I’ve talked about setting up a consistent baseline before, but I realized I’ve not explained exactly how to do it; I’ve only mentioned it briefly at best.
First, you should be familiar with the points and picas system, and also how to use them.
It will require a bit of planning, but your documents will turn out much more organized and consistent.
Common Measurements
Remember that
1 inch = 6 picas
1 pica = 12 points
1 inch = 72 points
There are quite a few common measurements for my type that I use when laying out documents. Here they are for your reference (they will work with a consistent baseline):
Small
8.5 point type
12 point subheads
1p6 of space between sections
18 point leading, which will mean baselines must be set at 1p6
Medium
10 point type
12 points of leading, which puts thebaseline at 1 pica
Large
12 point font
14 point subhead
18 points of space in between sections
18 points of leading, so baseline equal 18 points, or 1p6.
Leading is the distance between baselines. If 18 points is the leading I’m using, keeping in mind 12 points = 1 pica, then my baseline needs to be one and a half picas, or 1p6.
Remember, the baseline is equal to the leading; the space between the sections must also be the same so that. When you select the Align to Baseline option in the paragraph palette, you are telling it to disregard the leading you have set up, which means you’ll have to adjust the baseline instead.
The Easy Part
Once you have your measurements figured out, the easy part is setting your baseline grid. Go to Edit>Preferences>Grid to adjust the Baseline Grid options. Find the field that says Increment Every and that’s where you’ll plug in your measurement for the leading/baseline. You can also tell it to start measuring the baseline at the top of the page or at the margin in the Relative To drop down menu right above.
To show/hide your baseline, hit ctrl/cmd+shift+’ (apostrophe).
Now you’ll need to set up your paragraph styles to align to grid. If you’re just getting started in a new document, set up your basic paragraph style. The easiest way to do this is by adjusting the character and paragraph properties in their respective palettes. Be sure to select the Align to Baseline Grid option! Then select a portion of the text you just changed (or else this won’t work!), go to the Paragraph Styles palette, right click on [Basic Paragraph] and select Redefine Style. Now all the changes you made are the default for new text in the document.
Hint: you can redefine any of the styles as many times as you want! If you make a change and you want it reflected throughout the whole document, just select the text (important step!), right click on the style in the respective Styles palette and select Redefine Style. Want it changed in multiple documents?
Troubleshooting
I’ve run into some frustrating situations before when using text that is aligned to the baseline. The biggest ones are trying to adjust the leading or space before or after the paragraph. Remember that when you have Align to Baseline Grid, you cannot adjust your leading or spacing slightly; it has to be enough to move it to the next baseline.
Secondly, if you are moving text boxes around, particularly if they are small, you’ll need to make sure they allow enough space above the baseline for the text, otherwise it won’t show up!
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You must be doing a lot of work in Indesign at the moment. Hopefully we will start learning Indesign this year then I’ll know the place to come for a guide and tips.
Jacob,
And I’m always finding new and/or better ways to do things so I like to share them with you! You’ll be ahead of the game when you start your page layout classes. And feel free to come back and comment on old posts if you have any questions!
Yeah, I am
all well, but what if you import images, and what with bigger subtitles?
I want my white before and after always thesame. Not easy with baselinegrid.
stijn,
I’m not sure what you mean about importing images. Want to explain and maybe I can help you solve the problem?
Larger subtitles still work when aligning text to the baseline, you just need work out the math a bit before starting. Space before and after will always be the same when aligning to the grid! That’s the point. And it looks much more organized and professional to have all the text aligned to a baseline grid.
does anyone know the old school way to do this? there is a formula that considers your leading, point size of type and space after or before a paragraph so that type automatically aligns baselines across gutters.
Dave,
I have not heard of a formula for calculating all the spacing between the lines, but I will look around to see if I can find something for you. If you happen upon it before I do, come back and comment to let me know what it is. That formula would sure make life easier!
Hi Lauren, I’m back! (For now.)
This is a great post. I definitely referred to it in the past when trying to figure all this nonsense out, and now I can’t live without baselines! Our company newsletter looks so sharp with all the lines together, even across columns and pages. (I do most of the work on it now.
)
I would like to know if you’re aware of a way to edit a paragraph style to either include or exclude the Align to Baseline feature. I usually just right-click on a style and edit it from there, but I can never find the options I’m looking for in there. Sometimes I don’t want to update a style as you directed above (by redefining), so it’s annoying about the Align to Baseline not being in there (I don’t think). Am I missing something?
Emily,
You found one of those quirky things about InDesign. In the Paragraph Style editing dialog box, you’ll find the Align to Baseline feature under the Indents and Spacing section and it’s masquerading as the Align to Grid dropdown menu. I have CS3, so I don’t know if CS4 or previous versions have the same naming conventions (I should think they’re pretty similar), but yeah, it’s a sneaky feature.
Good to see you again and glad to see you’re helping your company realize the value of good design
Hi,
Thanks for this tip especially. I am having trouble putting the idea of making a baseline grid together with creating a grid system. Which one is the horse, and which one is the cart? For example, if I decide on margins up front, my baseline doesn’t equal my bottom margin, so there is some space left between the bottom baseline and the margin.
Greg,
Hmm, you know, I’ve never really worried about that if it’s close (I mean, with printing and then trimming, pages can be off a bit). I’m not saying that’s the only way to go, but that’s me. I think that side and top margins are usually more important than bottom (copy won’t always reach the bottom anyway) and no one will take a ruler to your work to make sure it’s perfect :)
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