Skip to main content
C
CMcDowall
Inspiring
February 24, 2026
Question

Illustrator text pastes as an image in other apps (not editable)

  • February 24, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 12 views

I gotta tell you this is ridiculously frustrating. I searched the community for this issue and found exactly the same problem 7 years ago. I have Illustrator 2025 (Mac), and when I select text and paste it into any other program (Mail, Thunderbird, TextEdit) it is not editable. Instead it pastes as an image, so you can not insert the cursor any place in the text and edit.

2026 Adobe - its 2026

The old threads mention this as a bug in 2017. This is such a basic function, and yet I am at the forums seeking help. The suggestions in 2017 are ridiculous. Why should I have to paste text into a web browser or InDesign, then copy it again?  What a waste of time (and money).

If you have a suggestion I am all ears, and I do appreciate the advice. Thanks, C

This is pasted to Mail, completely uneditable.

 

    1 reply

    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    creative explorerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 25, 2026

    ​@CMcDowall This is my work-around… please don’t hate me! Instead of Command V, I do Option Shift Command V. This literally strips the formatting command. It forces the receiving app to ignore the "image" or "PDF" metadata Illustrator is sending and only grab the raw text characters. It’s two extra fingers on the keyboard but works like a charm!

    m
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices