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There are some fonts that have a lot of reserved vertical space. I know that I can adjust that spacing between paragraphs by changing the leading, and this allows me to move the second line of text until it touches the text above it.

However, changing the leading has no effect on soft returns (shift+enter).

How can I get the same effect without converting the text to paths?

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    Not sure I understand. Leading should still adjust space between two lines of text with a soft return, hard return or no return. – Scott Mar 5 '15 at 17:29
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Leading has effect on shift + enter, and regular enter is spaced (more) by paragraph spacing. Basically leading is a set measurement doesn't matter whether you did regular enter of shift enter, and If you want to make the space even larger between paragraph (regular enters) then add paragraph spacing

Now if you really want to start working properly for print you have to start working with baseline grid anyway.

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  • The baseline grid does not work for every type of text. If used, you cannot adjust the spacing between paragraphs anymore, other than in entire-line increments. – Jongware Mar 5 '15 at 18:44
  • You can you will just always jump an entire line, say you want to enlarge the space between paragraphs, enlarge it enough so that it jumps a line, it is the professional way to work – Naty Mar 5 '15 at 19:10
  • You know, I spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to do this before posting my question. After I read this answer, I went and adjusted the leading (just like I did before) and it immediately adjusted my soft-return! Go figure! Thanks for taking the trouble to answer. – bgmCoder Mar 5 '15 at 19:16
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First

  • you do not "adjust the spacing between paragraphs by changing the leading". Instead, you adjust the spacing between the lines in a paragraph.

Then

  • Leading affects all lines in a paragraph (or in a selection), including lines broken by soft returns.
  • A soft return will never signal an end of paragraph in InDesign. A soft return keeps you within the same paragraph.
  • A paragraph by definition always ends with a normal return, so multiple paragraphs are just the content between multiple returns.
  • In addition to leading, there are the 'space before' and 'space after' paragraph options, which do not affect leading, but just add extra space before or after a paragraph.
  • A baseline grid is an advanced feature for formatting large content, but is not necessarily related to this question in particular. Using a baseline grid adds additional rules and restrictions to the leading game.

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  • My question wasn't really about how to use leading - it is about how to compensate for the funny vertical height of some fonts; maybe I should have given a different title; I appreciate the detailed explanation. – bgmCoder Nov 8 '17 at 14:27

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