Apply kerning to text, Use metrics kerning, Use optical kerning – Adobe InCopy CC 2015 User Manual
Page 290: Adjust kerning manually, Change the default kerning increment value
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Typography
Last updated 6/13/2015
Apply kerning to text
You apply either of two types of automatic kerning: metrics kerning or optical kerning, or you can adjust the spacing
between letters manually.
Use metrics kerning
1
Set the text insertion point between the characters you want to pair kern, or select text.
2
In the Character panel or Control panel, select Metrics in the Kerning
menu.
3
In the Character panel or Control panel, select Metrics or Metrics - Roman Only in the Kerning
menu.
Note: If Metrics is applied to fonts (including some Japanese OpenType fonts) which do not contain pair kerning
information, spacing for each character will be set to “0” and character compression will not occur.
To avoid using the built-in kerning information of a font for selected text, choose “0” in the Kerning
menu.
Note: The default setting is Metrics – Roman Only. When Metrics - Roman Only is applied to Roman OpenType fonts,
kerning is the same as when Metrics is selected. When Metrics - Roman Only is applied to CJK OpenType fonts, only the
Roman characters will be kerned with kerning pairs as if Metrics were set. The CJK characters will not be kerned, as if '0'
were set. For this reason, choose '0' to turn off pair kerning.
Note: If you use font metrics kerning in a Japanese OpenType font, it is recommended that you choose OpenType > Use
Proportional Metrics from the Control panel menu. That way, you can avoid making unnecessary manual kerning
adjustments.
Use optical kerning
1
Set the text insertion point between characters you want to pair kern or select the text you want to kern.
2
In the Character panel or Control panel, select Optical in the Kerning
menu.
Note: Optical Kerning is designed on the basis of Roman character forms. You can use this feature with CJK fonts, but you
should always check the results of the operation.
Adjust kerning manually
1
Using the Type tool
, click to place an insertion point between two characters.
Note: If a range of text is selected, you can’t manually kern the text (you can choose only Metrics, Optical, or 0). Instead,
use tracking.
Note: If a range of text is selected, you can’t manually kern the text (you can choose only Metrics, Metrics - Roman Only,
Optical, or 0). Instead, use tracking.
2
Do any of the following:
• In the Character panel or the Control panel, type or select a numeric value in the Kerning menu.
• Press Alt+Left/Right Arrow (Windows) or Option+Left/Right Arrow (Mac OS) to decrease or increase the
kerning between two characters.
The amount of the word kerning adjustment is the same as the Kerning value in the Units & Increments Preferences
dialog box. When you press the shortcut and hold down the Ctrl or Command key, the kerning amount is the Kerning
preferences value multiplied by 5.
Change the default kerning increment value
❖
In the Units & Increments section of the Preferences dialog box, type a new value for the Kerning option and click
OK.