Leading: the spacing between lines of text.

Text Control: Leading

Leading, tracking and kerning are key words in any typographical vocabulary. These attributes give you absolute control over the appearance of a font, allowing you to create that perfect header, make a large body of text fall nicely on the page, or adjust space between specific letters and or characters to get a "natural" or "better" look.

Leading is the space between lines of text. You can alter the leading between just two lines of text, or you can alter the spacing between lines in an entire body of text (paragraph, page, or entire publication). The default leading is generally set at 20% more than the size of the type. So, for example, if you choose a body of text where the font is 10pt. in size, the default leading is 12pt. (10 + 10(.2)). To see what a difference adjustments in leading make, roll your mouse over either Default, Medium or Heavy Leading below, and watch how the paragraph to the right changes.