Working with text styles

When you add text to a drawing, it uses the current text style, which determines the font, size, angle, orientation and other properties of the new text entity.

Every drawing has a default text style, named Standard, which initially uses the Arial font. You cannot delete or rename the Standard style, but you can modify it.

If you change the font or orientation of an existing style, all existing text entities created using that style are automatically updated to reflect the change. Changing any other property has no effect on existing text.

You can create and use an unlimited number of additional text styles.

Annotative text styles create annotative text entities. In an annotative text style, the Height defines the paper space height of the text; the model space height depends on the current annotation scale as defined by the CANNOSCALE and CANNOSCALEVALUE system variables.

To open the Text Style Explorer dialog box

Do one of the following:

  • In the Tools > Drawing Explorer menu, choose Text Styles ...
  • Click the Style field in the Status bar.
  • Launch the STYLE command.

To create a text style

  1. Open the Text Style Explorer dialog box.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Click the New tool button () in the Details section of the Drawing Explorer dialog.
    • Select an existing style, then right click and choose New in the context menu.

    A NewStyle text style is created, inheriting the properties of the currently selected style.

  3. Type a name in the Text Style Name field, replacing the NewStyle default name.
  4. Define the text style properties.
  5. Close the Text Style Explorer dialog.

To edit a text style

  1. Open the Text Style Explorer dialog box.
  2. Select the text style.
  3. Define the text style properties.
  4. Close the Text Style Explorer dialog.

To set a text style current

Do one of the following:

  • Right click the Style field in the Status bar, then click the text style.
  • Open the Text Style Explorer dialog box.

    The current text style is indicated in the Current column.

    Do one of the following:

    • Click the Current field of the text style.
    • Right click the text style, then choose Set Current in the context menu.

To delete a text style

  1. Open the Text Style Explorer dialog box.
  2. Select the text style.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Delete tool button ().
    • Select the text style, then choose Delete in the context menu.

    If the text style is not used in the drawing or in a dimension style, the text style is deleted, else an alert box appears.

  4. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Delete button to delete the text style and all entities using it.
    • Click the Change... button to delete the text style and assign a different text style to the entities, which currently use the selected style.
    • Click the Cancel button to cancel the delete procedure.
Note: It is not possible to delete the current text style.