Saturday, December 26, 2009

How to Adjust the Leading in Lines of Text

Taken from Designer Digitals e-newsletter:

The vertical distance between the lines of text is called "leading" which is easy to remember once you realize that the word comes from a time when type was set by hand in printing presses. Strips of lead were inserted between the lines of text as spacers, so line spacing has become known as leading.

Increasing the vertical spacing makes your text easier to read and can help you fill in a journaling space when your story doesn't contain many words.
Begin by using the Move tool to drag a journaler onto your scrapbook page. Get the Horizontal Type tool and choose your font name, style, size, and color in the Options Bar. Click on the top left corner of your journaling block and type your text.

When you are finished, highlight the text and move your cursor to the Options Bar across the top of the editing window.

In Photoshop Elements, you can either choose a leading from the leading drop-down menu or position your cursor over the leading icon until it becomes a horizontal arrow. Moving this scrubby slider to the right increases the distance between lines, while moving it to the left decreases the distance between the lines. Watch your text alignment change as you scrub from left to right until it aligns with the lines on the journaler. Click the green checkmark in the Options Bar to confirm the leading.

In Photoshop, choose the Paragraph and Characters palette icon in the Options Bar (or select Window > Character) and view the Character tab. Choose a leading from the leading drop-down menu or use the scrubby slider to adjust the distance between the lines. Click the checkmark in the Options Bar to confirm the leading changes.

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