Tracking
Tracking is adjusting the overall spacing of a group of letters, words, or even whole paragraphs and blocks of text. Along with kerning, tracking is the most used feature when adjusting body text. Although tracking is also widely used in headlines and other textual elements, especially if the text element is bigger in size.
Alignment
There are four main ways to align a paragraph including Flush Left, Flush Right, Justified, and Centred. Whilst each of these alignments can be achieved in a page layout application with a click of a button or on the web using a straightforward styling rule, the benefits and pitfalls of each are not so simple. When deciding on which alignment to use many factors need to be considered to ensure optimal readability.
Spacing
Word spacing for most typefaces being set in text tends to be quite acceptable. Occasionally, the word spacing of a typeface will look wide in comparison to its letter spacing, and in these cases, it is advisable to close up the overall word spacing. The general rule in text setting is that the visual space between lines should never be less than the space between the words. The eye needs to be carried from one line to the next – lines that are too close or too far apart interrupt reading. As the column measure increases, so should the interline spacing. Typefaces with larger x-heights can require more leading than those with small x-heights, as is also the case with faces that have long ascenders and descenders.
