Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 - Manual (Page 400)

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Type
Last updated 6/5/2015
Shift the baseline
Use Baseline Shift to move selected characters up or down relative to the baseline of the surrounding text. Shifting the
baseline is especially useful when you’re hand-setting fractions or adjusting the position of a picture font.
1 Select the characters or type objects you want to change. If you don’t select any text, the shift applies to new text you
create.
2 In the Character panel, set the Baseline Shift option. Positive values move the character’s baseline above the baseline
of the rest of the line; negative values move it below the baseline.
Kern and track
Kerning is the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters. Tracking is the process of
loosening or tightening the spacing between the characters in selected text or an entire block of text.
Note: Values for kerning and tracking affect Japanese text but normally these options are used to adjust the aki between
Roman characters.
You can automatically kern type using metrics kerning or optical kerning. Metrics kerning (also called Auto kerning)
uses kern pairs, which are included with most fonts. Kern pairs contain information about the spacing of specific pairs
of letters. Some of these are: LA, P., To, Try, Ta, Tu, Te, Ty, Wa, WA, We, Wo, Ya, and Yo. Metrics kerning is set as the
default so that specific pairs are automatically kerned when you import or type text.
Some fonts include robust kern-pair specifications. However, when a font includes only minimal built-in kerning or
none at all, or if you use two different typefaces or sizes in one or more words on a line, you may want to use the optical
kerning option. Optical kerning adjusts the spacing between adjacent characters based on their shapes.
A Original text B Text with optical kerning C Text with manual kerning between W and a D Text with tracking E Cumulative kerning and
tracking
You can also use manual kerning, which is ideal for adjusting the space between two letters. Tracking and manual
kerning are cumulative, so you can first adjust individual pairs of letters, and then tighten or loosen a block of text
without affecting the relative kerning of the letter pairs.