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Carter Reid
Participating Frequently
September 10, 2021
Answered

Why will the Gradient tool not constrain with the shift key?!

  • September 10, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 1045 views

This has been a known issue for at least three years.

I swear you guys seem to change the things that no one cares about (rearanging the tools pallets for the umpteenth time)  but you won't fix any actual bugs?

If I didn't need your products for work I would happily drop them.  Fix your bugs.

    Correct answer Ton Frederiks

    Do you use the Caps lock when trying to constrain gradients with the Shift tool?

    3 replies

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    September 10, 2021

    Do you use the Caps lock when trying to constrain gradients with the Shift tool?

      C
      Carter ReidAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      September 10, 2021

      Oh my God!  That was it!!!

      Thank you so much!  That was making me so mad I was starting to see red.  

      Also  CAPS LOCK dissables constraining?  Why?  That makes no sense to me.  It's little things like that that drive me nuts about Illustrator.

      Ton Frederiks
      Community Expert
      Ton FrederiksCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 10, 2021

      Good to hear that helped.

      Generally the Caps lock gives you a precise cursor and does not interfere with Shift key constraining. Looks like a bug with the Gradient Tool.

      Anshul_Saini
      Community Manager
      Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      September 10, 2021

      Hi there,

       

      We are sorry to hear about your experience. This generally happens when a third-party application is interfering with your keyboard keys. Which OS and version of Illustrator is this? When did this start happening for you? Are there any recent changes made to your system? For example, any antivirus, system updates, plugins or web extensions, any new software installed recently.


      You may try booting the system into Safe Mode (Mac / Windows) and open other apps one by one until you find the app causing the issue. In Safe Mode, your system starts to perform certain checks and prevent third-party software/ services from automatically loading or opening. If you can use the Shift key with the Gradient tool in Safe Mode, that means some background process, service, or application is interfering. If this doesn't help, try resetting the Illustrator preferences manually.

      For Windows go to the following locations:

      • C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe 
      • C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\Adobe
      • C:\Program Files\Adobe

      For Mac, go to the following locations:

      •  ~/Library/Caches
      •  ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe
      •  ~/Library/Preferences

      Rename or delete the Illustrator folders from these locations. In case you want to keep a backup, just rename the folders. (for, e.g., Rename Adobe Illustrator, com.adobe.illustrator and Adobe Illustrator 25 Settings folders to Adobe Illustrator.old, com.adobe.illustrator.old and Adobe Illustrator 25 Settings.old)

      Disclaimer: Please note that renaming or deleting the preferences folders will remove all the custom settings, and Illustrator will launch with default settings. You can also take a backup of the folders in case you want to.

       

      Let us know how it goes. We will be looking forward to your response.

       

      Thanks & Regards,

      Anshul Saini

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 10, 2021
      quote

      This has been a known issue for at least three years.

      By @Carter Reid

       

      Oh, really?

      I've just tested it in version 2019, 2020 and 2021 and the gradient tool constrains with the shift key.

      C
      Carter ReidAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      September 10, 2021

      Congratulations!  Well since it works FOR YOU then I guess everything is hunky dory and there is clearly no bug.

      In fact I guess we can just eliminate any and all community feedback and bug reports because your copy of Illustrator is working for you.  I'm so glad we could resolve this issue, next time I'll just come straight to you so you can tell me I'm not experiencing what I'm experiencing.

       

      Monika Gause
      Community Expert
      Monika GauseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 10, 2021

      That just means it's not a general bug, but something wrong with YOUR system.

      Modifier keys are often blocked by other applications, such as browsers, antivirus, some adware, email and banking software, screensharing and other apps.

       

      You didn't even mention your system. Or versions. Or hardware.

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