Re: possible to set tracking in Word?

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Hi Gang-

Thought I'd jump in for a bit, if you don't mind.

First point is that the spacing in a doc using scalable fonts is already
'fine tuned' by the designer. Not that you don't have every right to make
adjustments if necessary. Don't be misled by what you see on screen,
however, because a display is _not_ as accurate as your printer. The job
will usually look better on paper, and as long as you are dealing with well
designed fonts you'll get spacing comparable to what you would find in any
typeset quality document.

If you do need to make adjustments, there is a distinction between the size
of spaces and spacing between actual characters.

For space sizing the best results are obtained by going to
Insert>Symbol--Special Characters and using 'em' or 'en' spaces. Each have
keyboard equivalents that are rather easy to remember if you need to use
them frequently.

Spacing between characters can be adjusted in 2 ways in Word:

1- Tracking (which Word refers to as 'Character Spacing' -
Format>Font--Character Spacing--Spacing) is used by selecting a passage -
such as a title or headline - and using Expanded or Condensed by points in
increments as small as .01 pt. and equally affects the spacing of all the
selected text.

2- Kerning technically applies only to the spacing between specific _pairs_
of characters, not an entire text string, and is applied by placing the
insertion point between the two characters, going through the same dialog
box and checking the box. You can select a passage, but only certain
pairings of characters will be affected. Kerning values are built into the
font design, so you have no further control other than the smallest font
size at which automatic kerning will be used. The size you can pick may vary
from one font to another, depending how how the font was designed. It is
generally suggested that kerning _not_ be used on anything smaller than 8
pt. type.

Horizontal scaling is not a feature that Word has to offer other than
comparable capability using WordArt.

Regards |:>)


On 9/22/05 1:30 PM, in article BF58385B.4756D%daiyaNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
"Daiya Mitchell" <daiyaNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>> I wondered if it's possible to fine-tune the spacing between letters
>> (tracking) in Word or whether there's any way to make letters (or
>> spaces) skinnier or wider by setting a horizontal percentage?
>> teeb
>
> Spacing between letters is commonly called kerning, I thought?
>
> In Format | Font, there is a character spacing tab that will let you apply
> it to selected text--you can condense or expand by a certain degree. Same
> dialog, you can also ask Word to automatically kern (adjust character
> spacing) for fonts over a certain point size.
>
> Satisfaction with the results from either method is likely to vary widely
> and to depend on the font and size of the text you are trying to
> fine-tune--professional type-setters would scorn it while you may be
> perfectly happy.
>
> I don't think you can make letters skinny or wide unless you use WordArt,
> which would let you stretch letters--but WordArt is a graphic, that's not
> really text.
>
> What type of doc are you trying to make? I notice you also asked about
> graphics in another thread. I gotta say, for something like a newsletter
> with headlines and text wrapped around graphics, you may be happier using
> Apple's Pages, which does simple page layout rather less aggravatingly than
> Word. Depends on what you need to do with the doc, of course.

.

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