Lesson 13: Advanced Text - MText


Overview

Following this lesson, you will:

  • Know how to create and edit paragraph (multiline) text: The MText command

  • Be familiar with AutoCAD's Spell Checker

  • Know how to Find and Replace text in a drawing

In Lesson 4, we learned about text, text styles, and the QText command. All this information will remain quite useful “ indeed, Text will probably remain the primary method for creating call-outs on your drawings.

But using Text to create notes “ that long list of construction information down the side of many drawings “ can prove difficult. Editing a long list of notes can prove downright aggravating, especially if you must add or remove lines!

When I was on the boards , we often sweet-talked the project secretary into typing our notes. We then photocopied them onto sticky transparencies that we attached to our drawings. This worked well until revisions required additional notes or changing existing ones. Then we had to peel the sticky transparency from the drawing without damaging the paper.

With the MText command, we have the benefits of the project secretary's typing abilities without the hassles of sticky transparencies. The secretary can type the notes using a computer's word processor (MS Word, WordPerfect, etc.), and then give us the file to import into our drawings.

Of course, we can do the typing ourselves if the keyboard doesn't intimidate use. We can even share the secretary's dictionary to keep our spelling accurate (or at least consistent with the rest of the project). But why not take advantage of what is available “ in many cases, this is a secretary's superior typing ability.

In this lesson, we'll see how to create, import, and edit notes in an AutoCAD drawing using the recently renovated Multiline Text Editor.




AutoCAD 2004. One Step at a Time (Part 1)
AutoCAD 2004. One Step at a Time (Part 1)
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 162

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