![]() The first three sound simple enough - until you realize that you have no idea what measurement they represent. The line spacing combo box on the tab offers seven choices: Single, 1.5 lines, Double, Proportional, At Least, Leading, Fixed. ![]() Writer's line spacing options are available from the Indents and Spacing tab of a paragraph style or the window that opens when you select Format > Spacing from the menu. A very common problem is the default line spacing for small font sizes, which tend to be too small in many programs for easy reading. In some circumstances, it can be downright ugly. But the point is, if you care about the finer points of document design, the default line spacing offered by many programs is often not optimal. I have altered Bringhurst's terminology to make his rules easier for average readers to understand. Most sans serif typefaces (serifs are fonts that have a hook or foot at the end of ascenders and descenders, as in Time Roman)Īny text that regularly uses superscript or subscript characters, capital letters, or different sizes of type Typefaces with vertical axises (which means than elliptical or italic fonts, both of which are sloped,generally require less line spacing) Large-bodied typefaces (ones in which letters like "o" are relatively high compared to ones like "b") Typefaces both larger and smaller than 10-12 points (larger ones need relatively more leading, while smaller ones are harder to read without relatively more leading)ĭarker typefaces (not just bold weights, but ones that appear darker than other fonts for any reason) Longer lines of text (in other words, text in one-column pages needs more line spacing than when it is in two-column pages) However, if you are really interested in improving the look of your documents, you'll frequently want to set line spacing yourself.Īccording to Robert Bringhurst, in The Elements of Tyopgraphic Style, one of the main references for typographical standards and practice, you should consider increasing line spacing for : For many uses, these defaults are adequate, just as the on-the-fly hyphenation of such programs is. Word processors and desktop publishing program usually handle leading automatically, with simpler software offering only single, double, or one and a half spaces. For example, when the line spacing is less than the font size, the text is said to have "negative leading." However, at times, all line spacing is referred to as leading, which can cause some confusion. Technically, the amount of line spacing that is greater than the font size is called "leading," after the practice of inserting strips of lead between lines to increase spacing in manual typesetting. More often, text is easier to read if the line spacing is greater than the font size. Text in which the font size and line spacing are the same - for example, 12/12 - is "set solid" and relatively rare. For instance, text set in 12/14 uses a 12 point font with 14 points of line spacing. Since both typeface size and line spacing are usually thought of together, a standard notation has evolved to express them. Like typefaces, line spacing is usually measured in points (one point is about 1/72nd of an inch). At the same time, if the line spacing is too great, the body of text is hard to read.īecause line spacing is so important in typography, specialized terms have gathered around it. It is defined as the space between two baselines in a body of text - that is, between the imaginary line at the bottom of capital letters and letters like "m" or "o." Usually, typographers want enough line spacing so that letters that have ascenders (strokes that extend above the height of "m" or "o" such as "b" or "d"), or descenders (strokes that fall below the bottom of "m" or "o" such as "g" or "y) do not interfere with legibility. Line spacing is one of the main tools in typography. ![]() What follows is the results of my experiments to recreate that knowledge. The central mystery is: how does Writer control line-spacing by default? Until you know, working with its line-spacing tools requires guesswork. Somewhere in the transitions from a private company to Sun Microsystem's property to a free software project, exact knowledge of the line-spacing tools was lost. However, by far the least understood of these high-end tools is Writer's ability to adjust line-spacing. For this reason, it includes a number of tools for tweaking lines of text, including Tools > Language > Hyphenation and the tools for adjusting character width and letter space for individual characters. Designed to write long documents, Writer is in many ways a document processor comparable to FrameMaker, suitable for designing books and dissertations while falling short of a complete desktop publishing solution. The fact that Writer is more than a word processor is an open secret. ![]()
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