kern

Build 1501 on 14/Nov/2017  This topic last edited on: 24/Oct/2016, at 14:39

Description

This tag specifies the tracking of characters.

Parameters and typographical expressions

1.value of tracking. A decimal number of a measure type, or a typographical expression that results in such number.

Tag Effects

Effects are visible in the WYSIWYG pane of the Articles main tab or on a page on the Pages main tab. However, because this tag may change the way how the text lines are justified, its effect is indirectly visible in the source pane of the Articles or Pages main tab.

Type and scope

Can be inserted anywhere in text. Local for the paragraph where is inserted, therefore effects cease on the end of that paragraph. May be globalized, by appending the >default< tag after, but only before any printable character.

Click to toggle expandExamples

Increase/reduce (absolute)

>kern 0.2pt< sets tracking on 2 tenth of point.

Increase/reduce (relative)

>kern H/10< sets tracking a tenth of the current size.

Increase/reduce (percentual)

 

>kern H*#1/100< inserts this expression in variable style as the 1° parameter to obtain the percentual change. "0%" means "no tracking", "10" means tracking "of 10%" and "-10" means spacing of characters for 10% of the current type size.

Inversion of settings

>kern #1*(-1)< creates a replacement style for tag >kern...<, for example, "cw", for invert the behaviour of the command, allowing the tracking with negative values and spacing with positive values. This is useful for compatibility with the existing editorial system. In this example, >cw -0.5dd< creates tracking.

 

Settings in units

>kern EMW'#1/100*(-1)<

creates a replacement style for tag >kern...<, for example, "cw", allowing tracking with negative values and spacing with positive values of units. In this example, >cw -500 tracks the characters for 500 units.

 

Settings as in Quark

>kern EMW/20*1<

according the Quark documentation, it tracks in units of 1/20 em; thus, -1 corresponds to 1/20 of em-space, which can be achieved in GN4 by the above expression