Esc Key Not Working

[kasiak68913773]

I use the Esc Key to deselect in Illustrator but it suddenly stopped working. Help!

heres what I did so far:

-checked if it worked everywhere else, yup

-restarted the program

-updated the app

-checked keyboard shortcuts and "deselect" is set as standard Cnrl+shft+A, cannot change it to the esc key though

I'm using a Mac!

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

Hi kasiak68913773

Escape is not a shortcut for Deselect in Illustrator.

Escape is a shortcut for several things, such as exiting Isolation mode when you double-click and switching to the Selection tool when you have an insertion point with the Type tool. Do those work?

And there are several ways to deselect. Let us know if you want those as well!

[adamb47200684]

This does not answer the question posted. Esc has always allowed me to exit the "Type Tool" and it just stopped working.

[Ton Frederiks]

What version of Illustrator, what System?

Works for me to switch to the Selection tool and exit type.

[adamb47200684]

24.0.1 — I did find a solution, listed above.

[adamb47200684]

This is not solved.

[adamb47200684 · Accepted solution]

I found a solution that seems pretty unrelated but worked:

• Go into Illustrator > Preferences > General:
• Change “Keyboard Increment” to 1, press "OK" (Take note of, or copy, the number you have here so you can put it back in later)
• Close Illustrator and reopen
• Change “Keyboard Increment” back to default (0.013889 in) and press "OK"

[defaultu8shsa6qg7u8]

thank you for posting this solution. I've been working in illustrator for a decade and this has been driving me crazy.

[adamb47200684]

You're welcome! I know I felt pretty crazy myself. These seemingly small occurrences can really throw a wrench in your workflow. Happy to have provided some relief 😄

[kualhd]

Thank you!

[themello]

Life saver. I was also going absolutely crazy too, idk how this was figured out but thank god it works!

[kecoakedinginan]

thankyouuu , its worked 

[defaultdvicoj8l7p1i]

thanks, it worked!!! crazy though...

[danielep72005636]

worked for me as well! thanks!! Crazy that Adobe is losing control on important details like this

[Chris23587259rds0]

Legend!! i have no idea what jane-e was on about (crazy eyes) haha thanks adam

[US-Ticket]

adamb47200684 for President!

[Amanda5FC5]

This did not solve the problem for me, even after several attempts and restarting the computer.  Any other ideas?  It really messes up workflow when keyboard shortcuts aren't working properly.

[Amanda5FC5]

In the meantime, switched to using V to switch to selection tool.  Maybe better in the long run anyhow.

[Raghda26444389zwdk]

dear, I faced the same and I read this and tried what the guys suggest it didn't work so I understood that this is the keyboard issue in the mac it self. I just chose another English type for my mac i switch to the UK English and delete the old one and it worked right after i restart my mac 

[SJK_AU]

Adobe this is gross... do better !

[Monika Gause]

Adobe this is gross... do better !

By @SJK_AU

On which Illustrator version and which system using which functionality do you have issues with the Esc key?

Apply has changed a lot on recent system versions concerning the keyboard use and accessibility. You might want to investigate that.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @SJK_AU,

We are sorry for the trouble. Would you mind updating to v27.2 and seeing if that helps? If not, would you mind running the app in safe mode to see if the same behavior happens there as well or not? Also, please confirm the version of OS & AI and system details as asked by Monika.

Kindly update the discussion if you still need assistance with it. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks,

Anshul Saini

[SJK_AU]

Thank you Anshul,  For me as a proud Adobe user it intuitively feels right that the esc button should deselect or escape.  AI - 27.1.1 OS - Ventura 13.1 and my social security number is ...

[SJK_AU]

Updated to V27.2 and I can't believe it's not butter.... it didn't work...

[Anshul_Saini]

Thanks for updating the app & checking @SJK_AU. Would you mind running the app in safe mode to see if the same behavior happens there as well or not?

Also, Samuel, would you mind confirming which locale (English (UK/ US), US, Korean, Japanese, etc.) of Illustrator is installed on your machine and which system keyboard input sources are used?

Additionally, please ensure System settings > Accessibility > Keyboard & Pointer Control (mouse keys) are toggled off.

Thanks,

Anshul Saini