5   Page and Screen Design

Line Spacing

Leave the line spacing set at the default on your word processor. This is the setting considered to be the most readable. Increasing the line spacing, or leading, will give the text a more spacious or relaxed look, and is often used in magazine and book publishing. Decreasing the line spacing will make the text more difficult to read.

Expanded – Leave the line spacing set at the default on your word processor. This is the setting considered to be the most readable. Increasing the line spacing, or leading, will give the text a more spacious or relaxed look, and is often used in magazine and book publishing. Decreasing the line spacing will make the text more difficult to read.

Condensed – Leave the line spacing set at the default on your word processor. This is the setting considered to be the most readable. Increasing the line spacing, or leading, will give the text a more spacious or relaxed look, and is often used in magazine and book publishing. Decreasing the line spacing will make the text more difficult to read.

Use extra line spacing to separate paragraphs. Avoid indenting the first line of a paragraph—this convention is not commonly used in manuals. Additional line spacing is often used to set off headings from the text above and below them.

Spacing codes should always be applied within styles—they should never be applied directly to elements of the text.