Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
columns and numbered or bulleted lists (both are covered in the section “Doing a num-
ber on your Mtext lists,” later in this chapter).
Between them, the Text Editor tab (or the Text Formatting toolbar) and the right-click
menu also include a Stack/Unstack feature for fractions, a Find and Replace utility, tools
for changing between lowercase and uppercase, options for applying background masks
and inserting fields, a special Symbol submenu, and an Import Text option for importing
text from a TXT (ASCII text) file or RTF (Rich Text Format) file. I discuss background
masks and fields in the next section. If you think you may have a use for any of these
other features, choose Command Reference⇒Commands⇒M Commands⇒MTEXT in
AutoCAD's online help browser to find out more about them.
It slices, it dices . . .
Two more useful options on the multiline text right-click menu are Background Mask and
Insert Field.
Mtext dons a mask
When you turn on background masking, AutoCAD hides the portions of any objects that
lie underneath the multiline text. Use these steps to turn on and control this feature:
1. Right-click in the In-Place Text Editor and choose Background Mask from the
menu.
The Background Mask dialog box appears.
2. Click the Use Background Mask check box so that this option is turned on.
3. Either click Use Drawing Background Color (to make the mask the same color as
the drawing area's background color) or choose a color from the drop-down list (to
make the text appear in a solid rectangle of the specified color).
4. Click OK to return to the In-Place Text Editor.
One of the most irritating features of the Use Background Mask dialog box
was its constant belief that you always wanted a fixed-size boundary around the
mask, and — even worse — that it should be red (99% of the time, people want
the background mask to be the same color as . . . er, the background.) Use Back-
ground Mask is now smart enough to remember the last boundary distance, and
— even better — that you really do want the background color for the mask to be
Background.
