About kerning and trackingKerning is the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters. Tracking is the process of loosening or tightening the spacing between the characters in selected text or an entire block of text. You can automatically kern type using metrics kerning or optical kerning. Metrics kerning uses kern pairs, which are included with most fonts. Kern pairs contain information about the spacing of specific pairs of letters. Some of these are: LA, P., To, Tr, Ta, Tu, Te, Ty, Wa, WA, We, Wo, Ya, and Yo. Illustrator uses metrics kerning by default so that specific pairs are automatically kerned when you import or type text. Some fonts include robust kern-pair specifications. However, when a font includes only minimal built-in kerning or none at all, or if you use two different typefaces or sizes in one or more words on a line, you may want to use the optical kerning option. Optical kerning adjusts the spacing between adjacent characters based on their shapes. ![]() Kerning and tracking options A. Original text B. Text with optical kerning C. Text with manual kerning between W and a D. Text with tracking E. Cumulative kerning and tracking You can also use manual kerning, which is ideal for adjusting the space between two letters. Tracking and manual kerning are cumulative, so you can first adjust individual pairs of letters, and then tighten or loosen a block of text without affecting the relative kerning of the letter pairs. When you click to place the insertion point between two letters, Illustrator displays kerning values in the Character palette. Metrics and optical kerning values (or defined kern pairs) appear in parentheses. Similarly, if you select a word or a range of text, Illustrator displays the tracking values in the Character palette. Note: Values for kerning and tracking affect Japanese text, but normally these options are used to adjust the aki between roman characters. For more information on aki adjustment in a Japanese text environment, see Working with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean type. |