Creating text

Commands: TEXT and MTEXT

The Text command creates single line text, while the Mtext command creates text entities which consist of multiple lines.

To create single line text

Do one of the following:
Click the Text tool button () on the Draw 2D toolbar.
Choose Text in the Text submenu in the Draw menu.
Type text in the command bar, then press Enter.

The command bar reads: Text: Style/Align/Fit/Center/Middle/Right/Justify/<Start point>:

Specify the insertion point of the text.
The command bar reads: Height of text <current height>:
Do one of the following:
Press Enter or right click to accept the current text height.
Type the new text height in the command bar, then press Enter.
Define the new text height graphically by specifying two points in the drawing.

The command bar reads: Rotation angle of text <current angle>

Do one of the following:
Press Enter or right click to accept the current angle.
Type the new angle in the command bar, then press Enter.
Define the now angle graphically by specifying two points in the drawing.

The command bar reads: Text:

Type the text in the command bar, then press Enter.
The text is placed in the drawing.
The command bar reads: Text:
Do one of the following:
Repeat step 5 to create another text entity.
The new text is placed below the previous one.
Press Enter or right click to conclude the Text command.

NOTE	If you have already created text, the most recent text entity highlights when you repeat the Text command. If you want to place the new text right below the previously created text, press Enter in step 2 of the above procedure.

Single line text justification

To create multiline text

Do one of the following:
Click the Multiline Text tool button () on the Draw 2D toolbar.
Choose Multiline Text in the Text submenu in the Draw menu.
Type mtext in the command bar, then press Enter.

The command bar reads: First corner for block of text:

Specify the first corner (insertion point of the multiline text).
The command bar reads: Justification/Rotation/Style/Height/Direction/Width/<Opposite corner for block of text>:
Do one of the following:

Specify the opposite corner of the text block to define the maximum width of the multiline text.
Type @ in the command bar, then press Enter for non-wrapped (zero width) text.

The Text formatting toolbar opens right above the text block.

(option) Define the text properties.
Type your text.
Click the OK button to stop editing the text.
The Text formatting toolbar closes.

Text formatting toolbar tools and settings

Button or setting	Name	Description
	Text Style	Sets the text style
	Text Font	Sets the text font
	Text Height	Sets the text height
	Bold	Creates bold text
	Italic	Creates italic text
	Underscore	Creates underscored text
	Overscore	Creates overscored text
	Uppercase	Converts selected text to uppercase
	Lowercase	Converts selected text to lowercase
	Layer	Sets the text layer
	Oblique Angle	Sets the oblique angle
	Width Factor	Sets the width factor
	Character Spacing	Sets the character spacing
	Undo	Undoes recent actions
	Redo	Redoes previously undone actions
	Stacked Fraction	Creates stacked fractions
	Special Character	Inserts special characters
	Justify	Sets the text justification
	Field	Inserts a variable field
	OK	Closes the Text formatting toolbar and applies the changes
	Cancel	Closes the Text formatting toolbar and leaves the Mtext entity unchanged

NOTE	If the line length exceeds the Width of the multiline text, the text will be wrapped. Set the Width to zero for non-wrapped multiline text.

Multiline text justification

(The red dot indicates the insertion point of the multiline text entity)

Top left	Top center	Top right

Middle left	Middle center	Middle right

Bottom left	Bottom center	Bottom right

Including special text characters and symbols

You can use control codes and unicode strings to include special characters in text entities.

To include control codes, as you type text, type two percent symbols (%%) followed by the special control code or character. A single percent sign is treated as a normal text character.

Special text characters

Control code	Unicode String	Result
%%d	\U+00B0	Draws a degree symbol (º)
%%p	\U+00B1	Draws a plus-or-minus symbol (±)
%%c	\U+2205	Draws a diameter symbol (Ø)

Symbols and Unicode strings

Name	Symbol (*)	Unicode String
Almost equal		\U+2248
Angle		\U+2220
Center line		\U+2104
Delta		\U+0394
Electrical phase		\U+0278
Identity		\U+2261
Not equal		\U+2260
Omega		\U+03A9
Squared	²	\U+00B2
Cubed	³	\U+00B3

(*) If supported by the text font.

Using fields in multiline texts

Fields can be used to insert drawing properties and custom properties in a multiline text, e.g. in title blocks.

To update fields

Command: UPDATEFIELD

The FIELDEVAL system variable controls when fields in multiline texts are updated.

You can set FIELDEVAL under Program Options / User Preferences on the Settings dialog.