Q. I’m finishing a book manuscript that includes uncommon fractions (such as 1/72) for which there aren’t single Unicode characters. How should I render my fractions? Using superscript for the numerator and subscript for the denominator results in inconsistent spacing. Even the existing Unicode fractions aren’t consistently kerned. Is there a way to have uniform-looking fractions regardless of the specific numbers? Thanks for your help.
A. You’re right that a single-character Unicode fraction like ½ (U+00BD, vulgar fraction one half) won’t match a fraction like 1/72 that relies on the forward slash (or solidus) character. One approach that can work in HTML (which is what you’re viewing right now) is to use a fraction slash (U+2044) instead of an ordinary forward slash (U+002F, the character that shares a key with the question mark on English-language QWERTY keyboards).
Unlike the forward slash, the fraction slash is designed to kern tightly to any character immediately before or after it. Best of all, the numbers before and after the slash will automatically go into fraction mode, adjusting their size and position relative to the slash (though not in all fonts):
Fraction slash, no superscripts or subscripts:
1⁄2 and 2⁄3 and 3⁄4 and 5⁄8 and 3⁄16 and 1⁄72
Forward slash (solidus), with superscripts and subscripts:
1/2 and 2/3 and 3/4 and 5/8 and 3/16 and 1/72
Both versions have a certain consistency to them, but the first set of fractions is better at matching the look of Unicode’s vulgar fractions. And according to the applicable Unicode chart (in what Unicode defines in its Help pages as an “informative note”), the fraction slash is intended “for composing arbitrary fractions”—which is the goal in this case.
But this approach won’t automatically work across applications. In a book manuscript composed in Word, you should probably use ordinary numbers with the forward slash—as in “1/72”—and ask your publisher or typesetter to format the fractions for you (e.g., using the available tools in a program like InDesign), specifying that you want them all to look like Unicode’s ½.