M yt-Typo is a plugin that provides several typography enhancements to any WordPress blog. The enhancements are done in a ‘friendly’ way — no changes are made to the posts or pages database, so disabling or uninstalling the plugin will leave the content unaffected. Some of the features of this plugin.
- Add dropcaps or Initials with selectable font, color, size and positioning.
- Increase the space between sentences.
- Enhance the visibility of punctuation.
- Can preserve linebreaks in excerpts.
- Can remove an assortment of little used features from the WordPress header for a leaner site.
- A custom, easy to use (and reuse) framework for tabbed settings.
- All settings kept in a single WP option.
- No changes made to the stored posts. Uninstalling requires no repair.
- Changes to the settings definitions are automatically transferred to the DB.
- Erase the plugin’s option from the database, and it will be automatically restored (with default values) on next run.
The DROPCAPS TAB
D rop caps are those enlarged first character of paragraphs that drop down into the text, resulting in multiple lines being indented. For an example, see the articles at http://www.vanityfair.com/ .
This tab also allows an enlarged first character that extends up from the line, called an Initial. These do not indent the line, but the same effect may be accomplished with the left margin control.
D ropcaps can add spice or sophistication to a website. You can also get some interesting effects by starting an occasional paragraph with a drop-capped punctuation character, perhaps a ‘!’ for emphasis.
G etting a drop cap right is a bit of a finicky process given that several parameters are highly dependent on the font being used. A typical procedure would be to set the size to 3rem (triple size) and tryout various fonts to find one that is suitable. Then re-adjust the font size to your liking. Then adjust the vertical parameter to move it up or down. The left and right margins may be adjusted as seems fit.
The final issue then is the number of lines indented. You may find that the result at this point causes too many lines of the paragraph to be indented. Adjusting the bottom parameter (it often needs a negative value) is the cure for this, but you should be aware that there is a threshold involved. As you change the value, nothing will happen until you cross some threshold that suddenly fixes that extra indented line.
Overall, it is fussy, but proceed slowly and you should be alright.
You can also choose to use a dropcap on the first paragraph; all paragraphs; never; or on characters you specify with the custom tag ‘<dc/>’.
The OTHER TAB
T he ‘other’ tab contains an assortment of settings too short to deserve a separate tab.
enspace/emspace
O ne of the problems with web typography is that sentences seem squashed together. The period is so small and the space is so narrow that each sentence seems to run into the next. The solution is to introduce extra whitespace between sentences but of course extra space characters are collapsed to a single space when rendering. Print typographers separate sentences using the ‘enspace’, a space as wide as the ‘n’ character, or the ’emspace’, a whitespace as wide as the ‘m’ character. The result is text that looks more professional and reads more easily. The effect is subtle, but you will find it painful to stop using it.
Use the ‘enspace’ for a little extra space, or the ’emspace’ for more.
Bold Punctuation
M ost fonts used on the web have very small periods. While this may work fine for those with 20/20 vision, my eyes predate the computer and need a little help. This option increase the font size of period, comma, colon, semicolon, and assorted other thin punctuation by 20% as well as making it bold. Enough to improve visibility without overly disturbing the appearance.
Tags in Excerpts
A frequent annoyance of WP is that excerpts are stripped of all tags. While this may be important for some tags, it may be preferable to keep line-breaks and some simple formatting tags.
Slim
T his tab provides the ability to remove a number of little-used features from the WP header. I don’t know what many of these features are (which probably indicates that I don’t need them), and my site does function happily without them. Your Mileage May Vary. Of special interest is the ability to remove the version numbers that WP inexplicably adds to the header’s requests for scripts and styles.