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default6augubci3buf
Participant
August 11, 2025
Question

Can't press Escape to commit text in Illustrator?

  • August 11, 2025
  • 4 replies
  • 367 views

Hi, I've been an Illustrator user for the better part of 10 years now and just run into this debilitating issue. It's a prime part of my workflow to quickly hit ESC after typing to exit the text box, but all of a sudden I can't????

 

I've tried editing the Keyboard increment option in my preferences (which some threads have found success with), but it's not changing.

 

Is there any news on this? An update I've missed? Or is my Illustrator just busted?

 

Thanks in advance!

    4 replies

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    August 22, 2025

    Hi everyone,

     

    The product team has made some improvements in the latest Illustrator (Beta) release. Some users have confirmed it working in the BETA release. Could you please try installing the latest Illustrator (Beta) and let us know if the issue gets resolved?

     

    Looking forward to your feedback.

    Abhishek 

     

    rjtkoh
    rjtkoh
    Participant
    August 21, 2025

    i also have the same issue, have tried all the suggestions in previous threads. It's driving me mad. I'm on Mac Sequoia 15.6, illustrator 29.7.1. I have illustrator on 2 machines, both have the same version of Mac OS and Illustrator, but only 1 has the issue

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    August 11, 2025

    Hi @default6augubci3buf,

     

    Thanks for sharing the details. Could you please confirm if you are on Illustrator version 29.7.1 and also let me know your OS and version? Please go through this thread and let me know if you are facing the same issue mentioned there: https://adobe.ly/3USevrt

    If it matches your case, we are currently in need of a small screen recording (see the pinned response in that thread for guidance).

    Regarding the Keyboard Increment setting you mentioned, please check this thread for the latest update: https://adobe.ly/45ssJ7r

     

    Looking forward to your update.

    Abhishek

    rjtkoh
    rjtkoh
    Participant
    August 22, 2025

    When I open up my keyboard shortcuts in illustrator, i have this setting by default, which is odd, when i reset preferences it goes to this. When i clear this, escape still doesn't work, there is also no way to assign escape to it.

    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    creative explorerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 11, 2025

    @default6augubci3buf am curious, have you tried to reset your Illustrator preferences. Sometimes a small corruption in the preference file can cause these kinds of strange, weirdly 'ESC' issue. Adobe recommends the keyboard shortcut method as it physically deletes the preference file on your system. This is crucial when the file itself has become corrupted. The file is then recreated with a fresh, default state on the next launch. Close Illustrator and Re-launch Illustrator while using the Keyboard shortcut - Hold (Ctrl Alt Shift on Windows or Cmd Opt Shift on Mac) as you launch Illustrator. A dialog box will appear asking if you want to delete your preferences. Click Yes. 

    This will restore Illustrator to its factory default settings. While you'll have to re-customize your workspace and settings, it often fixes these persistent and seemingly random 'ESC' bug!

    m
    D
    default6augubci3bufAuthor
    Participant
    August 11, 2025

    Thanks for the reply! Yes, I've tried that method, and I've manually reset my preferences from the Edit>Preferences menu. I've even uninstalled+reinstalled the program, still no luck. Do you know any other means to factory reset it?

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