[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination
From: |
Robert Thorsby |
Subject: |
Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination |
Date: |
Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:11:52 +1100 |
On 08/01/12 08:31:40, Peter Schaffter wrote:
> > So, dealing with orphans by changing the line spacing, is just
> > a "no other choice" solution. You should prefer dealing with
> > interword and interletter spaces.
>
> Correct. The shortening or lengthening of paragraphs to avoid
> widows and orphans requires the skillful manipulation of
> letter- and word-spacing on a line-by-line basis, not an overall
> change of leading that merely expands or contracts the depth of the
> text.
>
> Would that the process could be automated, but I have yet to be
> shown that it can. Typography is still, after all these years,
> an art that requires a good eye, a deft hand, and human judgment.
Is there an alternative method that is better/faster/cleaner than the use
of complementary values for \s and \H? For example,
\s'-100u'\H'+100u'The quick brown fox ...\H'0'\s0
will "shorten" the text by a "little" amount. But finding the smallest
value that achieves the requisite effect (usually moving one word up or
down a line) is a PITA.
[100u -- 1/10 of a point -- was chosen for the nonce, I usually start
with 250u]
Also, this "Poor Man's Track-Kerning" is, of course, not strictly kosher
because it affects the inter-word spacing as much as the inter-character
spacing. What method do others use?
Robert Thorsby
To be or not to be. -- Shakespeare
To do is to be. -- Nietzsche
To be is to do. -- Sartre
Do be do be do. -- Sinatra
- [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Dave Kemper, 2012/01/07
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Sverre Slotte, 2012/01/07
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Pierre-Jean, 2012/01/07
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Peter Schaffter, 2012/01/07
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Deri James, 2012/01/07
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Ted Harding, 2012/01/07
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Werner LEMBERG, 2012/01/08
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Pierre-Jean, 2012/01/08
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Werner LEMBERG, 2012/01/08
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Peter Schaffter, 2012/01/08
- Re: [Groff] holistic widow elimination, Werner LEMBERG, 2012/01/09