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Participant
Apr 20, 2022 6:05 PM UTC
Answered

Spacebar closing Illustrator and not working in text

I updated Illustrator on my Mac to the most recent update and now whenever I use the space bar it hightlights the exit button in the top left corner of the app. If I am working on a new doc this brings up the save pop up window and if I am in a doc with no recent changes it exits the app completely. I just want to put a space in between words and not have the app demand to close. How do I fix this?

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Anshul_Saini
Anshul_SainiCorrect answer
Community Manager
Apr 22, 2022 8:50 PM UTC

Hi @CHELSEA24125035z8k9,

 

Sorry to hear about your trouble. It seems this is happening due to a new feature/enhancement introduced by Apple in macOS Monterey in Oct 2021. Please try turning off the "Enable Full Keyboard Access" option under Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accessibility> Keyboard > Navigation to resolve this issue.

 

 
 
 

I hope it helps!

 

Regards,

Anshul Saini

15 replies

gerryg83w
Participating Frequently
Jun 12, 2024 3:50 PM UTC

I'm not sure when the last AI update occurred, (v28.5) but yesterday the space bar would not work, although it worked i other apps. So after trying numerous solutions, one of which recommended cleaning the spacebar and my breaking the spacebar of my year old iMac magic Keyboard, and wasting a lot of time for which I cannot bill, I found the solution was in Apple settings, Keyboard, and turning off Keyboard Navigation. I wish Adobe and Apple would stop messing around with  new bells and whistles and concentrate on stability and reliability.

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Anubhav M
Community Manager
Community Manager
Jun 12, 2024 6:14 PM UTC

Hello @gerryg83w,

We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. Would you mind trying to run Illustrator under Safe Mode (Windows / macOS) and checking if it helps? Also, try running Illustrator under a different administrator account (Windows / macOS) and share your observations.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks,

Anubhav

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Anshul_Saini
Community Manager
Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
Apr 22, 2022 8:50 PM UTC

Hi @CHELSEA24125035z8k9,

 

Sorry to hear about your trouble. It seems this is happening due to a new feature/enhancement introduced by Apple in macOS Monterey in Oct 2021. Please try turning off the "Enable Full Keyboard Access" option under Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accessibility> Keyboard > Navigation to resolve this issue.

 

 
 
 

I hope it helps!

 

Regards,

Anshul Saini

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Participant
Aug 3, 2022 6:40 PM UTC

This was very helpful!

 

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Kevin Stohlmeyer
Community Expert
Community Expert
Apr 20, 2022 9:04 PM UTC

One other thought. How many fonts do you currently have active?

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Participant
Apr 20, 2022 9:37 PM UTC

I just set my apps up on a new computer so it is all the default fonts that are active

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Kevin Stohlmeyer
Community Expert
Community Expert
Apr 20, 2022 9:44 PM UTC

How many in total? What are you using for font management?

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Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
Apr 20, 2022 8:18 PM UTC

Are you sure that this is not something in the system interfering here?

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Participant
Apr 20, 2022 8:22 PM UTC

I dont think so there is as I have restarted the computer, closed all the programs and only ran Illustrator, and uninstalled and reinstalled Illustrator. I am at a loss at what else to try.

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Kevin Stohlmeyer
Community Expert
Community Expert
Apr 20, 2022 9:03 PM UTC

Go to Apple System Prefs/Keyboard/Input Sources. Check show input sources in menu bar.

This will allow you to show the Keyboard Viewer.

 

It gives you a visual cue when you type. Try hitting space bar when in AI again and see what the visual keyboard is showing.

 

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Kevin Stohlmeyer
Community Expert
Community Expert
Apr 20, 2022 7:15 PM UTC

Try resetting your preferences.

Go to Preferences/General and click the reset button. Relaunch AI.

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Participant
Apr 20, 2022 8:21 PM UTC

I have tried doing this as well as uninstalling, reinstalling, trying a different update, and restarting my computer to no avail. Thank you for the suggestion though

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