We are defining a template that will be used for all future reports our group
creates in Word and aren't sure what line spacing to use. We initially set it
to 13 pt., but certain fonts get cut off with this setting. "At least" seems
to be the most flexible, but we can't figure out what the disadvantages are
of this setting.

Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

MASaintFan wrote:
We are defining a template that will be used for all future reports
our group creates in Word and aren't sure what line spacing to use.
We initially set it to 13 pt., but certain fonts get cut off with
this setting. "At least" seems to be the most flexible, but we can't
figure out what the disadvantages are of this setting.

Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

When you set a line spacing to "Exactly", you're telling Word that the
distance between baselines must always be exactly that number of points,
regardless of what's on that line. If you use larger letters, or
superscripts, or in-line graphics that are taller than that, Word will cut
them off. This may occasionally be what you want, but it's fairly rare in
general-purpose writing. People who are concerned with fine typography for
unbroken text sometimes prefer it (but for other reasons they don't often
use Word for typesetting).

When you set it to "At least", you're telling Word that the distance between
baselines should never be less than that number of points, but it can expand
the spacing whenever anything in the line is too big to fit. This is what
you usually want.

The main disadvantage of Exactly is that it cuts things off, especially
graphics. The main disadvantage of At Least is that the line spacing can
start to look ragged if there are many items that force expansion.

I recommend that you set up the template to use At Least for the most common
styles. You can define one or more styles with Exactly for use in special
situations.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org