Setting Short Line Elimination

You can use this feature to automatically adjust word spacing if the last line of a paragraph is only a certain number of characters long. Therefore, the spacing may be widened to make the last line longer, or the spacing may be narrowed to bring the words in the last line up to the previous line.

How to Set Short Line Elimination

1. Open the stylesheet you want to modify or create a new one.

2. Complete one of the following sets of steps, depending on whether you want to use the Simplified view or Advanced view in the Stylesheet Editor.

   • Simplified The Simplified view displays styles in a grid view and is often best for brand new users.

     This view provides an easy way to apply properties to styles, with format options available from a toolbar and dialogs (similar to the way one would use an interface such as Microsoft Word). In some cases, only the most common property options are available in the Simplified view (e.g., font, letter/word spacing, paragraph alignment/indentation, autonumbering format, borders, background). One advantage of the Simplified view is that you can apply a property to multiple styles at the same time. You can also click a check box to hide the properties in the editor, allowing you to see only the styles.

   • Advanced The Advanced view displays styles in a tree structure, and despite the name, is user friendly for authors of all levels.

     For the properties, you can toggle between a grouped display and an alphabetical display. The Advanced view of the Stylesheet Editor lets you edit more settings than are available in the Simplified view. In addition, the Advanced view lets you see and apply settings to multiple mediums and media queries at the same time.

   If Using Simplified View

   1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays (which means that the Simplified view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays instead, then click it.
   2. In the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
   3. Select the appropriate paragraph style. For example, you can select the parent p tag, or you can select a class that you may have created for that tag (e.g., p.Tip, p.Note).
   4. In the local toolbar of the editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   5. Select the Short Line tab.
   6. Use the tab to specify the short line settings.

      It is a good idea to experiment with the various settings until you achieve the "last line" behavior that suits you best.

      Enable Short Line Elimination

      Select whether to enable short line elimination, as well as how it will work.

      • Never Lines will not be adjusted.
      • Tighten Contributor will try to decrease the kerning (i.e., the white space will become more narrow).
      • Tighten, Loosen Contributor will first try to decrease the kerning (i.e., the white space will become more narrow) to the maximum setting. Then it will try to increase the kerning (i.e., the white space will become wider).
      • Loosen, Tighten Contributor will first try to increase the kerning (i.e., the white space will become wider) to the maximum setting. Then it will try to decrease the kerning (i.e., the white space will become more narrow).
      • Loosen Contributor will try to increase the kerning (i.e., white space becomes wider).

      Length of Short Line

       Specify the length at which a line is considered "short," and therefore the short line settings come into play. If you do not select a length, a line is considered short if it has 10 or fewer characters.

      • Hyphenated last word If the last word in the paragraph is hyphenated, Contributor will run short line elimination. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Hyphenated Last Word.
      • Length You can choose a specific length for a line to be considered short. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Length. Then enter a number in the lower-left field. Finally, click the down arrow in the lower-right corner and select a unit of measurement (UOM). See Units of Measurement.

      Length of Long Line

      Specify the length at which a line is considered "long enough." For example, let's say you have specified 8 characters as the length of a short line, and you have specified 15 characters as the length of a long line. In that case, Contributor will not allow the final line in a paragraph to have only 8 characters, and when you type content so that the text wraps around to a new line, the paragraph is automatically adjusted so that the new line always starts at a minimum of 15 characters. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter the number of characters in the field.

      Step Kerning By

      Specify the number of pixels of kerning should be used incrementally on the entire paragraph until the desired effect is achieved. For example, if you enter 2, the kerning will occur in increments of 2 pixels. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field.

      Maximum to Tighten

      Specify the maximum number of pixels to tighten during short line elimination. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field.

      Maximum to Loosen

      Specify the maximum number of pixels to loosen during short line elimination. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field.

   7. In the Properties dialog, click OK.

   If Using Advanced View

   1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays . If the button displays instead, then click it.
   2. In the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor, click in the drop-down field and select .

   3. Select the appropriate paragraph style. For example, you can select the parent p tag, or you can select a class that you may have created for that tag (e.g., p.Tip, p.Note).

   4. From the Show drop-down list on the upper-right side of the editor, select .
   5. (Optional) You can use the toggle button in the local toolbar to show properties below in a group view or an alphabetical view .
   6. If you are using the grouped view, expand the Unclassified group.
   7. To the right of the appropriate property, click and specify the short line settings.

      It is a good idea to experiment with the various settings until you achieve the "last line" behavior that suits you best.

      mc-short-line

      Specify the length at which a line is considered "short," and therefore the short line settings come into play. If you do not select a length, a line is considered short if it has 10 or fewer characters.

      • hyphenated-last-word If the last word in the paragraph is hyphenated, Contributor will run short line elimination. To use this option, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner of the popup and select hyphenated-last-word.
      • Inherit Uses the short line setting of the parent tag.
      • Length You can choose a specific length for a line to be considered short. To use this option, enter a number in the lower-left field. Finally, click the down arrow in the lower-right corner and select a unit of measurement (UOM). See Units of Measurement.

      mc-short-line-loosen-end-length

      Specify the length at which a line is considered "long enough." For example, let's say you have specified 8 characters as the length of a short line, and you have specified 15 characters as the length of a long line. In that case, Contributor will not allow the final line in a paragraph to have only 8 characters, and when you type content so that the text wraps around to a new line, the paragraph is automatically adjusted so that the new line always starts at a minimum of 15 characters.

      mc-short-line-loosen-maximum

      Specify the maximum number of pixels to loosen during short line elimination.

      mc-short-line-method

      Select whether to enable short line elimination, as well as how it will work.

      • inherit Uses the short line setting of the parent tag.
      • loosen Contributor will try to increase the kerning (i.e., white space becomes wider).
      • loosen-tighten Contributor will first try to increase the kerning (i.e., the white space will become wider) to the maximum setting. Then it will try to decrease the kerning (i.e., the white space will become more narrow).
      • never Lines will not be adjusted.
      • tighten Contributor will try to decrease the kerning (i.e., the white space will become more narrow).
      • tighten-loosen Contributor will first try to decrease the kerning (i.e., the white space will become more narrow) to the maximum setting. Then it will try to increase the kerning (i.e., the white space will become wider).

      mc-short-line-step

      Specify the number of pixels of kerning should be used incrementally on the entire paragraph until the desired effect is achieved. For example, if you enter .5, the kerning will occur in increments of .5 pixels.

      mc-short-line-tighten-maximum

      Specify the maximum number of pixels to tighten during short line elimination.

3. Click to save your work.

What’s Next?

After editing a style, you can apply it to content in a topic or snippet. See Applying Styles to Content.