How many points is line spacing 'single'?

Ugeen · #1 11-23-2013, 06:16 PM

I have a question regarding line spacing. By 'line spacing' I mean the thing described as line spacing in this picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/5640736164/ . I am assuming that line spacing in Word measures the thing that is called 'line spacing' in that picture.
(If line spacing does not mean that, then what does it mean?)

Let's take an example: font=Times New Roman, font size=12 (i.e. 12 points). Now, how many points high is line spacing when line spacing in Word has the value SINGLE?
I suppose it is 12 + leading. But what is the default height of leading in Word, and has this changed in different versions of Word.

Stefan Blom · #2 11-24-2013, 10:15 AM

With variable line spacing, the exact distance between text lines depends on the font. For some fonts, 120% of the point size is a reasonable guess. If you want more control over the line spacing, specify the value "Exactly" and type in the value that you want.

macropod · #3 11-24-2013, 03:14 PM

Agreed - line spacing is a function of the font metrics; it is not fixed for any given point size, for example. You can see this quite readily by duplicating a paragraph in different fonts at the same point size. Not only do character widths vary but so too do their line heights. You can demonstrate this by creating a paragraph with some text that spans around 1.5 lines, duplicating the paragraph and applying different fonts to each of them, then running the following macro to retrieve the line heights:

Code:

Sub Demo()
Dim oPara As Paragraph, sFirstLn As Single, sLastLn As Single
For Each oPara In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs
  With oPara.Range.Characters
  sFirstLn = .First.Information(wdVerticalPositionRelativeToPage)
  sLastLn = .Last.Information(wdVerticalPositionRelativeToPage)
  MsgBox sLastLn - sFirstLn
  End With
Next
End Sub

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