Fonts and typefaces

The font is an aspect of style which you will often want to change. It is made up of a combination of typeface, height, width, and attribute. You can also use colour. A font is a particular instance of a typeface, in a particular size and style.

All of these are set in the Text section of the Style editor.

Typeface

Each typeface has a particular feel to it, making it more appropriate for some types of document than others. However, there are very few hard and fast rules in typography with most choice coming down to subjective preferences.

Typefaces can be grouped in several ways. The most obvious is the split between typefaces consisting of letters and numbers, and typefaces which contain symbols and ornaments. These typefaces are often known as Dingbats.

Alphanumeric typefaces are divided into monospaced and proportionally spaced type. Numbers are traditionally monospaced in all typefaces, but you should check this with any unusual typefaces you plan to use.

Monospaced typefaces allocate the same width to each letter, like an old-fashioned typewriter, so that a narrow letter such as i takes up the same space as m or w:

This is monospaced text

Proportionally spaced typefaces allocate space to each character in proportion to its actual width. This text is proportionally spaced; notice how all the letters are different widths. Proportionally spaced type is much easier to read.

Alphanumeric typefaces can also be divided into serif and sans serif type.

Serif faces, such as Trinity or Times New Roman, have small feet or brackets at the edges of letters. These lead the eye from letter to letter and make it easier for readers to find their way through solid pages of text.

This is a serif font; the letters have brackets and feet

Sans serif faces, such as Homerton or Arial, do not have these brackets and look cleaner and more modern. They are useful for numbers and smaller sections of text, for younger readers, and for eye-catching headings. Their numerals are usually simple and clean looking.

This is a sans serif font whose letters have plain ends

Watch out for typefaces with old-style or non-lining numerals. These are numerals with ascenders and descenders, and while they look good as occasional numerals in text, can be very hard to read in a page full of figures, and you should probably avoid using them as the main typeface in a worksheet.

Setting the typeface

Changing the typeface can have a major effect on the look of a document.

To choose a typeface to use within the style:

  1. Click on the Text button to display the Text section of the style dialogue box, and then on the typeface button.
  2. The list of available typefaces will be illuminated. Note that the typefaces will depend on what you have installed in your particular system.
  3. Select the typeface you want from the list.

Style hints

Try not to go overboard with type and add too many typefaces to your worksheet; it will just make it harder to read. Stick to a consistent plan for both text and numbers.