Using the Preferences dialog box


    The Preferences dialog box lets you specify options regarding how you want Illustrator to work, including those for display, tools, ruler units, and exporting information. These preferences are added to the preference file, which is launched each time you start Illustrator.

    To find an explanation of a particular preference option or set of options, refer to the index.

    To restore Illustrator's default settings, you can remove the Illustrator preferences file and relaunch Illustrator. This can be helpful if you are having problems with the application.

To open the Preferences dialog box:

    Do one of the following:

    • In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences, followed by the type of preferences you want.
    • In Mac OS, choose Illustrator > Preferences, followed by the type of preferences you want.

To switch to different options in the Preferences dialog box:

    Choose an option from the menu at the top left of the Preferences dialog box. You can also click Next to display the next options, or click Prev to display the previous options.

To restore Illustrator's default settings:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Rename the preferences file and move it to the desktop as a safety copy.
    • Delete the preferences file. Note that doing so loses all of your existing preferences.

    This file is called AIPrefs (Windows) or Adobe Illustrator Prefs (Mac OS).

    Note: It is safe to remove the entire Adobe Illustrator CS Settings folder. This folder contains various preferences that can be regenerated.