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

1. Do one of the following:
   • Click the Text tool button () on the Draw toolbar.
   • Choose Text in the Text submenu in the Draw menu.
   • Type text in the command bar, then press Enter.
   You are prompted: Text: Style/Align/Fit/Center/Middle/Right/Justify/<Start point>:
2. Specify the insertion point of the text. You are prompted: Height of text <current height>:
3. 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.
   You are prompted: Rotation angle of text <current angle>
4. 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.
   You are prompted: Text:
5. Type the text in the command bar, then press Enter. The text is placed in the drawing. You are prompted: Text:
6. 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.

Single line text justification

To create multiline text

1. Do one of the following:
   • Click the Multiline Text tool button () on the Draw toolbar.
   • Choose Multiline Text in the Text submenu in the Draw menu.
   • Type mtext in the command bar, then press Enter.
   You are prompted: First corner for block of text:
2. Specify the first corner (insertion point of the multiline text). You are prompted: Justification/Rotation/Style/Height/Direction/Width/<Opposite corner for block of text>:
3. 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.
   • If Dynamic Dimensions are active, the height and width of the text field display dynamically. Type the height and width in the dynamic dimension fields. Press the TAB key to switch; press Enter to confirm.
   The Text formatting toolbar opens right above the text block.
4. (option) Define the text properties.
5. Type your text.
6. To conclude the command and close the Text formatting toolbar do one of the following:
   • Click the OK button.
   • Press Ctrl+Enter.
   • Click outside the MText entity.

Text formatting toolbar tools and settings

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

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

Symbols and Unicode strings

(*) If supported by the text font.

To add a background mask

1. When creating or editing a multiline text entity, click the Background Mask tool button () on the Text Formatting toolbar. The Background Mask dialog displays:
2. Check the Use background mask option.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Choose a color in the Fill color drop-down list.
   • Choose Select color... in the Fill color drop-down list and choose an Index color or a True color in the Select color dialog.
   • Check the Use drawing background color option.
4. Define the Border offset factor , which defines the margin around the text for the background. The value is based on the text height and must be in the range 1-5. A factor of 1.0 exactly fits the multiline text entity.
5. Click OK to create the background mask.

To add a text frame

1. Select the Mtext entity.
2. Click the Text frame property in the Properties panel.
3. Click the down arrow and choose Yes.