Categories

AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD LT 2015 Bible

The most comprehensive AutoCAD book around!

Squeeze or stretch single-line text to fit in a space with TEXTFIT

The TEXTFIT command lets you easily squeeze or stretch existing single-line text (TEXT or DTEXT) so you can fit it into a defined space, such as a title block.

TEXTFIT doesn’t work with multi-line text (MTEXT).

When you start the command, you select the single-line text and TEXTFIT puts a drag-line under the text. Just […]

Specifying and changing line spacing

Sometimes, you need text to have a specific line spacing, to fit into a schedule in your drawing. If you can use the TABLE command, that’s great, because the text automatically fits nicely into the rows of the table.

But sometimes, you need to fit your text into an existing set of lines, like a […]

Print or share a list of layers

Sometimes you need a list of layers to quickly see all the layers and their status in a drawing. You can share it with colleagues. For a simple method, follow these steps:

Type -layer on the command line. Choose the ? option to get a list of layers and press Enter. Press F2 to open […]

Create text in columns

Column text was introduced in AutoCAD 2008. Columns make fitting your text into tight spaces easier; it also looks more professional. You may have manually created columns in the past, but when you edited the text, the columns didn’t automatically readjust, leading to awkward spaces or lots of reformatting.

Follow these steps to create column […]

Creating exponents using stacked text

Bruce Hodder sent in this tip: “New for AutoCAD 2000i is the ability to create exponential text values with Mtext using the carat (^) character. First, create a text object using the MTEXT command. Type the exponent value and then the carat character (e.g., 2^). With the Multiline Text Editor still open, select the exponent […]

Tutorial: Automate annotation scaling with annotative objects

Since AutoCAD 2008, you can automate the sizing of annotation, such as text and dimensions, in multiple viewports with varying scales. In this tutorial, you practice using this feature, called annotative objects.

The following objects can be annotative, meaning that they can size automatically:

Text (single-line text) Mtext (multi-line text) Dimensions Multileaders (which are new […]

The many ways to import text

If you have some text in another location and need it in your AutoCAD drawing, you certainly don’t want to retype it. There are several ways to import text from other documents into your drawing.

The Multiline Text Editor

Save the text as a text (.txt) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. (You do that […]

Changing the MText string to your login name

Since AutoCAD 2004, there’s a system variable, MTJIGSTRING, that creates some sample text when you start the MTEXT command. The idea is to help you gauge the size of the text before you create it, so you can change the height if you want. Lambertus Oosterveen sent me this line that you can put in […]

Quickly format dimensions

Usually, it’s best to format your dimensions using a dimension style. If you want an exception to the style, create an override. To create an override, choose Dimension > Dimension Style and click the Override button in the Dimension Style Manager. This method is the best way to maintain your CAD standards.

But sometimes, you […]

How to print a list of text styles

You might also want to print out a list of your text styles. (You can also check for text styles using the CHECKSTANDARDS command.) The procedure is similar to creating a layer list:

At the command line, type -style. At the Enter name of text style or [?] <STANDARD>: prompt, type ? (a question mark) […]