Drawing Paragraphs of Text with MTEXT

Whereas the DTEXT command can be used to draw multiple lines of text, each line is drawn as a separate object. Sometimes you will want to draw multiple lines of text as a single unit, such as a paragraph of text. At such times, you can use the MTEXT command, which you issue by choosing Multiline Text from the Draw toolbar or from the Text submenu of the Draw pull-down menu.

After you issue the MTEXT command, you are prompted to select the first corner point of a window. This window is used to determine the direction in which the mtext object is drawn. When the window is dragged to the right, the mtext object is drawn to the right; when the window is dragged to the left, the mtext object is drawn to the left. Within the window, the mtext object is drawn with a top left justification. If you want, you can change the justification type to one of eight others: TC (Top Center), TR (Top Right), ML (Middle Left), MC (Middle Center), MR (Middle Right), BL (Bottom Left), BC (Bottom Center), or BR (Bottom Right). These justification types are similar to those available with the DTEXT command (refer to Figure 15.1), except that they apply to the whole mtext object frame and not just a single line of text.

If you want, you can also choose to use the first window point as the justification point by specifying the Justify option and choosing a justification option. You then choose the Width option and numerically enter the desired width of the mtext window rather than graphically specifying its width. A width of zero disables the word wrap feature of the Multiline Text Editor. With that setting, you will have to press the Enter key every time you want to begin a new line of text.

Several other command-line options appear, but these are easier to set through the Multiline Text Editor dialog box (see Figure 15.12). The Multiline Text Editor is divided into two parts. The bottom part is the screen editor, and the top part is divided into four tabs: Character, Properties, Line Spacing, and Find/Replace, which are described in detail in the following sections.

If you have text in an existing ASCII or RTF file, use the Import Text button to import the file into the editor, then you can edit the text as you want.

Using the Character Tab

The Character tab controls the text’s properties. The settings can be used in one of two ways. First, the settings control the appearance of the text you type. You also can change the properties of selected text through these settings, thereby creating various special effects. To select text, position the cursor at the beginning of the text, left-click, then drag the cursor to the end of the text you want to select. You can select a word by double-clicking in the word, or you can select the entire body of text by triple-clicking anywhere in the text.

Changing MTEXT’s Font File and Text Height

After selecting the text to be affected, you can change the font file to be used and even the height of the text. The text height drop-down list is actually a combination drop-down list and text edit box. You can enter a new text height in the text edit box, or you can select a height that was previously entered from the drop-down list.

Setting the Bold, Italic, and Underline Text Properties

The Bold and Italic buttons enable you to bold or italicize the text, but only if the chosen font file is a TrueType font. You can use the Underline button to underline any selected text regardless of the font file used. All three buttons act as toggles, and you can turn their properties on or off by simply selecting the desired text and clicking the appropriate button.

Stacking and Unstacking Fractions

The Stack/Unstack button is an improved feature in AutoCAD 2002 that is used to stack or unstack selected text. For example, you can designate selected text to be stacked by using a carat (^), a forward slash (/), or a pound sign (#) character between the characters you want stacked. The text to the left of the character is stacked on top of the text to the right of the character. To unstack stacked text, select it and then click the Stack button.

AutoCAD 2002 provides for three stacked text types based on which of the following characters is used:

• Carat (^). Converts selected text to left-justified tolerance values.

• Forward Slash (/). Converts selected text to center-justified text separated by a horizontal bar.

• Pound Sign (#). Converts selected text to a fraction separated by a diagonal bar.

You can edit stacked text and change the stack type, its alignment, or the size of stacked text in the Stack Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.13. To display the Stack Properties dialog box, from the Multiline Text Editor dialog box, select a stacked text, right-click, and choose the Properties option from the shortcut menu.

When you first create stacked text, AutoCAD displays the AutoStack Properties dialog box, which allows you to control default settings for stacked text, as shown in Figure 15.14. Ideally, you should set the values for enabling AutoStacking, removing leading blanks, and creating horizontal versus diagonal stacking as desired, then you should select the check box to keep the AutoStack Properties dialog box from appearing each time you create stacked text. If you need to change settings, you can display the AutoStack Properties dialog box by clicking the AutoStack button from the Stack Properties dialog box.

Color Settings

The Text Color list allows you to set the color for selected text. You can set the color to ByLayer, ByBlock, or any one of AutoCAD’s other 255 colors.

Using Special Symbols

Use the Symbol drop-down list to insert the degree, plus/minus, or diameter symbol (see Figure 15.15). To insert any other symbol, choose Other from the list to invoke the Character Map program. Inserting a non-breaking space prevents the Multiline Text Editor from making a break at that point when it decides where to break the line of text (word wrap feature) and continue to the next line.

Using the Properties Tab

Choosing the Properties tab enables you to set the text style, justification option, width, and rotation angle of the overall mtext object. Remember that if you use a window to define the location of the mtext object, the justification used is TL, or Top Left, and that the width of the window is the width used for the mtext object. By using the settings on the Properties tab, you can modify these values.

Using the Line Spacing Tab

From the Line Spacing tab, you control line spacing for new or selected mtext. You control line spacing by selecting the desired line spacing properties from two lists. The first list determines whether the selected line spacing is exactly as indicated, or at least the spacing indicated. The second list determines the line spacing value, which can have one of three settings: a single line space, a 1.5 line space, or a double line space. By using these two lists together, you control the spacing between lines of text.

Using the Find/Replace Tab

Use the Find/Replace tab to search for a specific combination of characters and even to replace the found text with a replacement text string. If the Match Case setting is enabled, AutoCAD finds only text that exactly matches the case of the find string. If the Whole Word setting is enabled, AutoCAD finds only words that exactly match the find string; otherwise, even words that contain only a fragment of the find string are located. After you specify the settings you want, use the Find button to start the search.

In the next exercise, you use MTEXT to add notes to a drawing.

Exercise 15.4 Using MTEXT to Draw Paragraphs of Text

1.	Open the drawing 15dwg04.dwg from the accompanying CD.
2.	Issue the MTEXT command by choosing the Multiline Text tool from the Draw toolbar. Specify the point 26,18 as the first corner point. Type @4,-1 for the opposite corner point. The Multiline Text Editor dialog box is displayed. On the Character tab, type in a height of 0.25 . Type Notes and press the Enter key twice.
3.	Type the following text: The information on this drawing reflects information gathered as of 2/2/97. Press the Enter key twice.
4.	Type: This drawing is a preliminary drawing and should not be used for engineering purposes. Press the Enter key twice.
5.	Highlight the text “Notes,” then click on the Underline button. Click OK to close the dialog box. Your drawing should look similar to Figure 15.16. Figure 15.16. You can add notes to a drawing using MTEXT.
6.	Close the drawing without saving your changes.

Editing Mtext Objects

You can edit mtext objects by choosing Text from the Modify menu and choosing the mtext text object you want to edit. When you start the command, AutoCAD prompts you to select the text object. If you choose an mtext object, AutoCAD displays the Multiline Text Editor. You can then modify the text in the mtext object or use the Multiline Text Editor’s various properties to modify the mtext object’s appearance.

Additionally, you can use grips to move or change the width of the mtext object. When you select the grip point that corresponds to the justification point, you can move the mtext object. If you select any other grip point, you will stretch the width of the mtext object.