Editing Graphic character (section)

== {{anchor|Spacing character|Non-spacing character}}Spacing and non-spacing characters ==
Most graphic characters are '''spacing characters''', which means that each instance of a spacing character has to occupy some [[area]] in a graphic representation. For a [[Teleprinter|teletype]] or a [[typewriter]] this implies moving of the carriage after typing of a character. In the context of [[text mode]] display, each spacing character occupies one rectangular character box of equal sizes. Or maybe two adjacent ones, for non-alphabetic [[CJK characters|characters of East Asian languages]]. If a text is [[font rendering|rendered]] using [[proportional font]]s, widths of character boxes are not equal, but are [[positive number|positive]].

There exist also ''non-spacing'' graphic characters. Most of [[non-spacing character]]s are ''[[wikt:modifier|modifiers]]'', also called [[combining character]]s in Unicode, such as [[diacritic]]al marks. Although non-spacing graphic characters are uncommon in traditional [[code page]]s, there are many such in Unicode. A combining character has its distinct glyph, but it applies to a character box of another character, a spacing one. In some historical systems such as [[line printer]]s this was implemented as [[overstrike]].

Note that not all modifiers are non-spacing&nbsp;– there exists [[Spacing Modifier Letters]] Unicode block.