Make 'Recent fonts' section in Character palette work alongside with selecting current font in font list
Recently AI made focus in font list in Character palette jump to the top of the list, in 'Recent fonts' part, thus making impossible to browse fonts in alphabetical order — you have to scroll font list manually to position.
This is stupid.
In 22.1.0 this request has been realized:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-feature-requests/suggestions/32044567-option-to-disable-recent-fonts-feature
Now user can set '0' in Preferences to completely eliminate 'Recent' section in font list — and this magically 'fixes' selection of current font in context.
This is stupid.
I personally want to use BOTH 'Recent fonts' AND current font focusing.
I don't care about it won't be selected in Recent: just show me chosen number of recent font options above the line (without selection), make it fixed (or make it go away right after I start scrolling) and select current font in the main list.
Just like CorelDraw does it (see the image attached).
Don't do as Microsoft Word does (it actually does it wrong too).

The latest Beta Build 29.6.91 introduces first changes to the way how recent font section works. Now Ai tries to find the position of the currently chosen font in the main list.
There are several known issues.
- If you deselect a text and select it again — Ai will still jump to the recent section’s font when we open the dropdown
- The recent section is not fixed and gets scrolled while navigating the list, making the access to recent fonts harder that it is now in the General build
Please try to test it and leave comments.
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Andy commented
I have just downloaded the pre-release version from the link above and it has not been sorted. It is still exactly the same. Very frustrating and time consuming. Please Adobe, put the font menu back to how it was, it's driving me mad scrolling through hundreds of fonts everytime. If it's not broken, don't fix it!!!
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Andy commented
Same problem here! Very frustrating. Has anything been done about this?
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Ras commented
Same problem and that problem is identical in InDesign - very annoying
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Ras commented
Same problem and very frustrating
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Anonymous commented
I don't have the same problem, but it's related. In the Find Font window, fonts are only haphazardly alphabetized. That's a problem for me because I use Helvetica Neue LT Std a lot. Each weight has a number (like Helvetica Neue LT Std 55...) BUT before that comes 66, 63, 67, 65, 46, 43. Okay, it's alphabetical, but when you sort you need to sort by numbers, too!
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Anonymous commented
I have the same problem, and it is extremely frustrating, especially as I have a huge list of fonts to try and filter through. Please fix this issue soon!
The solution you mention above does not work as it doesn't allow you to set your "recent fonts" to 0 - you can only select numbers from a drop down menu.
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Brittany Martin commented
This issue with the fonts seriously needs to be fixed. I've used your products for almost 10 years and have never been so frustrated in my life. All I want to do is start typing a font name and it jump down to that. Do you know how many fonts I have after TEN YEARS of design work?? Thousands! Now instead of spending my time actually working on projects, I'm trying to find a solution to this problem that shouldn't even exist. Put it back the way it was!
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rr commented
same issue so frustrating
Working on a PC there is no option to set value to "0" there is a drop down numbered 1-15
this really cuts into my workflow -
Anonymous commented
Ditto
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Violet C commented
I have a few thousand fonts installed, a lot of designers probably do. I would like my last font remembered. By this I mean, after for example, I try what "AB" looks like, I then expect to see "AC" the next time I open that drop-down list. If "AB" doesn't look good, I want to see font "AD" in the drop-down next, so I can try that. Actually, I'm hoping to eventually see a "window" with fonts displaying what my text looks like. It's hard to choose the best font from a List-style view.
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Kelly commented
Same problem here!!
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Annette commented
In CC 2014, when you selected copy in your document, it would highlight that font in the type window in it's appropriate alphabetical location. You could then scroll up or down alphabetically to get to other fonts. Now, when you select copy in a CC 2018 document, it moves the font to the top of the list and you have to start from the top every time to look for other fonts. I like to scroll through the fonts as I'm designing logos and having to start at the top every time is a pain in the neck!
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Melanie commented
Same problem!!
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Anonymous commented
This worked fine until the 2018 upgrade recently
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Jan Hasse commented
i would love it too!
Its annoying when you try to find a nice font and always have to start at A.
I wish i could start at the name of my selected font, when i open the font dropdown menu.Greetings
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cathy commented
I always get annoyed that my font drop down menu always starts at the top in the most recent section.
can i get it to stay at the location where I last opened it/font I last selected?
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Dale Carty II commented
Yes, I have had this issue too!
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cris black commented
What did you do to the font list??????
I don't even know how to describe the issue. I just know it's wrong. And messed up. And needs to be fixed!
Let me see if I can describe my complaint:
1) In the CHARACTER panel: if you highlight the font name and begin typing another font name, I used to be able to put the first few characters (or even just the first letter), then click on the down arrow and it would bring me to that place in my list of fonts.
For example, I could type “HEL” and it would take me to the first font in my list that begins with HEL. I could either use that font or by selecting the drop-down menu next to the font name, I could see the fonts that were above or below that one in the list and scroll from there if needed.
Or if I typed just an “H” It would take me to the beginning of the fonts with names beginning with H and I could scroll from there and see the little font preview as I went.
No longer does that work. I have to scroll from the beginning of the font list every single time. It’s such a waste of time an extremely frustrating. Sometimes I cannot remember the name of a font but I know it begins with a P. Instead of using the little shortcut that I have used longer than I care to admit, I now have to scroll through every single font that is alphabetically above it to get there.
2) Also, now when you select some text and then sect the drop-down font list - again it starts at the beginning of the font list instead of starting in the list where that particular font is found. It’s the same basic problem as above. It used to take you to the point in the font list where the selected font resides alphabetically. No more. Scroll city.
Please. Please. Please. I am begging you to please fix this back to the way it was. Honestly, I don’t mind change. And most of the time I don’t have any complaints about upgrades because it makes the program better. This however is terrible and really slows down my process.
Thank you for reading all the way through this! Fingers are crossed for a quick fix on this one!!!
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David Whitmyre commented
Just installed the latest updates to ID, AI and PS. Yes, you can now set the recent fonts to 0 (zero). However, if you do set it to 1-15 it still performs the SAME WAY! It will pop to the top of the font list. You have solved only ONE PART of the problem—giving AI users the ability to turn off recent fonts. (FYI - works the same in all three applications)
Unless you move to the selected font in the list WITH the recent fonts at the top, recent fonts is essentially USELESS! Nobody is going to use it.
Please get it right! Make the list go to the currently selected font WITH the recent fonts showing. Only then will it function correctly. CorelDraw has done this for 20 years. If you can't figure it out, buy Corel Corp., and implement their code into yours!!
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David Whitmyre commented
I completely agree with this FIX! I have used CorelDraw for many, many years and this is the default behavior for the drop-down font list. Make it work this way in AI and ID!!