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Adobe PageMaker 7.0 – Working with Leading

Working with Leading

Leading is the vertical space between lines of type and is measured in points. Like letter and word spacing, the right amount of leading makes text easier to read. You can specify the leading value yourself or let PageMaker determine it automatically.

return to topAdjusting the Space between Lines of Text

Leading settings have two parts:

Leading Value
Measures the entire vertical space allotted for a line of text.

Leading Method
Defines where the text is placed.

Selecting a Leading Value

PageMaker automatically inserts leading as you enter text into your document; however, there may be times when you want to control the value of the leading. What constitutes reasonable leading varies with the requirements of each document and each font used.

NOTE: You can apply more than one leading value within the same paragraph. However, if different leading values occur within a single line of text, PageMaker uses the largest leading value for the entire line.

To choose a leading value for selected text

  1. Select the text to which you want to apply a leading value

  2. From the Type menu, select Leading

  3. From the Leading submenu, select a value
    HINTS:
    To restore the default leading value, select Auto
    To set a custom leading value, select Other…
    leading submenu values

return to topPositioning Text within its Leading

There are three methods you can use to position a line of text within its leading (vertical space). You can select Proportional, Top of Caps, or Baseline. The leading method is applied uniformly to all characters in a paragraph, even if the leading amounts differ.

The following graphic represents examples of the three leading methods.
Leading examples

Proportional positions the baseline of a line of text two-thirds of the way down from the top of the vertical space. This is the default leading method.
Top of Caps positions the text, based on the highest point on any character of the largest font in the line, at the top of the vertical space.
Baseline aligns the text at the bottom of the vertical space. Descenders will appear beneath the baseline.

To select a leading method:

  1. Select one or more paragraphs

  2. From the Type menu, select Paragraph…
    The Paragraph Specifications dialog box appears.

  3. Click SPACING…

  4. In the Leading method section, select the method desired

  5. Click OK

return to topSetting Autoleading Values for a Selected Paragraph(s)

PageMaker’s default leading is set at 120% of the font size when you select Auto for the leading value. You can change that percentage for one or all paragraphs.

  1. Select one or more paragraphs

  2. From the Type menu, select Paragraph…
    The Paragraph Specification dialog box appears.

  3. Click SPACING…
    The Spacing Attributes dialog box appears.
    spacing attributes dialog box

  4. In the Autoleading text box, type the percentage you wish to apply to the paragraph

  5. Click OK

  6. In the Paragraph Specifications dialog box, click OK

return to topSetting Spacing for a Selected Paragraph(s)

There may be times when you need a paragraph set off so it will draw attention to itself. In many cases you do not need to use fancy and distracting graphics or borders when added spacing will do the trick.

  1. Select one or more paragraphs

  2. From the Type menu, select Paragraph…
    The Paragraph Specification dialog box appears.
    paragraph specifications dialog box

  3. In the Paragraph space text boxes, type the amount of space you want applied before and after the paragraph

  4. When finished, click OK

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