Making characters superscript or subscript


    When you choose Superscript or Subscript, Illustrator applies a predefined baseline shift value and a predefined type size to the selected text.

    The values applied are percentages of the current font size and leading, and are based on settings in the Type section of the Document Setup dialog box. These values do not appear in the Baseline Shift or Size boxes of the Character palette when you select the text.

    If you're using an OpenType font, you may want to take advantage of the OpenType Superscript, Subscript, Numerator, and Denominator attributes to create more elegant type. (See Using superior and inferior special characters.)

To make selected type superscript or subscript:

    Choose Superscript or Subscript from the Character palette menu.

To specify point size and shift increment for subscripts and superscripts:

  1. Choose File > Document Setup, and choose Type from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box.
  2. Specify the following values for Superscript and Subscript, then click OK:
    • For Size, type a percentage of the font size for superscripted and subscripted text.
    • For Position, type a percentage of the regular leading to specify how much the superscript and subscript text will move.