It’s Lead. But it’s pronounced Led.
Leading refers to the baseline-to-baseline vertical measure of your lines of type. (The baseline is the invisible line that all text sits upon.) Many designers will show font size and leading like a fraction. For example, if you see 12/14 written as instructions for you to use in creating a layout, the first number you see is font size (12) and the second number is leading (14).
By default, most desktop publishing programs, including QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign, use Auto for leading, which is an amount equal to 120% of the point size measure. It is not a good idea to leave your leading set to Auto. When mixing font point sizes while using Auto leading, the line of text will take on the Auto leading for the largest point size in the line and usually will not look good. Also, in a multiple column layout, many designers like to align the baselines of type across the columns of the page; Auto leading may interfere with this.
Setting Leading in QuarkXPress
- Select some text using the Content tool
- Show the Measurements palette (Window menu)
- Use the Leading area of the Measurements palette to change the leading as appropriate (you can also choose Style > Formats to display the Paragraph Attributes dialog box and change the leading)
Setting Leading in InDesign CS 2
- Select some text using the Text tool
- Show the Control palette (Window menu)
- Click the Character Formatting Controls button (the large "A")
- The leading field is located in the second row of the Control palette, the second field from the left