Kerning refers to parameters. Correct typography: Kerning. Here are a few things to remember about kerning

Apply a stroke similarly to the fill for the selected drop cap (Fig. 4.27). The default stroke weight is 1 point, but it can be changed in the dialog Window-Strokeopening the palette Outline (fig. 4.28).

Kerning

When considering texts typed in proportional large size fonts, it is often a deceptive impression that the distance between letters is different. This phenomenon is most clearly manifested in such pairs of letters as "WA" and "AY" (or, for example, in Russian "GA"). Some desktop publishing systems allow you to adjust the letter spacing in pairs of letters in words, depending on the size. This adjustment process is called kerning. As a result of kerning, the optical effect of uneven interliter spacing is eliminated. An example of kerning between the letters G and A (in the word PAPER) is shown in Fig. 4.29.

For optimal visual perception of the text, inter-character spaces should not be the same. The larger the text, the more kerning matters to its appearance. Small size text may not be kerned at all. So, for example, in the CorelXARA program, for manual kerning, the cursor must be positioned between the adjacent characters. When you change the kerning value, the first letter remains in place, the second is moved. Corporate fonts are provided with kerning tables, that is, a list of pairs for which you need to reduce the space when typing. These are, for example, GO, GA, AU and others. Layout programs are equipped with automatic kerning, i.e. you can organize automatic correction of spaces in kerning pairs in text of any length. After text processing with automatic kerning in headings and other large text, manual kerning is sometimes performed additionally.

Tracking

Tracking, unlike kerning, is not set for couples, and for several characters and in this program characterizes the size of the intersymbol space in group characters. Spaces change the same for all selected characters. If you set tracking for the selected pair, then it is similar to kerning. Tracking has the strongest effect on text coloration, as it determines the distance between individual letters. The greater the space between letters, i.e. the freer the tracking, the lighter the color. If the tracking reaches its maximum, the text begins to tear and loses color, because its uniformity is disturbed. The tracking technique (changing the distance between characters) improves the optical properties of text at large and small font sizes. In other words, tracking determines the character spacing as a function of the font size. In order to finally understand why you need tracking, look at fig. 4.30. As you can see, the first variant with positive tracking (Fig. 4.30, 1) looks stretched - the spacing between letters is quite large (in other fonts this can be seen even more). In the second example, in order to make the text easier to read and perceived as complete, negative tracking is applied (Fig. 4.30).

When using tracking, it is recommended to take into account a number of features of human perception of typographic text. For example, text in large print looks better if the letters in the words are closer together (than when using standard spacing). This is especially noticeable when the word is typed entirely in capital letters. The degree to which letter spacing needs to be corrected depends not only on the size, but also on the typeface. Some headsets require more perceptible tracking, while others can do little or no. Tracking is especially useful in situations when there is a need for dense typing of some parts of the text, for example, in separate columns of a table. It is relatively rare to increase tracking, but in two cases it is highly desirable. With bold headings, the letters take up all the space, so there seems to be no breath. Therefore, a small discharge is introduced, which the printers call it - air. The second case of successful use of tracking is obtaining a special effect, which is more and more popular among printers: the discharge of letters in a word in such a way that the gap between individual letters exceeds the width of the symbol. This technique is good for text in capital letters, especially if the text is small, on the same line, and is a heading or subheading.

Kerning and Tracking Units

Kerning and tracking are measured in special relative units - thousandths of a round spacing (ems / 1000), since when shifting in a pair, it is not the exact values \u200b\u200bthat are important, but their relation to the size of the characters in a particular typeface. Applying this relative unit automatically makes these offsets proportional to the font size. In printing, additional units of measurement are used - round space, semicircular space, thin space, which characterize the horizontal font sizes. They correspond to the widths of the capital letters M, N and the lowercase letter t. Round spacing is approximately equal to the font size, semicircular spacing is 0.5 font size, and thin spacing is 0.25 font size. Since all fonts are different, then the width of the letter M may differ between them. Thus, the value of the round spacing fluctuates depending on the size and typeface. Spacing is applied when measuring paragraph indents, kerning and other character movements.

Setting up kerning and tracking in InDesign

Both kerning and tracking can be applied to the same text. So:

Let's see how to change the space between letters in kerning letter pairs. We will decrease the gap in visual holes, and increase it in visual condensations. For example, let's reduce the gap between M and O in Fig. 4.33.

Select tool Text and by clicking place the cursor between the letters "M" and "O" in the word "Diploma". On the palette Symbol configure kerning of this pair and other pairs of letters in the word Diploma (fig. 4.34). Change the space between the letters until the appearance of the two adjacent letters suits you aesthetically.

Now using the palette Symbol we will change the tracking value for the title "The story of a short life and the tragic death of a kolobok". Before setting the tracking value, you must select the entire range of letters you want to track (Fig. 4.35 and 4.36).

Working with tabs

Tabs can be used to position text in a frame at specific horizontal positions. Select team Text-Tabsto open the palette Tabulators... Create an empty text frame and click on the magnet icon in the palette Tabulators (

But as soon as more complex shapes come into play, "sticking and holes" begin. Here you should equalize the areas between the letters. There are many geometric techniques, but, to be honest, they seem very complicated to me, and useful only when designing fonts in creating an array of kerning pairs.

Therefore, consider general rules and the method of placing "by three". The general rules are simple: the greatest distance will be between the "rectangular letters". A slightly smaller distance is required if a letter with rectilinear elements borders on a round letter. Even less space is required between the two round letters. And even less - with letters that have open shapes.

Threesome method

1. The most complex kerning pair is selected in the word, the gap between the letters of which will be the narrowest - these are either two rounded letters or combinations of letters with open shapes. This pair is the first to be pounded.
2. Further, the word kernels to the right and left of this pair. To the selected blackened pair, we add the adjacent letter, getting three letters and consider only this three. Moving a new letter, we achieve uniformity of white areas in this triplet. Then we move the three one letter to the side and kern the next letter. And so we go through the whole word. With the right skill, you will do this automatically and very quickly.

Let's consider this on the example of the abstract word "ingovy". Choose a complex pair of letters. In this word it is “go”. And we set the minimum distance between these letters.

1. What lists are not in text editor?

a) numbered;

B) point;

c) marked.

2. When setting page parameters in a text editor, the following are set:

A) margins, orientation and page size;

b) the spacing between paragraphs and the type of font;

c) background and page borders, indentation.

3. What key combination should be used to insert today's date into the document?

a) Ctrl + Alt + A;

b) Shift + Ctrl + V;

B) Shift + Alt + D.

4. Which of these statements is correct?

A) Kerning is a change in the spacing between letters of one word.

b) If the password for a protected document is lost, it can be recovered using a keyword.

c) The Shift + Home key combination brings you to the first page of the document.

5. Which of these statements is incorrect?

a) The capital letter can be printed in two ways.

b) Using the Tab key, you can make a red line.

C) The Delete key deletes the character in front of the blinking cursor.

6. What key should I press to print the comma when the English alphabet is installed on my computer?

A) where the Russian letter B is written;

b) where the Russian letter Y is written;

c) where the Russian letter Zh is written.

7. A footer is:

A) the area that is in the upper and lower fields and is intended to place the title of the work on the text of each page;

b) appearance printed characters that the user sees in the text editor window;

c) the top line of the Word editor window, which contains the command bar (for example, "Insert", "Design", "Layout", etc.).

8. In order to text Document insert the link, you need to go to the following tabs:

b) File – Page settings – Insert link;

9 - Test. What is the default font set toWord 2007?

a) Times New Roman;

c) Microsoft Ya Hei.

10. The top line of the taskbar displays a floppy disk icon. What happens if you click on it?

a) the document is deleted;

B) the document will be saved;

c) the document will be written to a disk or USB flash drive inserted into the computer.

11. What key should you hold down when copying different text elements of one document?

12. What can be done with the two curved arrows on the top line above the page of text?

a) go one letter to the right or left (depending on which arrow to press);

b) go one line up or down (depending on which arrow to press);

C) go one committed action backward or forward (depending on which arrow to press).

13. What does the enabled "Nonprintable Characters" button show?

A) spaces between words and the end of a paragraph;

b) all punctuation marks;

c) errors in the text.

14. It is possible to combine or split the cells of the drawn table in the tab:

a) "Constructor";

B) "Layout";

c) "Table parameters".

15. What can you do with a watermark superimposed on a text document?

A) it makes the document unique;

b) it protects the document from being damaged by viruses;

c) it allows third-party users to copy the text placed in the document.

16. To enable automatic hyphenation, you need to go to the following tabs:

AND) Layout – Page settings – Hyphenation;

b) Insert – Text – Inserting hyphens;

17. To create a new page, you must simultaneously press the following keys:

A) Ctrl and Enter;

b) Shift and space;

c) Shift and Enter.

18. To quickly paste the copied element, use the following key combination:

Test - 19. List of instructions that informsWord a pre-recorded order of actions to achieve a specific goal is called:

a) footer;

B) a macro;

c) instructions.

20. With which hotkeys is it impossible to change the language in a text editor?

a) Alt + Shift;

b) Ctrl + Shift;

C) Alt + Ctrl.

21. To make the content in the document, you must perform a number of the following steps:

a) select several words in the text using the Ctrl key (they will be headings), go to the "Insert" tab and click on the "Contents" icon;

B) select the headings in the text, go to the "Links" tab and click on the "Table of Contents" icon there;

c) each new chapter begin with new page, go to the "Insert" tab, find the "Insert content" icon there and click on it.

AND) right button mouse followed by selection of the "Hyperlink" tab;

b) left button mouse followed by selection of the "Hyperlink" tab;

c) twice with the left mouse button, followed by the selection of the "Hyperlink" tab.

23. To insert a formula into a text document, you need to go to the following tabs:

and) File – Page settings – Insert formula;

B) Insert – Symbols – Formula;

at) Insert – Illustrations – Insert formula.

24. What page orientation does not exist?

A) notebook;

b) book;

c) landscape.

25. What option does this dialog regulate?

A) changing the indentation;

b) changing the font of the text;

c) changing the size of the sheet margins.

26. Which of the following sentences matches the rules for placing spaces between words and punctuation marks?

a) Word is an ideal assistant for the student: it allows you to create, view and edit text documents;

B) Word is an ideal assistant for the student: it allows you to create, view and edit text documents;

c) Word is an ideal student assistant: it allows you to create, view and edit text documents.

27. Solve a practical problem. Alexander wrote coursework 53 pages. Now he needs to copy the information to another document. The guy pressed the left mouse button 2 times and pulled ... Advise Alexander how to select all the text in one click.

a) click on the "File" tab and select the "Copy all" function there;

b) move the mouse cursor over the field and click once;

C) click on the combination ctrl keys and A.

a) Alt + Ctrl + F2;

b) Ctrl + Shift + F2;

C) Alt + Shift + F2.

29. MS Word -this is:

A) text editor;

b) spreadsheet;

c) database management.

30. A comic question. Young people today use this word to refer to computer accessories for audio communication, and programmers use the same word to refer to the style of one type of font. What is this word?

B) headset;

If you are interested in design, you have probably heard the word kerning more than once. They are especially fond of using it on forums, though half do not understand its meaning, but the remark about kerning sounds very authoritative and scary. Of course, you can drive the desired query into a search engine and read the theory on this topic, but not always the presentation of the article (in the same Wikipedia) contributes to understanding. Therefore, in this article you will find not only dry theory, but also examples and can even practice.

Let's start with theory

The very concept of kerning comes from the printing industry, and denotes the process of "manual" adjustment of the distance between individual letters in order to increase the overall beauty and legibility of the text.

The key is that this is done "manually", i.e. depends on the feeling of the designer and the fact that this process can affect only those places that the designer thinks "ugly".

There is also such a thing as tracking... Tracking is also called changing the distance between letters, but it is applied automatically to an entire word, line or paragraph.

As a rule, it is used for an array of text, when all sorts of ugly places like "hanging lines", etc. appear.

Kerning is used to "refine" individual words. Therefore, understanding this process for creating logos is simply necessary (even if you do not make a font in a logo from scratch, but use a ready-made one).

Let's say you picked a font suitable for your logo and wrote a company name for it. Most likely you will have places where the letters are too close to each other and places where they are too far away. And all this in one word! When it’s a large block of text, you don’t pay attention to such moments, but when it’s in the title, the eye immediately "stumbles upon" such places.

Even specific pairs of letters have been identified, where the automatically set distance between letters needs to be adjusted - the so-called kerning pairs: AV, Wa, XC, To, etc.

How do you determine where you need to adjust the spacing between letters?

Most importantly, you have to feel it. However, until you have developed this skill in yourself, you need to understand why this is happening.

The thing is that the shape of the letters can be inscribed in the simplest shapes: rectangle, circle, triangle. If you put them side by side, then the distance between the rectangles will be the same everywhere, between the rectangle and the circle - holes are formed below and above, between the rectangle and the triangle - a large hole on top, the neighborhood of the circle and the triangle will give an even larger hole on top, and by placing two triangles next to each other, you get a chasm between them.

Moreover, the distance between the extreme points is the same everywhere, but visually, due to differences in shapes, the distance between the letters will seem different. This is where "manual" correction is needed.

How to correct the letter spacing correctly?

First, the larger the size (height) of the letter, the easier it will be for you to move the letters. Enlarge the lettering to a size where you can comfortably move / expand the letters a little.

Determine the most "problematic" place, and, having chosen the necessary distance between these letters, take on the nearest to the right and left until you go over the whole word.

Watch out for tracking - do not let the word spread or shrink too much. A special case if the word consists of uppercase letters - then an increased letter space is allowed in it.

The author of this text is Andrey Tikhanov. It was originally published in the Councils of the Gorbunov Bureau. With the kind permission of the author and the bureau, I am publishing an abridged version of it here. The full text is available on the bureau's website.

Arrangement of letters in words, or kerning

“The question of determining the correct spacing between letters and words is of great importance in type graphics. The quality of the lettering depends both on the correct proportions of the letters, and on the correct determination of the distance between them. As great as the letters are, the lettering will look bad if the letters are carelessly spaced. "

TI Kutsyn "Typefaces" A guide for architects and engineers. Moscow 1950

The classic good placement of letters in a word is achieved by an even distribution of areas of white and black. The area of \u200b\u200bblack depends on the typeface (its style and gaps inside the letters). In accordance with this, white is selected.

Letter types and general placement rules

By the nature of the grapheme, letters are conventionally divided into five subspecies:

• rectangular - with vertical elements (I, M);
• rounded (O, F);
• semicircular - with straight elements on one side and rounded on the other (B, S);
• half-open - with one open side (G, E, C);
• open (F, T).

The general rules are simple: the greatest distance will be between the "rectangular letters". A slightly smaller distance is required if a letter with rectilinear elements borders on a round letter. Even less space is required between the two round letters. And even less - with letters that have open shapes.

Threesome method

1. The most complex kerning pair is selected in the word, the gap between the letters of which will be the narrowest - these are either two rounded letters or combinations of letters with open shapes. This pair is the first to be pounded.
2. Further, the word kernels to the right and left of this pair. To the selected blackened pair, we add the adjacent letter, getting three letters and consider only this three. Moving a new letter, we achieve uniformity of white areas in this triplet. Then we move the three one letter to the side and kern the next letter. And so we go through the whole word. With the right skill, you will do this automatically and very quickly.

For beginners, let me remind you: to change the kerning of a pair, you do not need to select a letter, just put the cursor in front of it and move the letter by pressing Alt + left / Alt + right.

Kerning on-screen text

If you need to put text as a picture on a banner or plate, especially in small sizes (below 15 pixels), you have to work with text in a special way. Text in small size due to the anti-aliasing mode "beats and floats". There are some useful tipshow to deal with it.

1. Play around with different anti-aliasing modes.
2. Select the point size so that horizontal strokes do not blur. For most fonts, such point sizes are fractional for strange reasons.
3. Kernel. First, by placing the cursor in front of the first letter, using the arrows while holding down alt key, achieve clear vertical strokes. Then proceed to kerning individual pairs.
4. The technique works well when the text is typed in Illustrator and pasted into Photoshop through copy-paste, especially for oblique inscriptions.