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S
stman
Known Participant
April 30, 2010
Question

Line height and inline images

  • April 30, 2010
  • 2 replies
  • 1297 views

FM 9.0, XP

My document uses small "At Insertion Point" images that are inline with the text, having only a space before and after the image as a gap. Images are in an anchored frame 0.0 pt above baseline. I'm trying to determine the maximum image height that, for my font size, will NOT add any extra vertical spacing between lines. I'm using a graphic tool to magnify screen to be able to see the minute details.

What I think I've found is that as soon as the image height extends above the highest part of the font, i.e. the riser on the letter "l" in my case, extra space is added above the line, which is what I don't want. Seems logical, until I select (mouse-highlight) the text and notice that the line height actually extends a few pixels above the text risers. So why won't FM allow my to grow the image to the height of the line before adding any vertical space, which is what MS Word does?

I'm using single line spacing. Does anyone know of a workaround where I can grow the image a little more without messing up the line spacing?

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    2 replies

    V
    Van Kurtz
    Inspiring
    April 30, 2010

    I would not assume FrameMaker should behave as Word does. My guess is that it goes way back to how the application defines the start of a line of text. Remember that FrameMaker is a very old program in its core code. If the "line" starts at a fonts ascender, then some leading is added below the first line of text to establish the "start" of the second line. IF this is how FrameMaker does it, then in its mind, the top of a line is the top of an ascender. You can test this hypothesis by seeing how far you an LOWER the image and not add space between lines.

    On the other hand, if the leading is added ABOVE the font, then a line of text "starts" at the bottom of the font's descender. IF this is how Word does it, then Word will allow the inline graphic to move up until it touches the descender before adding space between lines. I have noticed that if one adds space before a paragraph in Word, the baseline of the first line of text shifts down. In FrameMaker, it does not.

    C
    CShute
    Participating Frequently
    April 30, 2010

    In the Paragraph Designer, next to the Line Space setting, check the box for Fixed and Update All. This will keep the line height the same no matter how tall the graphic.

    S
    stmanAuthor
    Known Participant
    April 30, 2010

    Ha! That works great. I suppose it's a workaround because I would assume that the graphic should be allowed to grow to the line height (not the font riser height) before adding more vertical space. But maybe I'm just being picky.

    Would you suggest making Fixed line spacing stored as part of the Paragraph format? Is the only reason for having Fixed not checked to be able to handle larger inline images?

    C
    CShute
    Participating Frequently
    April 30, 2010

    Line spacing is relative to the tallest item in the line. The Fixed option forces the line spacing to remain constant no matter what point size the type or height of any graphic. Use Fixed when you don't want any deviation in line spacing.

    If you use in-line graphics throughout the document, using Fixed as part of the Paragraph Format may be wise to prevent the need to apply the Fixed setting every time you insert a graphic. If the need for Fixed line spacing is rare, I would leave the box unchecked and apply it only when needed. Alternatively, you could have two Paragraph Formats, one with Fixed checked and one with Fixed unchecked (i.e.; Body for regular body text formatting, BodyFixed for body text that includes a taller graphic).

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