Controlling Text in a Drawing - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 374

FiGuRE 8.6 The Text Style drop-down list after setting A-Title as the
current style
10. Click OK to exit the Text Style dialog box.
NOTE the current text style is similar to the current layer. all text
created while a text style is current will follow the parameters or settings of
that text style.
When you define a new text style, you first name the new style. This has the
effect of making a copy of the current text style settings, giving them the new
name and making the new text style current. You then change the settings for
this new style and save the changes by clicking Apply.
shx a n d ttF F o n t s
AutoCAD text styles can use either the AutoCAD .shx (Compiled Shape)
font files or the Windows .ttf ( TrueType font) files on your system. The
.shx fonts are older files that were originally designed for use with pen plot-
ters, which required the pen tip to follow a precise vector. When you zoom
into an AutoCAD .shx font or print it large on a drawing, the straight line
segments that comprise it become apparent. Two more fonts in the Roman
font family—romant (triplex) and romanc (complex) —have multiple, closely
set lines and are used for larger text.
TrueType fonts are mathematical representations of vector formats and are
common in most Windows applications. Many fonts are available, and you
can use them with no loss of crispness, regardless of the size of the font or
the zoom factor in the drawing.
Until recently, the use of .ttf fonts over the AutoCAD-specific .shx fonts
would dramatically affect system performance. With performance the para-
mount concern, .shx fonts became the defacto standard. Recent advance-
ments have made the performance differences between the two negligible
at best. In fact the default acad.dwt drawing template from Autodesk
has used the .ttf font Arial over the former .shx font for the last several
releases of AutoCAD. To follow this trend, this topic will also utilize the .ttf
Arial font over the older .shx fonts for annotating your cabin.