Em (typography)

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An '''em''' is a unit of measurement in the field of typography. The unit is defined in the terms of a specific typeface, and thus varies in length. 1 em is sometimes said to be equal to the width of a capital "M" in a particular typeface. However, in modern usage, it usually means the typeface's body size, meaning the length from the lowest descender to the highest ascender, sometimes including height added by any diacritical marks. So, 1 em in a 16 pt typeface is 16 points. An "em-quad" is a metal spacer used in printing presses. The width of the em dash (—) and the em space ( ) are defined to be 1 em. The unit en is ½ em. === Firet === A '''Firet''' is a unit used in typography equal to the size of a given font in points, approximately 1 em. ==External links== *DoubleType: about em *The amazing em unit and other best practices — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group