Spacebar not working as quick hand tool on MAC – Adobe Illustrator

[fernandam88771201]

I have the latest Illustator and Photoshop version and in both of them the spacebar ain't working as quick hand tool on Mac.

[mani22342896qoq0]

In my new IMac, space bar works as a SAVE option and prevents adding space between the text. couldnt find any solutions useful?

[Monika Gause]

Can you please show a screenshot and tells us the steps that are not working for you and what happens instead.

Also: If you didn't boot the computer this morning, then perhaps do that now and try again.

[Russell Neill NZ]

Farking hell what a damn mess. Sort it out @adobe

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Russell Neill NZ,

Sorry to hear about that. I understand your frustration. I would like to inform you that this generally happens when the third-party/ system application (Chrome/ Spotlight, etc.) is interfering with Illustrator keyboard shortcuts/ hotkeys or your Illustartror preferences have gotten corrupted.

In the first case, you may try running the app in Safe Mode (Windows/ Mac)  and launch Illustrator only. Then, open/ create a new document, try the hotkey/ shortcut and see if that works.

In Safe Mode, your system starts to perform certain checks and prevent third-party software/ services from automatically loading or opening. If it works fine in Safe Mode, then open other apps one by one, which you usually open, and see which app is conflicting with Illustrator. You can check and find the culprit app/ process/ plugin/ extension with the help of Activity Monitor/ Task Manager, and then you'll have to close/ disable/ uninstall them on your user account and then restart your machine in normal mode.

If running the app in Safe Mode doesn't help, you may try resetting Illustrator preferences.

Disclaimer: Please note that resetting preferences will remove all the custom settings, and Illustrator will launch with default settings.

I hope this info helps you out!

Regards,

Anshul Saini

[simonvx]

Just adding my voice. In my case it was also MS Word. Super strange because I've been using it along Adobe apps for many years. I just moved to a new startup drive, same setup (iMac 5K 2019, macOS Monterey 12.4, latest Adobe and Office), using macOS's Migration Assistant, so basically, the only difference with yesterday is I only the fact that I had to log back in in both Adobe and Office apps. 

As soon as I quit Word, the spacebar shortcut started working again in Adobe apps. But now, no matter what I do (launch Word before or after my Adobe apps), I cannot reproduce the bug. Mystery!

[schreiberv55930755]

Just had the same problem. Restarting the computer worked for me... no idea what caused it. 

[BigUp!]

This just happen to me and for me I narrowed it down to a sleep issue. The problem occurs when I wake it from a sleep, the spacebar does not work. To resolve the issue, I have to put the computer to sleep, wait a couple seconds then wake the computer. (On occasion I have to switch out of Illustrator to another app before I put the computer to sleep)

Definately a frustrating issue. Hopefully this solution works for others...

[PotholePrelude]

Same annoyance here.

I'm wondering why the keyboard shortcut editor does not allow space bar instead of H as a shortcut to the Hand Tool. Toggle switch instead of momentary switch for the the tool would not be ideal, but at least there would be some kind of access to the tool through space bar.

[Monika Gause]

Same annoyance here.

I'm wondering why the keyboard shortcut editor does not allow space bar instead of H as a shortcut to the Hand Tool. Toggle switch instead of momentary switch for the the tool would not be ideal, but at least there would be some kind of access to the tool through space bar.

By @PotholePrelude

There are dozens of possible solutions, since this is not a general failure of Illustrator, but something caused by your specific setup. Please read the thread. It has 4 pages.

[PotholePrelude]

While the space bar is not working as expected on Illustrator it seems to work  at least on these applications:

• Photoshop

• Indesign

• Resolve
• After Effects

• Affinity Designer

I would call this a failure of Illustrator.

[Monika Gause]

While the space bar is not working as expected on Illustrator it seems to work  at least on these applications:

• Photoshop

• Indesign

• Resolve
• After Effects

• Affinity Designer

I would call this a failure of Illustrator.

By @PotholePrelude

As has been written a gazillion times in this thread: there are other applications that interfere with modifier keys.You will have to find out which one is causing that on your system.

[casey . · Accepted solution]

Hello, in my case, it was because I had 'Enable Full Keyboard Access' on my 'Settings' -> 'Accessibility' -> 'Keyboard 'ticked. Once I unticked that, I could use the spacebar as the quickhand tool again.

[Liora Blum]

Huge thank you! This solved my problem too, ie. "Enable full keyboard access" was causing the problems.

[Stan Chung]

Thank you m this solved it. I had been on mojave for a long timne so this never happened till i was forced to upgrade to use mcoffice 2021 products. My Adode products started fritzing. Closing the MSOffice products seemed to work but this turning off full keyboard access solves it. Sorry MSOffice. It wasn't you. D$%$#@% apple.

[Manjith27769993eeo2]

Thanks so much.. was breaking heads on this 🙂 

[Scott24505759lv8d]

Fastest way to fix this issue: Put your device into sleep mode, then turn it back on. No resetting your computer, no re-opening programs. Takes only a few seconds.

[Monika Gause]

Fastest way to fix this issue: Put your device into sleep mode, then turn it back on. No resetting your computer, no re-opening programs. Takes only a few seconds.

By @Scott24505759lv8d

Definitely worth trying, but for sure it won't work for everyone.

Please do read the complete thread.

[malachisimoni]

Hey guys i just figured how to fix it fast, put your computer to sleep and wake it up and it works. Seems like at the core it's the os fighting the program.. Adobe vs Apple Keyboard Kombat lol, hope this helps!!

[Per2706213762gb · Accepted solution]

I had the same problem and started to close my programs. The space bar "thief" was the native Mail app in MacOs. Closed it and it works like a charm 🙂

[defaulty6fsmj7ygwj6 · Accepted solution]

Glad I found this post. Its years later and I just ran into this issue for the first time even in my 20+ years of using Adobe products. Turns out it was my open terminal that was stealing the spacebar function. Once I closed, it was working again again in Illustrator.

[quoz]

PITA!  This began occurring daily after we upgraded to Adobe 2022 on Mac OS Monterey--even if only Photoshop is running. It may occur upon Photoshop startup, or suddenly occur later. The only "solution" I have found so far is to reboot with fingers crossed. I tried changing my workspace/keyboard shortcuts to see if that made a difference--nada.

[Monika Gause]

PITA!  This began occurring daily after we upgraded to Adobe 2022 on Mac OS Monterey--

By @quoz

Please read the complete thread. There are pointers to possible solutions.

[quoz]

I did read the entire thread. In addition to combing through Chrome, putting it to sleep, preferences reset, etc, plus I tried changing my workspace/keyboard shortcuts. The problem continues to occur suddenly and sporadically even with no other programs running, which makes it difficult to pinpoint. As noted the only solution I've found so far is to reboot with fingers crossed. 

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @quoz,

I'm sorry to hear that you're still experiencing this issue despite trying the suggested solutions. Would you mind confirming the exact version of Adobe Illustrator and the OS you're using? Additionally, have you tried starting your Mac in Safe Mode to see if the issue persists? Safe Mode performs certain checks and prevents third-party software/services from automatically loading or opening. If it works fine in Safe Mode, then open other apps one by one that you usually use and see which app conflicts with Illustrator. You can check and find the culprit app/process/plugin/extension with the help of Activity Monitor/Task Manager, and then you'll have to close/disable/uninstall them on your user account and then restart your machine in normal mode.

Please let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

[quoz]

Thank you. I am using Monterey 12.6.2 and Illustrator 26.5.2 (not going up to 27 yet as our graphics service provider has instructed us to wait).  I haven't tried Safe Mode because the issue disappears for a while after a reboot (until it sporadically reappears, forcing me to reboot), so rebooting into Safe Mode is rather moot...