Where Does Illustrator Store Preferences?
Where Illustrator keeps preferences on Windows and macOS, and the two ways to reset them safely.
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Illustrator stores preferences per major version: a versioned Settings folder under %APPDATA%\Adobe on Windows, a prefs file under ~/Library/Preferences on macOS. Workspaces, shortcuts and plugin states all live in that tree, so one copy preserves your whole setup.
Old version folders linger after upgrades and confuse every cleanup. Illustrator only reads the folder matching its own major version; the rest are inert leftovers (keep the newest backup, delete the archaeology). Always quit the app before copying: it finalizes prefs on exit.
Where Adobe Illustrator stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [Version] Settings
The version number in the path matches your Illustrator major version. Rename rather than delete when resetting, so rollback is one rename away. Illustrator must be closed during the operation.
~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Illustrator [Version] Settings
Use Go > Go to Folder in Finder. The en_US locale folder varies by language. Same quit before copy rule as Windows.
Frequently asked questions
How do I reset Illustrator preferences without finding the folder?
Hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Option+Cmd+Shift (macOS) while launching and confirm the reset prompt. It rebuilds defaults in place. Set up your workspace first with no document open if you plan to snapshot the fresh state.
How do I back up my Illustrator workspace before resetting?
Quit Illustrator, copy the Settings folder (Windows) or the prefs file (Mac) to a safe spot, then reset freely. To restore, quit again and copy the backup back. The quit matters both times: Illustrator writes prefs on exit and overwrites live copies.
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