Re: Auto

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

"Susan W. Gallagher" wrote:

> Specifying "auto" in space before or after instructs Word to
> use an appropriate value based on the line spacing of the
> paragraph and the size of the font. So, if your text is 10pt
> and your line spacing is 12pt, space before is probably 12pt.
> To tell for sure, you'd have to measure with a printer's rule
> or call MS and find the programmer who coded Format Paragraph.

Most word processors use this standard spacing:

- font size of 12 points or less: space before or after is 2 points greater than

font size.
- font size of 13 to 18 points: space before or after is 3 points greater than
font size.

A quick look at MS Word (not something that I enjoy doing. The horror! The
horror!) suggests that it's using this pattern.

As an amateur typographer, I should also mention that this spacing isn't the
best for every font. In particular, if the font is less than 9 points, you
usually need 3 or 4 points of spacing before or after to make it easily
readable. But you have to experiment to see what works best.

--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604.421.7177


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