Leading, but not as we know it.

[guileshill]

I just started to use Publisher and find that leading is very odd, actually, uncontrollable. This has nothing to do with paragraph spacing, leading override or any of the clever things. It is just basic leading or line feed, the space between baselines. It makes no difference whether this is specified in the style sheet editor, the paragraph context editor or the text context editor. The default is set solid, if I add fixed amounts 12/13 12/14 or percentages up to 110% nothing at all happens to the leading. If I specify a three point lead 12/15 or a 120% line feed then the paragraph goes to 12/24 or double spaced. 

There might be some sort other context that is new to me and this software might work in a different way but I cannot believe that this, as a problem, is what it appears. Serif would be vilified and everyone would know about it. But I am no novice in typography. I trained old-school and have been to every type of school since for more than fifty years so this granddad does not need to be shown how egg sucking should be done. Even so, I am missing something, obviously. The point is illustrated in the attachments. The first is set 12/12 the second 12/14 the third 12/15

[Old Bruce]

Probably has to do with the Baseline Grid being on in either the Text Frame and or the paragraph style. Turn it off in the Paragraph style and use Exact 15pt leading in the style.

[guileshill]

Well, thank you for this. It was turned on in a couple of places so removing the first did not do anything. But, note to authors, this is a very strange parameter. The function of the grid, or any grid, is to facilitate accurate placement of manually positioned objects. What on earth is this grid doing blocking systematically adjustable parameters? It just should not do that. 

Appreciate your point, though, and thank you for making it. 

[sfriedberg]

3 hours ago, guileshill said:

The function of the grid, or any grid, is to facilitate accurate placement of manually positioned objects.

Not for everyone.  There is a long tradition of using the baseline grid to control baselines for all text lines.  Back in the days of real cast lead leading, if you had an image or ad insert of variable height, you would want the text following the insert to resume aligned with solid copy text in adjacent columns or pages.  This is totally different from the use of a grid to facilitate snapping in a WYSIWG document processor.

When using a baseline grid, it is expected that paragraph leading for all paragraph styles in use will be an even multiple of the baseline grid spacing.   Indeed, as you have observed, the baseline grid enforces that result in practice, regardless of the leading settings for your paragraph styles.  To allow some nuance with larger-than-normal header spacing, the baseline grid spacing is sometimes set to 1/2 or 1/3 of the standard body paragraph leading.  It is either a bug, or a feature, depending on your particular requirements, that fractional baseline grid spacing allows text baselines to become mis-aligned with solid copy text in adjacent columns or pages.  If you consider it a bug, then leave baseline grid spacing equal to the standard body paragraph leaving, and give up nuanced amounts of leading.

Or turn off baseline grid.  For some types of objects in AffPub, you can set "ignore baseline grid" which is sort of analogous to "ignore wrap text".

If you are unhappy with baseline grid interaction with paragraph style leading, just wait until you struggle with the interaction of baseline grid and tables.

[lacerto]

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