Controlling Text in a Drawing - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 418

A paragraph of multiline text is a single entity. The text wraps around, and
you can easily modify the length of a line after you place the text in the drawing.
Within the multiline text entity, all text can be edited and behaves as if it were in a
word processor. You can give a special word or letter of the text its own text style or
color. Everything you learned about defining a new text style applies to multiline
text, because both kinds of text use the same text styles. Just as polylines become
lines when exploded, multiline text is reduced to single-line text when exploded.
Dimensions use multiline text, and any text that is imported into an AutoCAD
drawing from a word processing document or text editor becomes multiline text
in the drawing. In this section, you'll learn how to place a paragraph of mul-
tiline text in the cabin drawing and then modify it. In Chapter 12, you'll work
with dimension text and text with leader lines, both of which use multiline text.

Use the EXPLODE
command to turn
multiline text into
single-line text, to
unblock objects in a
block reference, and
to convert a polyline
into regular lines.
Click the explode
button on the Modify
panel to start the
command.

TIP If you are using autoCaD and have the express tools installed, the
TXT2MTXT command (on the menu bar, click express➢ text ➢ Convert text
to Mtext) changes the selected Text objects into Mtext objects. When mul-
tiple lines of text are selected, they are converted into a single Mtext object.
Lt does not have the express tools available.

You'll start by adding a note in the lower-left corner of the 08A-FPLAY2.dwg
drawing, using the MULTILINE TEXT (MTEXT) command:

1. Click the Make Object's Layer Current button on the Layers panel.
Then click the FLOOR PLAN text to make the A-ANNO-TTLB-TEXT
layer current.

2. If it isn't already, change the current text style to A-Label from the
Annotate tab ➢ Text panel.
Zoom into the blank area to the left of the title block in the lower-
left corner of the cabin drawing.

3. Start the MTEXT command by clicking the Multiline Text button found
on the Annotate tab ➢ Text panel, and press F3 to turn Object Snap
off temporarily.
The command window displays the name of the current text style
and height and prompts you to specify a first corner.

4. Select a point near the left border in line with the top of the title block.
The prompt now says Specify opposite corner or [Height/
Justify/Line spacing/Rotation/Style/Width/Columns]: . These
are all the options for the MULTILINE TEXT (MTEXT) command.