T

tab cycle

In a table, an entire row’s worth of tab entries taken as a whole.

tab entry

In a table, a block of text that occurs at the intersection of a row and a column.

tab stop

In a word processing program, a point at which text advanced with the Tab key will align. When no text is present, pressing the Tab key will advance the cursor from one tab stop to the next, as on a typewriter.

tab value

In table-setting software, a point along the measure of the table that defines the margin of a tab column.

tail

The descending part of certain letters such as Q or y.

tail rule

A rule that sets below a table.

template

An empty electronic document formatted with page specifications that contains style sheets for text that is added later.

terminal

The end of a character stroke, which may or may not be adorned with a serif.

terminal character

See finial.

text on a path

Text set on a curved baseline or a baseline that follows a shape.

text face

A typeface designed for use in long texts, particularly books. Text faces are generally seriffed, with modest contrast, generous character widths, and fairly light stroke weights.

thin space

A fixed space normally equal to ¼ em, or about that of a word space. Often a typesetting program allows a custom definition of a thin space.

tight rag

An arrangement in ragged-margin copy in which all the lines are fairly close to being the same length.

titling face

A typeface proportioned specifically for use in large point sizes. Titling faces often consist only of capital letters.

top-align

To align objects of different sizes against a common “ceiling.”

tracking

The overall spacing between characters in a passage of text. Tightening the tracking draws characters together by the same proportional amount. Loosening the tracking enlarges the spaces between characters.

transitional face

Literally, any typeface whose design places it on the cusp between two design trends. Usually, though, the term refers to certain faces, such as Baskerville, seen as precursors to the modern style.

trim size

The size of a publication’s pages after it has been bound and trimmed.

TrueType font

A double-byte font based on Unicode that’s available on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. The character outlines it contains are based on a different mathematical system (conic B-splines) than are PostScript fonts (Bézier curves). It is the core technology upon which the OpenType font format is built. TrueType fonts are platform-specific; a TrueType font file that can work on both a Mac and Windows PC is generally identified as an OpenType font.

turn line

See runover line.

Type 1 font

See PostScript font.

type area

The part of a page populated by the main text and usually defined by the top, bottom, outside, and binding margins.

type size

See point size.

typeface

A collection of characters, numerals, accents, and related symbols that share a common design motif.

typeface family

In typography, a group of typefaces that share a common root name and common design characteristics. The Serifa family, for example, consists of Serifa Light, Serifa Light Oblique, Serifa Medium, Serifa Medium Oblique, Serifa Bold, and Serifa Black.

typeset quality

A standard of type-rendering quality based on the clarity and sharpness of images created by a phototypesetter.

typewriter-style quotation marks

Direction-neutral quotation marks designed for the typewriter ( “ ’ ); they are part of the ASCII character set.

typographic quotation marks

The traditionally shaped quotation marks used in English text ( “ ” ‘ ’ ) that have distinct opening and closing forms. Often referred to in Britain as inverted commas.