Text with Character - AutoCAD 2012 - page 280

Add text and dimensions in model space using annotative text and dimension styles. Create
your annotations at their actual plotted size — referred to as papertextheight by AutoCAD — and then
assign annotationscales for all your desired plot scales. Changing the annotation scale on the status
bar automatically changes the visible annotation scale in the drawing.
Using annotative objects makes the most sense to me, as they can cover all plot scales. Also, because
they're in model space, they don't have to be duplicated on multiple layouts. As you're learning
AutoCAD, one of the more difficult concepts to grasp is the necessity of scaling text and dimensions
to apparently ludicrous sizes (6”-high drawing text, for example) so that they plot correctly. Annotative
objects allow you to keep your annotations in model space and specify the paper size; AutoCAD does
the scale calculations for you.
Annotative object types include both single-line and multiline text (covered in the sections “Using the
Same Old Line” and “Saying More in Multiline Text,” respectively, in this chapter), leaders (covered in
the section “Bring Out Your Inner Leader,” in this chapter), dimensions (covered in Chapter 14), hatches
(see Chapter 15), and blocks and attributes (refer to Chapter 17). By default, only annotative objects at
the current annotation scale as set on the application or drawing status bar are displayed, but a handy
toggle beside the Annotation Scale list lets you view annotative objects at all scales if you need to.
The annotative workflow does require an additional step compared with the other two methods listed
previously. Instead of just creating your text (or other annotative object) and stopping there, you create
it as usual and then add annotation scales to the objects. I describe the process in detail in the steps
in this chapter and in the following chapters.
You're probably familiar with most of these steps already — especially if you've ever
used a word processor. In the next few sections of this chapter, I review the particularit-
ies of AutoCAD text styles, the two kinds of AutoCAD text, and ways of controlling height
and justification.
Simply stylish text
AutoCAD assigns text properties to individual lines or paragraphs of text based on text
styles. These text styles are similar to the paragraph styles in a word processor; they
contain font and other settings that determine the look and feel of text. An AutoCAD text
style includes
The font
A text height, which you can set to a specific value or leave at 0 for later flexibility