`microtype`: Set Minimum Width of a Space

Question

Problem Description

I am a newbie. I use microtype package. I would like to set the minimum width of a space to a width of a regular space. However, with default settings, it is shrinked too much and I think it makes the text less readable.

Minimal Working Example

%%%%%  Preamble  %%%%%
\documentclass[10pt]{book}
% \usepackage[a4paper]{geometry}
\usepackage[
    paperheight=7cm,
    paperwidth=21cm,
    top=1in,
    bottom=1in,
    right=1in,
    left=1in,
    portrait]{geometry}

\usepackage[slovak]{babel}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage{xcolor}

% Font family
\usepackage[math-style=ISO, bold-style=ISO, partial=upright, nabla=upright]{unicode-math}
\setmainfont{Libertinus Serif}

% Paragraph and line settings
\setlength{\parindent}{0em}           % Set paragraph indentation
\setlength{\parskip}{0.08in}          % Paragraph spacing
\renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.0}  % Line \expandafter\selectlanguage\expandafter{\cvlang}

% Custom commands
\newcommand{\paragraphStyle}[1]{%
    \par
    \begingroup
        \setlength{\parindent}{0pt}%
        \setlength{\parskip}{0.16in}%
        \renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.0}%
        \fontsize{20pt}{24pt}\selectfont
        \noindent\color{black!100}%
        \bfseries\ignorespaces #1\par
    \endgroup
}

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

\begin{document}
    \pagestyle{empty}
    \paragraphStyle{
        Pripomenieme si Pánovo zmŕtvychvstanie, budeme počúvať
    }
\end{document}

Output

Do you want to change this for your paragraph or generally for the font? — Ulrike Fischer, Apr 25 '19 at 14:59

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 25 '19 at 14:57

\documentclass[10pt]{book}
% \usepackage[a4paper]{geometry}
\usepackage[
    paperheight=7cm,
    paperwidth=21cm,
    top=1in,
    bottom=1in,
    right=1in,
    left=1in,
    portrait]{geometry}

\usepackage[slovak]{babel}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage{xcolor}

% Font family
\usepackage[math-style=ISO, bold-style=ISO, partial=upright, nabla=upright]{unicode-math}
\setmainfont{Libertinus Serif}

% Paragraph and line settings
\setlength{\parindent}{0em}           % Set paragraph indentation
\setlength{\parskip}{0.08in}          % Paragraph spacing
\renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.0}  % Line \expandafter\selectlanguage\expandafter{\cvlang}

% Custom commands
\newcommand{\paragraphStyle}[1]{%
    \par
    \begingroup
        \setlength{\parindent}{0pt}%
        \setlength{\parskip}{0.16in}%
        \setlength\spaceskip{12pt plus 2pt minus 2pt }% word space
        \setlength\xspaceskip{14pt plus 4pt minus 2pt }% end of sentence space
        \renewcommand{\baselinestretch}{1.0}%
        \fontsize{20pt}{24pt}\selectfont
        \noindent\color{black!100}%
        \bfseries\ignorespaces #1\par
    \endgroup
}

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

\begin{document}
    \pagestyle{empty}
    \paragraphStyle{
        Pripomenieme si Pánovo zmŕtvychvstanie, budeme počúvať
    }
\end{document}

Could you explain that (x)spaceskip? I think the space between words are now too wide. Is there a way to dynamically check/get the width of a space in particular font and set that width as minimal space width? — tukusejssirs, Apr 25 '19 at 15:37
This is better: \setlength\spaceskip{7pt plus 2pt minus 2pt }\n\setlength\xspaceskip{14pt plus 4pt minus 2pt }, however, I have no idea what I am doing. ;) — tukusejssirs, Apr 25 '19 at 15:43
And this solution moves the test in that particular line out into right margin (see here). — tukusejssirs, Apr 25 '19 at 15:57

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 25 '19 at 15:44

You can use the WordSpace option to adjust the space. The value is a scale factor (3 is too much and only used for the demo here). It is also possible to adjust the stretch and shrink value individually, see the documentation of fontspec.

\documentclass[10pt]{book}

\usepackage[slovak]{babel}
\usepackage{microtype}
\usepackage{xcolor}

% Font family
\usepackage[math-style=ISO, bold-style=ISO, partial=upright, nabla=upright]{unicode-math}
\setmainfont{Libertinus Serif}[WordSpace={3}]
\begin{document}

        Pripomenieme si Pánovo zmŕtvychvstanie, budeme počúvať

\end{document}

`microtype`: Set Minimum Width of a Space

Problem Description

Minimal Working Example

Output

2 Answers2