Workaround for thin spaces

This article is part of the Tips & Tricks series.

Installation • Usage • PDF issues • Other

6 easy steps to get faked thin spaces into Scribus.*

1. Edit the Preferences > Short Words file so only the punctuation signs that need thin spaces are in the list. [Basically, " ;, !, ?,"]. Save.
2. Apply Short Words from the Extras > Short Words menu
3. Select one resulting space and copy it.
4. Open the Search and Replace dialog and Paste that space in both Text fields. In the Replace field change the font size to 1/4 of your body text. Then hit Search and Replace All
5. Go back to Preferences > Short Words and replace the punctuation signs that need thin spaces by the ones that need regular non-breaking space. [Basically, " :,« , »,"]. Save.
6. Apply Short Words (step #2) and your done.

The draw back is your thin spaces will not be fixed-width spaces. Only, they will be much smaller. They will always be closer to the preceding word, which is what we want to achieve. But the width of the thin space may vary from line to line. Don't forget it's a regular non-breaking space that is only set to a smaller typesize. It will look better and give the feel of 2 different spaces.

* It looks like a long ride but it really only takes a few minutes and it does make a huge difference in typographic quality.