baseline
Let an agent explain the typographic baseline and its role in font metrics and layout, relay how baselines are used in typesetting and interface design, and distinguish it from the other senses of baseline.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What the baseline is.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is the typographic baseline, and how does it relate to other font metric lines? definition
- Is the question about typography or another sense of baseline? boundary
Scripts
Baselines across scripts.
Scripts
Scripts.
- How do baselines differ in Latin, Devanagari, Chinese and other scripts? definition
- Which entry fits the specific script? action
Use Layout and interfaces.
Grids
Baseline grids.
Grids
Grids.
- How are baseline grids used in page and web layout? provenance
- Which entry fits typographic grid? action
Software
Software alignment.
Software
Software.
- How do CSS, OpenType and interface toolkits handle baseline alignment? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Craft Typography craft.
Design
Type design.
Design
Design.
- How do type designers set baselines and overshoot for optical alignment? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Shift
Baseline shift.
Shift
Shift.
- How are superscripts, subscripts and mixed fonts aligned with baseline shift? provenance
- Which entry fits typesetting? action
Context History and senses.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did the baseline concept develop in manuscript ruling and metal type? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of typography? action
Senses
Other senses.
Senses
Senses.
- How is baseline used in surveying, medicine, project management and sport? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific sense? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QTY
What it is Filled
In typography, the imaginary line on which the letters of a line of text sit, below which descenders such as those of p and g extend, used to align type across fonts and sizes, define line spacing and position text in page layout and user interfaces; the baseline is one of the font metric lines alongside the x-height, cap height, ascender and descender lines, and the word also names reference values in other fields, which are separate senses.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain the typographic baseline and its role in font metrics and layout, relay how baselines are used in typesetting and interface design, and distinguish it from the other senses of baseline.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Reference for alignment
- Descenders below it
- Basis of baseline grids
- Cross-script variation
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Confuse the typographic baseline with a baseline measurement or reference value in data.
- Shift baselines in a layout so that text is cut off or unreadable at common sizes.
- Mix scripts with different baseline conventions without checking the result renders correctly.
- Ignore that baseline alignment affects readability for people with low vision.
Only with a human decision
- Approving typographic specifications for accessibility-critical material.
May
- Measure and align text to the baseline in typesetting and layout work.
- Report font metrics such as baseline, x-height and cap height from font files.
Moral aspects Filled
- Poor baseline and spacing choices make text hard to read for people with low vision or dyslexia.
- Scripts other than Latin have their own baseline conventions that tools often ignore.
Who is affected
- Readers, especially with low vision
- Readers of non-Latin scripts
- Designers
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; font designers set the metrics in each typeface.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q66018460 - registry parent class
related
- font line - in registry terms
- x-height - another font metric
- typesetting - for alignment
- baseline - in other fields, separate senses
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.baseline
- Wikidata: Q1262182 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1262182)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Line on which letters sit
- Font metric alongside x-height and cap height
- Baseline in surveying, medicine or project management is a different sense
- An invisible line under a row of letters, shown as a guide in design tools.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain the metric line
- relay uses in layout
- describe baseline grids
- distinguish other senses
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Misaligned type across fonts
- Confusing senses
- Inconsistent metrics in font files
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- OpenType font metric specifications
- CSS specifications for baseline alignment
- No regulation
Context of use required Filled
- Aligning text.
- Latin baseline
- baselines in other scripts such as the hanging baseline of Devanagari
- baseline grids in layout
- baseline alignment in CSS and interface toolkits
- baseline shift for superscripts and subscripts
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1262182: baseline - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Baseline (typography) - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should font metrics be the primary linked entry?
- How should font specifications be linked?
- How should baselines in non-Latin scripts be recorded?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1262182/spec.json