Italics

[Oldie Black Witch]

By the way, HOORAY for Brenna who has internet access at her new place!

[Peter Ahlstrom]

What's the kerning on this line so we don't have to break that word, but without making it appear too small in relation to the rest of the paragraph?

TRACKING, not kerning! Shame on you!

Tracking is letter spacing over a whole line or paragraph or document. Kerning is letter spacing between two specific letters (done differently from the letters around them).

Kerning is most often an issue in headlines or chapter titles or other areas where the text is really big and the font's idiosyncrasies really stand out.

HoM, they can change that for a reprint, can't they? I definitely agree with you on that. Couldn't convince them to change it on the blueline?

That doesn't seem to me like something a typesetter would do, actually adding words.

[stacer]

I had tracking and then switched it. I always get the two mixed up.

[42]

Thanks Ookla, that was bugging me all yesterday, but I didn't want ot say anything about it. Tracking and kerning may seem interchangable, but they're not really. Kerning is almost always done (or should always be done) when working with titles or display text. Tracking is more for body text.

[House of Mustard]

I would like to say that I only learned the word 'kerning' about three days ago.  It was that conversation where I also learned that we're not supposed to doublespace after periods anymore.  News to me.  You English majors think you're so smart.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

the only time I've used "kerning" is on graphics with adding text. So uh... yeah. I've never used it for body text.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

I would like to say that I only learned the word 'kerning' about three days ago.  It was that conversation where I also learned that we're not supposed to doublespace after periods anymore.  News to me.  You English majors think you're so smart.

I was a linguistics major...

But anyway two-spacing is a typesetting issue. In manuscripts it shouldn't matter what you do (it's an easy find&replace change they can do later). Actually I think if you're using traditional Courier manuscript format, you should still two-space. Not two-spacing is most important in justified text.

As for kerning/tracking, I think it's a common thing to confuse. They ARE very simliar, and they're right next to each other in Photoshop and InDesign...

[EUOL]

I would like to say that I only learned the word 'kerning' about three days ago.  It was that conversation where I also learned that we're not supposed to doublespace after periods anymore.  News to me.  You English majors think you're so smart.

Heh.   My editor mentioned the double-spacing thing too.  He suggested that I no longer use it in manuscripts, but it just looks wrong to me to do otherwise.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I stopped doing that years ago. Probably due to Dave's class. But I think I learned it even earlier than that.

[House of Mustard]

I don't really feel like stopping, since it sounds like more trouble than it's worth.  I type really fast right now, and it's almost entirely automatic to double-space.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

if you try though, and don't beat yourself over the mistakes, it improves on it's own. At least, it did for me. I still occassionally whack the space bar twice when I'm going really fast. but not much anymore.

[stacer]

I can't remember when I switched--probably about the same time I switched from DOS to Windows, or when I was a typesetter on a Unix system back in 96, or something. It's been a long while. So it's completely habit for me to only space once.

[Mistress of Darkness]

I think I finally changed in college, but, like Saint, I also still occasionally put the double space.  Stupid people changing the rules all the time. Blah.