The Adjustments palette contains controls for adjusting the baseline, kerning, weight, width, and slant of characters.
The baseline is the invisible horizontal line on which characters sit. You can raise and lower the baseline for individual characters. Normally, the baseline value is 0.
Kerning is the space between adjacent characters. You can move characters closer together or further apart by adjusting their kerning value. Normally the kerning value is 0.
You can add weight to characters, make them narrower or wider, and give them a forward slant. It is always better to choose a font that already has the characteristics you want. Characters that have been modified by these settings do not look as good as characters created by a font designer. You should avoid the weight, width, and slant adjustments if you can.
To adjust the baseline:
Pagehand increases the height of the line as necessary to accommodate adjustments to the baseline.
When adjusting kerning, it is easier to type the characters and then select them and adjust their kerning, rather than to set a kerning value and then type the characters. Kerning is generally used to adjust pairs or small groups of characters.
To adjust the kerning:
To add weight to characters:
Adding weight can simulate bold, but you should use a bold font if possible.
To make characters narrower or wider:
To add a forward slant to characters:
Adding a slant can simulate italic (actually oblique), but you should use an italic or oblique font if possible.