Why are hyphens so high in the word?

Question

Why are hyphens so high in the word?

I am puzzled by the position of hyphens in my text. I am using Garamond Pro, size 13 and it looks strange. Doesn't seem to really change using a different font like Times. Is there a way to control the positioning of the hyphen? I am thinking not but might as well ask.

Thanks,
Richard

MacBook Pro 15 inch, 2.53 GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.2), 4 GB memory

Posted on Feb 14, 2010 9:21 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 14, 2010 9:29 PM in response to Richard Pitcairn

The placement of characters is decided by the font designer.

If it really concerns you, you can manually adjust the position with :

+Inspector > Text > More > Baseline Shift+

Peter

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Answer 2

Feb 14, 2010 9:36 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

I checked out this function that you describe but all it does is move the lines up or down, doesn't affect where the hyphen is in the word itself.

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Answer 3

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 14, 2010 10:54 PM in response to Richard Pitcairn

Here is a little test. The Garamond hyphen isn't higher than the others but has a small angle, it not horisontal,

!http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/4120/bindestrecktest.jpg!

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Answer 4

Feb 14, 2010 11:06 PM in response to fruhulda

I see what you mean. I changed my text to Helvetica and it looks more normal. To me, they are too high and not just due to an angle.
I am attaching a picture of the hyphens with Garamond Pro but I don't see how to do it here.

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Answer 5

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 14, 2010 11:33 PM in response to Richard Pitcairn

You "attach" an image you have to upload it to a site like imagehack, flickr or such. Easiest way to submit the image is to copy a direct link to the image between to exclamation marks

But you don't have to post the image. I have Garamond Pro in my image.

I wonder to what you compare when you think the hyphen is to high. To me the always been this "high".

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Answer 6

Feb 15, 2010 12:58 AM in response to Richard Pitcairn

Richard Pitcairn wrote:
I checked out this function that you describe but all it does is move the lines up or down, doesn't affect where the hyphen is in the word itself.

If you only want to move the hyphen up or down, have you tried selecting only the hyphen and adjusting its baseline shift?

If you select everything it obviously isn't going to change the relative position.

Peter

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Answer 7

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,252 points

Feb 15, 2010 6:14 AM in response to Richard Pitcairn

What version exactly of Garamond Pro are you using?

As Peter suggested, I have no problem changing the height of hyphens in other fonts by selecting just them and using Format > Font > Baseline

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Answer 8

Feb 15, 2010 8:06 AM in response to fruhulda

OK, I put the image in Flickr. Let's see if this works and you can see what I mean about the hyphen.
!http://www.flickr.com/photos/47550021@N05/?saved=1!

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Answer 9

Feb 15, 2010 8:07 AM in response to Richard Pitcairn

I can see the image link did not work. I did as you suggested - posted the image on Flickr, then put the link in the message with two exclamation marks, one at each end. Did not work.
Here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47550021@N05/?saved=1

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Answer 10

Feb 15, 2010 8:14 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Finder says version 1.014;PS, 2005. Can there be a newer version available? I didn't know it could change.

I will try changing the baseline. Thanks.

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Answer 11

Feb 15, 2010 8:15 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Duh! Of course. I will try that. Have never used baseline adjustment before (my excuse).

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Answer 12

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,252 points

Feb 15, 2010 8:23 AM in response to Richard Pitcairn

Finder says version 1.014;PS, 2005. Can there be a newer version available? I didn't know it could change.

I can see how they are too high. It looks like you may be using a postscript font, which may be the cause of your problem. Support for those is being phased out. It would be better to use a newer opentype version if possible.

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Answer 13

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 15, 2010 8:25 AM in response to Richard Pitcairn

!http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4359720738_81c727b326.jpg!

They do look high!

To get the image address in Flickr Ctrl + click and choose Open in new tab/ window. You'll get the Url in Safari address field. Copy it and paste it between the exclamation marks. Here it is without the e-marks.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4359720738_81c727b326.jpg

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Answer 14

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,252 points

Feb 15, 2010 8:37 AM in response to fruhulda

fruhulda -- Do you have a newer OpenType version of Garamond Pro?

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Answer 15

Feb 15, 2010 8:38 AM in response to fruhulda

So I go to Flickr, over the image I uploaded I do control/click and choose new window. Here is the link I get, not the same as yours. Why is this not working?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47550021@N05/4359720738/

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