iMac Feedback...#9
by Shell Weinberg
Word Processing Text ruler "Leading", space between lines Word Processing Text ruler "Leading", space between linesWord processing is probably the most popular work program used throughout the entire computer community. We are going to talk a little about the Word Processing (WP) that comes in AppleWorks 5, already installed in your iMac when you bought it.
When you bring up a WP document window you will see the familiar 8 1/2" measuring ruler at the top. Above this ruler will be a gray area with 15 button-like squares. This gray area is included in what is usually referred to as the "text ruler". These 15 squares can be used for formatting your WP document.
And this brings us to the subject about the space between lines, or as professional typesetters call it, "leading". The reading, legibility and aesthetic appearance of a paragraph of copy can be altered by simply adding, or deleting, space between lines. And we can control this by first highlighting a paragraph, then double clicking over the 7th square of the gray area ruler. (FYI, the 7th and 14th squares are really small display boxes, they show you the default settings.)
This will bring up a Paragraph dialog box, go to Line Spacing, click on "li", this drops a menu, select Points. This then highlights the related text entry box (and will probably show the factory default setting of 16). You now type in your leading preference, click on OK. Your highlighted paragraph will then be formatted.
If you want to INCREASE the leading 1 point at a time, click once on square 8. If you want to DECREASE the leading 1 point click once on square 6. Be sure your paragraph is highlighted before doing this.
Interestingly, when you open a new WP document, the factory default is 12 point Helvetica with 2 points of lead. This is referred to as 12 on 14, however, the small display box shows "1 li", and if you were to click on square 8 now you would increase leading 1/2 line, to "1.5 li".
So the factory default setting is based on single line increments. You will have to change this setting to points if you want to adjust your line spacing using 1 point increments.