How to set line spacing for text

[sergio]

Hi there,

 

This may sound like a silly question, but how to change the line spacing used in a text object or text frame?

 

Can't find anywhere how to do it.

[sergio]

Somehow suddenly found it in Paragraph options  :D or with Option+↑ or Option+↓

[sergio]

Shouldn't this be a character property? In Illustrator it is (therefore my initial confusion, since I'm used to the Illustrator way of working).

[Dave Harris]

Well, maybe. Affinity is not a clone of Illustrator, nor is it really trying to be. As I recall, Illustrator has leading as both a paragraph and a character option. If there is a lot of demand for it as a character option, we will probably add it (at least to Affinity Publisher), but it'd be more for the extra flexibility that gives than to match Illustrator's user interface.

[sergio]

I don't mean to imply I'd like to clone Illustrator, but understand that several (if not the majority at some point) of AD users are coming or want to come out of Illustrator and are used to work in a certain way, so it seems like a good idea to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible. Doesn't have to be only in the UI, there can also be a guide that shows differences.

 

Finally, Illustrator does not have a leading option for paragraphs.

[ronnyb]

I think it's not about copying Illustrator, but about a workflow benefit. When I go to change the font attributes, and the Character window is open, I don't want to have to go open ANOTHER window to change the leading, when in reality, leading can be categorized as both a character and paragraph attribute... It's just easier to have it on both!

[Dave Harris]

Illustrator's Paragraph Leading option is in its Justification panel, under the menu you get if you click top-right of the Paragraph panel.

 

Normally I'd expect consistent leading across entire paragraphs, so to me it makes sense for it to be changed in one place for the paragraph, as a paragraph parameter. Putting it in the same panel as Space Before and Space After also feels logical because they are all vertical spacing. Where-as changing leading for a single character makes less sense because it is at least going to affect the entire line the character is in. So if it is to be in only one place, the Paragraph panel to me seems like the place someone would expect if their prior expectations weren't conditioned by using Illustrator.

 

Certainly there is an argument for having two kinds of leading, and we'll consider doing that in future. For Affinity Publisher we want to bring common text settings to the Studio area in a more compact way, and that may include a mix of character and paragraph options, which would also address the workflow issue.

[Busenitz]

Not familiar with AI, but I love CorelDRAW's way of handling this - click on the edit points icon, and you can simple drag the kerning or line spacing.  Or even move one letter individually, while still retaining the text.  (i.e. not having to convert it to curves before manipulating the text)  This is great for any kind of word art, and would love to see it in AD.

[Busenitz]

Here's a screen shot

 

[Markus Dierolf]

A option for kerning/line spacing for graphical text like CorelDraw would be great.

+1 for that :)

[ronnyb]

AI's Touchtype tool is nice too, although it doesn't offer the full suite of transform controls for editable character manipulations. I favor moving away from control palettes and towards controls/overlays on top of content. Palettes offer nice numerical precision, but during creation (not production), direct manipulation yields a more fluid experience than clicking up and down arrows and typing numbers and offsets. Check out the quick screen grab, where I forgot to show at the end that the text field is still editable... DOH!! ...Toutchtype.mov

[MikeBWD]

Hi All sorry but editing the default paragraph and cannot see any option to edit line height in in  "paragraph" or with Suggested "Option+↑ or Option+↓" the spacing option will do nothing or double the line height, what settings does everybody use?

[MikeBWD]

Just tried Changing leading assume that is equivalent to Line Height and changing to exactly 12pt or 14pt see no change only 16pt or above shows any difference. Is this me making a mistake or a bug?