The default GN4 features 13 standard measurement units, 2 column/module related units, 2 customizable measurement units and text length estimating functionalities. Customizable units and text estimating are not set in the default configurations. The version 2.2 introduces a global switch you can turn on the character horizontal scale (character base), displayed and editable as percentage, and the text tracking, displayed and editable as 1/1000th of EM-space, on the level of the GN4 system, or on the personal level.

Scope

The global measurement system and switches are system wide, therefore, equal for all the typographies.

The text estimating is typography wide, therefore, equal for all the titles that share the same typography.

The applications specific measurement system is a personal preference of a GN4 user.

Internal measurement unit

Please have in mind that GN4 internally stores all values in thousands of "Tex" point, thus 1/72.27000072 inch, rounded to 1/72.27 inch. A m is 1/1000 of that value. When displaying the measurement units in various panels, e.g. in Fred4, GN4 recalculates on-the-fly from thousands into the specified unit. During calculations, some rounding on 3 decimals is unavoidable. Therefore, the dimensions displayed in millimeters appear like this in the Measurement panel:

Please note that the measurement precision is not compromised here, and it is always 1/1000 of point; this is just a question of display.

The configuration of measurement includes following:

•The choice of global defaults (vertical and horizontal) for measurement units: see Default (global) units.

•The choice of syntax for the measurement units: see USACoding.

•The Postscript point calculation: see Selecting a point value.

•The definition of up to two customizable measurement units: see Personal units.

•The choice of measurement system in various panels and dialog boxes of GN4 applications: see Overriding global units on application level and Overriding application-level units on palettes level.