Hotkey for kerning correction

[tobiL]

Please add a feature to manual kern, like using [opt]+[arrow] in ai for example.

[MEB]

Hi tobiL,

You can use the following shortcuts:

alt+cmd+[ 

alt+cmd+]

[rui_mac]

Still think that the near-standard Alt+Left Cursor Key and Alt+Right Cursor Key would be much better.

[MEB]

rui_mac,

don't kill the messenger... :(   I'm just trying to help the user. Personally, I don't care about what shortcut is used, as long as there's a shortcut for this.

[rui_mac]

Sorry Miguel. I wasn't trying to kill or harass the messenger :-)
It is good to have the manual kerning ability, yes, no matter what key-combo it is mapped to.
But, a lot has been said about keyboard shortcuts and how important it is to keep standards (or, at least, semi-standards) and the Alt+Left Cursor Key and Alt+Right Cursor Key for manual kerning/tracking is one of those semi-standards.

[Matthias]

Also, I don’t know about Portuguese keyboard layouts but this shortcut doesn’t work with a German keyboard layout since squared brackets are only available with the help of the alt key – which in this case is already in use for the alt-cmd thing.

 

I opt for a change towards alt + cursor keys shortcuts, too.

[rui_mac]

Well, we also need the Alt key to produce the [ and the ]

But pressing Alt+Command+8 and Alt+Command+9 works fine.

[Dave Harris]

Still think that the near-standard Alt+Left Cursor Key and Alt+Right Cursor Key would be much better.

The OSX standard for Alt+Left Cursor Key is to move word left. That's what happens in the editbox I am typing this post into. It's even what happens in Adobe apps, in their UI editboxes, albeit not on their pages. It's implemented by OSX itself, so is the default behaviour for all apps.

 

So Adobe are really going against the grain here. We're far from sure that following Adobe standards is better than following Mac standards, but we're going to give it a trial in the next beta. See https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/494-character-text-line-spacing/ for more details.

[Matthias]

Yes, Dave, Option+left/right cursor key is implemented in OS X. But still the squared brackets are not such a good choice as they are not even visible on many keyboards depending on language.

Also very nice of you to build the new shortcut in the upcoming beta. Now, what do you all think of those shortcuts (derived from FreeHand, of course)?

 

Option + Command + Right Arrow = Increase Kerning 1% 

Option + Command + Left Arrow = Decrease Kerning 1% 

Option + Shift + Command + Right Arrow = Increase Kerning 10% 

Option + Shift + Command + Left Arrow = Decrease Kerning 10% 

 

I think despite the additional key those modifiers come in handy as they are direct neighbors.

[Dave Harris]

We used the square brackets because it seemed to be the standard for other native Mac apps; for example, Apple's own Pages.

 

If Freehand uses Option + Command + Right Arrow, then it is different to Adobe Illustrator which uses Option + Right Arrow. Eventually we will have user-customisable shortcuts, but for now we have to pick which standard we follow in the code.

 

The beta will offer two "speeds" depending on whether you also hold down Cmd; currently the increments are 1% and 5%. I did try 10% and it seemed way too fast for me, but it's easy to change.

[Matthias]

I think the way kerning is done in the latest beta is better than the original shortcut with the squared brackets (although I had to switch of the OS X services shortcut for changing desktops for it). Still think the afore mentioned FreeHand modifiers are better suited as OS X would stay untouched.

 

What’s missing though is a numerical feedback on what is happening. Can really help with producing reproduceable results. This information should be in the context tool bar as proposed here.

[Dave Harris]

Currently the information is in the Character or Paragraph panels. The Character panel shows either tracking or kerning; it will show both eventually.

[Matthias]

Hi Dave,

the problem with the Character/Paragraph panels is that you have to click once to bring them up and then a second time to close them. That’s a lot of mouse traveling which would not be necessary if there was more context related information in the context panel. On my iMac 27" there is only the left 40% of this precious space put to use.