Adobe InDesign CS3 - Manual (Page 221)

INDESIGN CS3
User Guide
214
When you click to place the insertion point between two letters, InDesign displays kerning values in the Character
panel and the Control panel. Metrics and optical kerning values (or defined kern pairs) appear in parentheses.
Similarly, if you select a word or a range of text, InDesign displays the tracking values in the Character panel and
Control panel.
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.
See also
“Keys for working with type” on page 638
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.
To avoid using the built-in kerning information of a font for selected text, choose “0” in the Kerning menu.
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.
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.
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.
Turn off kerning for selected text
1 Select text.
2 In the Character panel or Control panel, type or choose 0 in the Kerning menu.