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Easy "How to" Guides on Adobe Illustrator

How to Get Out of Presentation Mode in Illustrator

Last updated on October 17, 2022 at 7:29 am by ezGYD Staff

Sometimes, it may happen that you accidentally enter Presentation mode, or maybe by choice. But getting out of the presentation mode becomes difficult when you don’t know the right key. In Presentation mode, all tools bar, and menu bar disappear. All you can see is the artboard and design on it.

You can easily enter into any Preview , like Outline mode or View Mode. However, you may also have the knowledge and idea of how to get out of it because no keys work, especially when you are in Presentation mode.

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Get Out of Presentation Mode in Adobe Illustrator – Video Tutorial

You can also watch the below video tutorial, to learn how to get out of Presentation mode in Adobe Illustrator. You only need to know the right key when you enter the Presentation mode in Illustrator.

Presentation mode helps you to have a look at the design that you have on the artboard. If any design overlaps the artboard, then it will not be previewed in presentation mode.

You can also learn:

How to Preview in Illustrator

How to Get Out of Isolation Mode in illustrator

How to Get Out of Isolation Mode in illustrator

If you are new or don’t have any idea to quickly turn off or get out of presentation mode in Adobe Illustrator, then you are at the right place. In this tutorial, you will learn how you can leave or get out of the Presentation mode in Adobe Illustrator.

So let’s start.

Get Out of Presentation Mode in Adobe Illustrator

To get out of Presentation mode in Illustrator, press the Esc key on the keyboard. Illustrator will leave the presentation mode and enter into the normal preview mode.

Following are the detailed steps to enter and exit the isolation mode in Adobe Illustrator.

Presentation Mode in Illustrator

To enter presentation mode in Illustrator, you can use the View menu. Under the View menu, there are different previews available that can easily be used when you need them.

To enter presentation mode, go to View > Presentation mode.

You will immediately see that everything has disappeared and the artboard is only visible with all designs.

Get out of Presentation mode in Illustrator

To get out or exit, Presentation Mode, press the Esc key on the keyboard.

Because no other key works in the presentation mode. The only key that is used for exit presentation mode is the Esc key on the keyboard.

You have learned to get out of Presentation Mode in Adobe Illustrator.

In this tutorial, you have learned to get out of Presentation Mode in Adobe Illustrator. You can easily exit and continue in the normal mode. No keys work if you are stuck in presentation mode and only the Esc key works.

Have More Questions?

If you have any questions related to getting out of Presentation mode then ask in the comment section below. We have also answered some most frequently asked questions below.

Illustrator Stuck in Presentation Mode

Press the Esc key on the keyboard, If you are stuck in Presentation Mode in Illustrator. No other keys work, you only have to use the Esc key.

How to Full Screen in Illustrator

To full-screen in Illustrator, press F from the keyboard. You will get the full-screen mode.

All Done! Enjoy.

About ezGYD Staff

The ezGYD team, which operates at ezGYD.com, consists of skilled Adobe Illustrator professionals who are led by Muhammad Jawad. With over a decade of experience designing in Adobe Illustrator, they are experts in their field. Since 2010, they have been producing Adobe Illustrator tutorials, and as a result, ezGYD has emerged as the biggest free resource site for Adobe Illustrator in the industry.

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What’s New in Illustrator CC 2019?

Each year Adobe comes out with new features, so what changed in Illustrator CC 2019? We’ll cover the most important changes we think you should know about.

Freeform Gradients

In addition to Linear and Radial gradients, Adobe added a new kind of gradient called Freeform gradients. Freeform gradients are similar to a gradient mesh, but are easier to work with and the color blending acts differently.

You can add color stops (places where you choose a color) anywhere in an object and move them around. These color stops can be points or lines . You can switch between the two modes in the Gradient panel, Properties panel, or Control panel.

Global Editing

If you have many copies of an element throughout a file, you can now edit them all at the same time! After selecting one of the copies, start a global edit by doing one of the following:

Go into the Select menu and choose Global Edit .
In the Properties panel click Start Global Edit .

All the copies will become highlighted. Change the original and all the copies will be automatically updated!

100% Zoom = Real Life Size

Depending on your monitor size and resolution, 100% zoom has not always matched real life sizes. Thankfully this has been fixed in Illustrator CC 2019.

When zooming to 100% by choosing View > Actual Size , you will now see an accurate representation of the real life size. For example, a business card will accurately show the size of the printed business card.

Adobe Fonts & Previewing Fonts

Typekit has been renamed Adobe Fonts , but it’s not just a rebranding. There are more features and the Adobe Fonts collection of fonts are more integrated into Illustrator. Previously only some fonts could be synced to your computer and there were limits as to how many fonts could be synced at the same time. Those limits are now gone!

Accessing the 14,000+ fonts available within Adobe Fonts service can now be done directly in Illustrator:

When choosing a font, click the Find More tab.
If you have text selected, hovering over each font will preview it in the file without have to download the font!
To download that font for use on your computer, click the cloud icon to the right of the font.

Even if you aren’t using Adobe Fonts, hovering over any font name will preview it on your selected text, which makes it a lot faster to find the right font!

Illustrator CC 2019 has a new Trim View, which is like InDesign’s Preview mode if you’re familiar with that app. Choose View > Trim View to hide guides and artwork that falls outside the artboard.

While Trim View does not have a default keystroke, you can assign one in Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts .

Presentation Mode

There’s a new presentation mode, like the one InDesign has. It shows your file full-screen with no menu bars, guides, etc.

To enter Presentation mode, press Shift–F or choose View > Presentation Mode .
In Presentation mode, use the Right and Left Arrow keys to switch artboards.
To exit Presentation mode, press the Esc key.

Scalable Interface

Do you have a hard time seeing the icons and reading the text in Illustrator’s interface? Good news, you can now make the interface bigger!

Go into the Illustrator CC menu (Mac) or Edit menu (Windows) and choose Preferences > User Interface .
Adjust the UI Scaling to your preferred size.
Quit and restart Illustrator.

Customizable Toolbar

With so many tools, Adobe has created two preset toolbars ( Basic and Advanced ), and you can further customize them or create your own toolbars with just the tools you want. The Basic toolbar has fewer tools, and Advanced toolbar has all the tools.

To choose switch toolbars, going into Windows > Toolbars and choose Basic or Advanced .
To see hidden tools, add/remove tools, etc. click the Edit Toolbar button (...) at the bottom of the toolbar.

Learn Adobe Illustrator & Graphic Design

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Learn how to draw and edit vector graphics using Adobe Illustrator. This course covers the basics and advanced features, including the Pen tool, effects, layers, masks, and more. Perfect for creating logos, icons, and packaging.

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Become a well-rounded Digital Designer by learning essential Adobe applications, Figma for UI design, and key design concepts and theory. Develop a comprehensive understanding of design concepts, processes, and workflows, create great-looking modern designs, and showcase them in a portfolio.

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Use keyboard shortcuts to become more productive while using Adobe Illustrator.

Illustrator provides many shortcuts to help you get work done faster. Many keyboard shortcuts appear when you hover over icons in the command menu.

The following list includes the most helpful shortcuts. You may find additional shortcuts in menu commands and tool tips.
You can customize the keyboard shortcuts in Illustrator. See Customize keyboard shortcuts .

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Download and print a handy one page reference of some helpful keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator.

Popular shortcuts

Work with documents, select tools, work with selections.

Set keyboard increments in General Preferences ( Ctrl/ Cmd + K ).

Edit shapes

Work with live paint groups, work with objects, create variable width points, work with type.

To change the increment value for type shortcuts, choose Edit > Preferences > Type (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Type (macOS). Enter the values you want in the Size/Leading , Baseline Shift , and Tracking text boxes, and click OK .

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Brushes panel, character and paragraph panels, color panel, gradient panel, layers panel, swatches panel, transform panel, transparency panel, function keys, export keyboard shortcut list as a text document.

You can export the list of default and custom keyboard shortcuts for tools and menu commands in Illustrator as a text document by following the steps given below:

Choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts .

Click Export Text on the lower-left corner of the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box.

Navigate to the desired location to save the text file.

Click Save .

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by JuliannaKunstler.com

Custom PowerPoint design is a cool skill to know. Unique presentation looks professional and fun.

You can create the entire design with PowerPoint drawing tools, but it is easier to use Adobe Illustrator for that.

We are going to create a custom template, based on your own color scheme (see color scheme tutorial ).

The process of designing a custom template is as follows:

1. Use Adobe Illustrator to create 5-6 slide layouts (.PNG images)

2. Export designs into PowerPoint

3. Combine with PowerPoint editable elements

You will need 6 slide layouts:

Title slide
Title + content
Content slide (content with caption)
Image with caption
Blank slide

You can get some ideas of slides types by checking existing templates and images.

Open a new file.

Default presentation size is 10 x 7.5inches (or 720 x 540 px , that is 4:3 aspect ratio ).

Color mode should be RGB (as the presentation is viewed on a screen).

To keep all design elements aligned, add a grid view:

View > Show Grid

Gris will not be a part of your design - it's a tool

I recommend the following grid settings:

Subdivisions: 8

Paste the color swatches from previous assignment.

In Swatches palette:

Create a new Color Group to keep your color scheme swatches.

(If you do not have swatches palette open, go to Window > Swatches).

Select Eyedropper tool and click on the first swatch.

step 1: Select folder

step 2: Click on New swatch button.

Double-check the color settings.

Now you have your first color saved in the folder.

Always select the folder before clicking on New Swatch button

Save the rest of the colors.

Use Selection and Direct selection tools to move, resize, and modify the objects.

Background supports the content, not competing with it - make room for text and images in your design.
Use only colors from your color scheme, you do not have to use all of them. White and Black are acceptable add-ons.
Design should be consistent in all slides.

Use shape tools to add shapes and graphics.

Use line tool for extra lines.

Hold SHIFT for horizontal, vertical, or 45 degrees lines.

Pencil tool is for free-hand path drawing.

Use Pen tool for custom shapes and lines.

Tools that you might use:

Selection and drawing tools
Fill / stroke color swatches
Align palette
Layers palette
Swatches palette

Questions you should ask yourself:

Background: solid? gradient? photo? design/pattern? combination?
Title: position in a slide? alignment to other elements? size? font? color?
Subtitle: needed? font properties? alignment? position?
Do you have enough space for the actual presentation?
So you want to add your signature/hallmark to slides?

Add a new layer for each slide graphics.

Use text fields for design reference purpose only to determine text placement, size, font, alignment, etc.

Remove from work area before saving the background as an image.

You can rename slides as you add them.

Close Layer visibility (eye icon) for all previous slides.

To apply colors to shapes - make sure the Fill swatch is selected (on the top).

You can apply a gradient as a fill to your shape.

To create a custom color gradient:

Open Swatches and Gradient palettes ( Window > Gradient)

Then drag your custom colors onto the gradient palette.

Close all other layers.

File > Save for Web

Choose PNG-24

Check Transparency

Save all images in the same folder.

3 Easy Ways To Get Out Of Outline Mode In Adobe Illustrator

Wondering how to get out of outline mode in adobe illustrator.

If you’re an Adobe Illustrator user, you might have come across the dreaded outline mode. In outline mode, all of your text and objects are displayed as outlines, making it difficult to see the actual content.

This can be frustrating when you’re working on a project but don’t worry, getting out of outline mode is easy. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the steps on how to turn off Outline view in Illustrator.

The word “Outline” can refer to a few different things in Adobe Illustrator. If it means “text converted to vector”, known as Create Outlines , then you would be looking for how to undo outline text in Illustrator instead. Or it can refer to the colored stroke on the edge of an object. Both are completely different outcomes from the Outline Mode .

If your artwork looks something like this, with no other colors but black lines:

And you’d like to change the outline version to the normal artwork in Illustrator like this…

…read on, you are in the right place.

What Is Outline Mode

Outline Mode in Adobe Illustrator is a display or Preview mode that shows all text and objects as outlines.

This mode can be useful when you’re working on a complex design and want to see the overall structure, but it can be frustrating when you want to see the actual content.

Why Choose Outline Mode in Illustrator?

Although you may be at wits end right now and can’t wait to switch out of Outline Mode or Outline View , I must say it’s a useful function to improve the quality of your artwork.

When you view your artwork in the normal view, you are able to see how you want the outcome to be.

But the objects, shapes, and elements you have may overlap each other such that if you wish to make changes to the paths, lines, and anchor points , you won’t be able to find them easily in the normal mode.

With the Outline Mode , Illustrator allows you to see through all layers by taking away the opacity of all layers in bulk.

You don’t have to do this manually, layer by layer, yet you can see through all layers where are the paths you need to shift or adjust. These aren’t possible in the normal mode.

Outline Mode is also often used by designers to check the spacing and alignment of text and objects in their design.

Why Do You End Up In Outline Mode

There are several reasons why you might end up in Outline Mode in Adobe Illustrator.

One common reason is that you accidentally pressed the keyboard shortcut keys: Command + Y for Mac or Control + Y for Windows.

It’s easy to press the wrong keys especially when you try to work as fast as you can. This shortcut switches Illustrator to Outline Mode.

Another reason is that you may have selected the View > Outline option from the Illustrator menu.

How To Get Out Of Outline Mode In Adobe Illustrator?

The easiest way to get out of Outline Mode in Adobe Illustrator is to use the Outline Mode Illustrator shortcut by pressing Command + Y on Mac or Ctrl + Y on Windows. Or go to the top menu bar and select View > Preview .

Here are the detailed steps and methods on how to turn off outline view in Illustrator:

Method 1: Use the Keyboard Shortcut Keys

To exit Outline Mode with the keyboard shortcuts, press Command + Y for Mac.

Or press Ctrl + Y for Windows.

Method 2: From the View Menu

You can also undo Outline Mode by selecting View on the Illustrator menu, then choose Preview in the dropdown menu.

Method 3: From the Layers Panel

First, open the Layers Panel by going to Windows in the top menu. Then select Layers in the drop-done menu. Or go to Windows > Layers .

The Layers Panel will now open up. Then, press Command on your keyboard for Mac, and click the eye icon on the left column of the main layer at the same time.

Or Ctrl for Windows, and click the eye icon .

Final Thoughts on How to Get Out of Outline Mode In Adobe Illustrator

There are various ways to exit outline mode in Adobe Illustrator, and doing so is simple. You can quickly return to preview mode whether you like to utilize the shortcut key, the View menu, or the Preview button. Time to try this out for yourself.

FAQs Related to Outlines in Illustrator

How to turn off outline view in illustrator.

The easiest way to turn off outline view in Illustrator is to use the keyboard shortcut by pressing Command + Y on Mac or Ctrl + Y on Windows . Or go to the top menu bar, select View and Preview in the drop-down menu.

How do I switch out of outline mode?

Before you switch out of Outline Mode , you will have to decide what mode would you like to switch to. There are a few modes you can switch to. Select View in the top menu of Illustrator and you can switch to another mode by clicking on any of the top few options: Preview , Overprint Preview , Pixel Preview , and Presentation Mode .

Why can’t i get out of outline mode Illustrator?

You may have gone to View in the top menu and selected Preview but still can’t get out of Outline Mode . You may have also received an error message that says: “Can’t finish previewing. Could not complete the Requested operation” or “The operation cannot complete because there isn’t enough memory (RAM) available”. In this case, the best way is to reinstall or update your Illustrator to the latest version. Reopen and try again.

How do I change an outline to normal in Illustrator?

Normal Mode in Illustrator has been commonly known as the Preview Mode where you can view your artwork normally like how the outcome should be. To change an Outline to Normal Mode , select View in the top menu and select Preview in the drop-down menu. This will help you change an Outline to Normal Mode in Illustrator.

How do I turn outlines back into text in Illustrator?

You can undo outlines with a few methods. If you have not saved the file, you can use the undo function. Otherwise, you can use Adobe Acrobat’s OCR technology to convert the outline text to editable text. You can also revert to the version when the text was not outlined using the Version History function.

Marilyn Wo is a graphic design expert. She has spent over two decades creating branding and graphic design work for clients all over the world, including X (formerly Twitter) and Samsung.

She runs MeetAnders, a graphic design company where she trains and works with a team of reliable designers. Follow her on LinkedIn .