SVG Kerning Attribute
Kerning adjusts the spacing between specific character pairs for more visually balanced, professional-looking typography.
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What Kerning Actually Adjusts
Kerning fine-tunes the spacing between specific pairs of characters (like AV or To) that would otherwise look awkwardly spaced using uniform character advance widths, pulling certain letter combinations closer together or pushing them apart based on font-designer-defined kerning pair data embedded in the font file itself.
- Adjusts spacing for specific character pairs that look awkward with uniform spacing
- Common problem pairs include combinations like AV or To in many typefaces
- Relies on kerning pair data embedded in the font file by its designer
Enabling Kerning with Modern CSS
While SVG historically had its own kerning presentation attribute accepting a numeric override value, the modern, broadly recommended approach uses the standard CSS font-kerning property set to normal, which enables the font's built-in kerning pair data automatically rather than manually specifying spacing overrides.
- The older SVG-specific kerning attribute allowed a manual numeric override
- CSS font-kerning: normal is the modern, broadly recommended approach today
- Enables the font's own built-in kerning pair data automatically
Frequently Asked Questions
Is kerning enabled by default on SVG text, or do I need to turn it on?
Most modern browsers enable font kerning by default for legibility, though explicitly setting font-kerning: normal ensures consistent behavior across browsers and font rendering engines that might otherwise default differently.
Does every font include kerning pair data?
No, kerning pair data quality and completeness varies significantly between fonts — some carefully designed typefaces include extensive kerning tables, while others, especially free or lower-quality fonts, may have minimal or no kerning data at all.
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