You may want to manually kern headlines or other large type. The kerning pairs built into most fonts are designed for use at body type sizes. If you use large type you may have to manually kern the characters to achieve optimum character spacing.

Manual kerning will kern only the characters on either side of the insertion point. Kerning is measured as a percentage of an em.

If you need to manually kern a headline with large amounts of space between its characters, tighten the tracking for the entire headline to approximate the correct kerning for most of the pairs. Then manually kern the required pairs.

To manually kern a character pair: Place the insertion point between two characters. Choose Manual Kern from the Type menu to display the Manual Kern dialog box. Enter a new kern amount or nudge the space with the arrow buttons. Click OK.

You can also kern characters with keyboard shortcuts. If text is selected it will be tracked rather than kerned.

To do	Place the insertion point and press (Option = Alt)
Increase kerning by 0.05em	Control ] (right bracket).
Increase kerning by 0.01em	Control-Option ] (right bracket).
Decrease kerning by 0.01em	Control-Option [ (left bracket).
Decrease kerning by 0.05em	Control [ (left bracket).