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Participant
Jan 24, 2010 7:19 PM UTC
Answered

arrow keys not working in illustartor

Hi,

I am working on Illustrator on Mac 10.5.8 and I use a lot the arrow keys(page up,page down) with combination with shift, but suddenly they stop working,that happens only in illustrator,if i want to use them to scroll on a web page they work fine.

so i was wondering what happend,and how can i fix that?

Thanks!!

Monika Gause
Monika GauseCorrect answer
Community Expert
Aug 30, 2018 5:53 PM UTC

ItsRainingRobots  schrieb

Alright- it took four re-starts, but now it's okay? This is ridiculous.

Other software interferes with it.

Also: when you don't restart your computer for several days or even weeks, it will utimately mess itself up completely.

43 replies

Aaron Ncz
Participating Frequently
Apr 22, 2024 11:24 AM UTC

This sh!t happened to me today. Somehow some way Illustrator set the keyboard increment to 0.1pt. God knows how and why. Thanks for the thread.

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cent_
Participant
Feb 28, 2022 8:52 AM UTC

I had this same issue, and realized that I had put 'View > Snap to pixel' off.. now it works again

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Shepsketch
Participant
Sep 22, 2023 5:12 PM UTC

This was my problem too. It works after turning 'snap to pixel' on. Thanks!

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Participant
Jan 27, 2022 9:43 AM UTC

I was doing my work but suddenly my "z" key stopped working in illustrator (still isn't)...... now that's the problem. It is working absolutely fine in typing but I cant zoom in or out through my shortcut key. *scream and cries* hELP

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Eliyah Gevalt
Participating Frequently
Jan 27, 2022 11:03 AM UTC
Restart ets. If not you can change the sho
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Eliyah Gevalt
Participating Frequently
Sep 30, 2021 6:43 AM UTC

1st restart the app (after making sure the Increment in settings isn't set to 0 which it shouldn't be)

if not - restart the comp

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Known Participant
Aug 25, 2020 9:58 PM UTC

same problem here. I hate Illustrator. BRING BACK FREEHAND ... PLEASE!!

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wax lily
Inspiring
Oct 26, 2018 2:24 PM UTC

I was experiencing this after the newest Illustrator update & was getting worried my keyboard was wonky. Cleared pref files and restarted computer, and that fixed the problem!

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Participant
Aug 30, 2018 3:16 PM UTC

I'm having the same problem now. I checked the keyboard increments- nothing has changed. I haven't installed anything new or done anything at all since I last used illustrator. Went to bed last night and turned it off, turned it back on this morning and now the arrow keys won't move objects. For as much as I pay for this software, I'm getting really sick of all these random little bugs that just "pop up."

Tried re-starting the software, didn't work for me :/

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Participant
Aug 30, 2018 3:18 PM UTC

Alright- it took four re-starts, but now it's okay? This is ridiculous.

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Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
Aug 30, 2018 5:53 PM UTC

ItsRainingRobots  schrieb

Alright- it took four re-starts, but now it's okay? This is ridiculous.

Other software interferes with it.

Also: when you don't restart your computer for several days or even weeks, it will utimately mess itself up completely.

Translate
Participant
Jun 29, 2018 7:14 AM UTC

I have just restarted illustrator and the scroll arrows are working again

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Participant
Jan 10, 2018 2:29 PM UTC

Hello. I have this same problem since my last update in Illustrator CC. Objects won't move anymore when using my arrow cursors. In my settings, it seems that all is ok, but it won't move. Does anybody know of any other setting i could check? In the other Adobe apps, i don't have this problem. My arrows are working in Indesign & Photshop, just not in illustrator.

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Inspiring
Feb 7, 2018 9:00 AM UTC

I'm with the same problem

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Participant
Feb 7, 2018 9:07 AM UTC

For me, it was actually resolved with the latest update, so my illustrator is working fine now

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Participant
Apr 14, 2010 2:39 AM UTC

I just looked in Google for the answer to this too.  I tried to nudge an object and nothing happened.  Well my problem was in Preferences - General - Keyboard Increment had somehow been set to zero.  I put in 1 px and it's back to normal now  :-)

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Dec 13, 2015 11:06 PM UTC

Thank you so much your solution for arrow keys not working did the trick. The apple store meant well and they are usually awesome but misinformed me in one to one saying my computer did not have the capacity to make the arrow keys work. I tried the solutions suggested from several posts including command alt shift at opening of Illustrator to command P + R . None of those solutions worked. Your solution did. Thank you!

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Participant
Sep 17, 2020 8:28 AM UTC

A savior

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