Spacing and Kerning
Set widths and sidebearings, derive them with metric keys, and kern by dragging in real text.
| Status | Implemented |
|---|---|
| Stability | Stable |
Widths and Sidebearings
The bottom bar of the editor holds the advance width and the left and right sidebearings of the current glyph. Type a value and the outline or the sidebearing moves.
You can also drag. With the select tool, the sidebearing edges are draggable directly, which changes spacing without touching the outline.
Metric Keys
A metric key derives a sidebearing from another glyph, so a change to one glyph carries to every glyph that refers to it. Set them in the Glyph section of the right panel.
=n | The same sidebearing as glyph n. |
|---|---|
=|o | The opposite sidebearing of glyph o. Use it for a mirrored pair. |
=n+10 | The same, plus ten units. |
=n*1.1 | The same, scaled. |
=50 | A constant. |
Glyph → Update Metrics (Cmd+Ctrl+M) applies every key in
every master. Keys can chain: if n has a key of its own, the passes
repeat until nothing moves.
Metric keys are stored in the lib keys glyphsLib round-trips, so a source that came from Glyphs keeps its formulas and a source that leaves Runebender takes them along.
Kerning by Dragging
Switch to the text tool, type a pair, and drag the space between the two glyphs. You see the pair at size, in the word it belongs to, while you set it.
Kerning Groups
A group lets one value cover many pairs. Set the left and right group of a glyph in the Glyph section of the right panel. Clearing a field removes the membership.
The Groups section in the grid view shows every group as a shelf with
its members as chips. Select glyphs in the grid, then press the button
to add the whole selection to a group at once. The field creates a new
group from the selection: o makes a first-side group, |o a
second-side one.
Groups are written to groups.plist for every master, using the
standard public.kern prefixes.
The Kerning Table
The Kerning section in the grid view lists every pair on the active master. Filter it with the search field, and edit a value in the row. Enter commits.
Use the table to audit and to correct a known value. Design the spacing by dragging in text.
Checking Your Work
The Dimensions section in the grid view measures stems and bars from the reference glyphs in each master. It shows whether the weights match across a designspace, rather than the numbers you meant to draw.
The Compare section lists differing advance widths between masters, along with structural incompatibilities and kerning pair counts.