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Insert Spaces

Bent Kirkegaard
  • Updated

What it does

This command inserts spaces between words without spaces. The settings can be customized:

  • Missing space width (% of height)
  • Acceptable base line displacement (% of height)
  • Max. truncation of space (% of space width)
  • Max. extent of space (% of space width)

Use it for

Insert spaces if no spaces are displayed between words in the Preview panel.

How to use it

  1. Click in Content tab on the Insert Spaces button.
    Button: Insert Spaces
  2. The Insert Spaces dialogue box opens.
    Dialogue box: Insert Spaces
  3. Use the default settings and click on the button OK.
  4. Re-check your document visually by using the panel Preview.
  5. If spaces are still missing, return to the source document, change the settings in the Insert Spaces dialogue box, and run the function again. You may need to try several times to find the optimal values.

"Force use of built-in Arial font" checkbox

In rare cases, spaces were not inserted correctly because axesPDF did not detect that the respective font did not contain the Space glyph. Other characters like "▯" may then be inserted instead of a space character.

For these cases, please activate the Force use of built-in Arial font checkbox.

Explanations of the 4 parameters

  1. Parameter: Missing space width (% of height)
    • a) If the space glyph is present in the font, the width of this space glyph is used and the parameter is ignored.
    • b) If the space glyph is not available, an approximate space width is calculated by multiplying the height of the font by this parameter.
  2. Parameter: Acceptable base line displacement (% of height)
    If the absolute difference between the two baselines divided by the height of the font is greater than this parameter, a space is inserted. This is relevant for superscript and subscript characters, among other things.
  3. Parameter: Max. truncation of space (% of space width )
    The minimum space width is calculated by multiplying this parameter with the width of the space glyph (or the approximate space width calculated using the first parameter). This is relevant for justified text, among other things.
  4. Parameter: Max. extent of space (% of space width)
    The maximum space width is calculated by multiplying this parameter with the width of the space glyph (or the approximate space width calculated using the first parameter). This is relevant for justified text, among other things.

The decision whether to insert a space follows this logic:

  • If the space glyph is not available, an approximate space width is calculated according to the first parameter.
  • If the baselines are not within the acceptable limits defined by the second parameter, a space is inserted.
  • If the distance between the characters is at least the minimum width specified by the third parameter and at most the maximum width specified by the fourth parameter, a space is inserted.

Related accessibility issues

Missing spaces can cause severe presentation problems.