
Great!
I have gotten in the habit of pressing ctrl+enter after I complete my text before I go back to the mouse or stylus and this will do the same thing! Then I can easily double click the text path or text box to edit it! If I am not mistaken, this works in inDesign also.
Keep the tips coming!
Never before have I owed so much to a blog post so soon after I had read it and expect to so far into the future. Works in InDesign for me (CS3, OS 10.5).
thanks for the tip!! It will certainly become in handy, this helps me a lot!
This also works (as I found out) with After Effects (at least the version I have 6.5, I’ll try CS3 when I get to work on Mon), which is really nice too!
Thanks a lot!
thanks you
Another form is press CTRL + Click out the text box.
And voilá!
Solution for Photoshop: hit ‘Enter” on our numpad, it will apply changes and take you out of the text box.
Big Help!!! Gracias
Awesome tip! Pressing CMD while typing will activate a temp selection tool works in ID, PS and AI.
Thanks for the tip!
Cool. Gotta make that a habit. Too much Photoshop keeps me hitting the Return key. LOL!
Damn, that’s all I had to do!
I love this site.
- ben
This drives me crazy - thanks for the tip. I wish it wasn’t the total opposite in photoshop, though!
One thing I also wonder if you have a tip about - if you create a text line (text tool, click on stage) and then later want it to be a text box that you can resize and wrap the text, is there anything that can be done?
Most people just say to copy text out and create a new one…but is there a better solution?
You are an amazing resource. Thank you!
-Peter
yes indeed. Also works in Adobe Fireworks CS3!
i do it with CTRL + click outside the textbox.
and you knew it only now? !!!
apple-shift-a works for indesign and illustrator — no selection of the text box afterward though
THANK YOU!!! THIS HAS BEEN TORMENTING ME!
Awesome tip! Thanks! It should’ve been so obvious too!
great site. fantastic tutorials, you are the best and I have been looking around a while. Thanks a lot
for the amount of time i have spent in illustrator for the last 6 years…
priceless doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Don’t know if anyone else has said this but you can also hit cmnd + click anywhere off of the image, or hit cmnd + enter to exit the text box as well.