348 Part II ✦ Drawing in Two Dimensions use any of the techniques for editing text that I discuss in the “Editing paragraph text” section earlier in this chapter. You can change the properties of the text so that they don’t match the table style. For example, you can change the height or font of the text. Changing table properties You can also change properties of the actual table. If you double-click the table itself — that is, any of the grid lines — the Properties palette opens. Here, you can modify any conceivable table property, including its layer, its color, the number of rows or columns, or any of its style properties. If you want to revert to old-fashioned lines, you can explode the table. Of course, you can no longer edit the table as a table anymore; you just have lines and text. To select the entire table, click any gridline of the table. You see grips at the corners of the table and at several other cell junctions. If you select the table and right-click, then you can use the shortcut menu to make additional changes to the table. For example, you can size columns or rows equally or remove property overrides. If you make a change to a cell, such as the cell’s alignment or color, you can use the Remove All Property Overrides item on the shortcut menu to change the cell’s properties back to match the rest of the table. To select a cell, click inside that cell. You can then right-click and use the shortcut menu, which has the following items: ✦ Cell Alignment: Changes the alignment of the text in the cell, using the standard text- alignment options available for multiline text. ✦ Cell Borders: Opens the Cell Border Properties dialog box, where you can specify bor- der properties for that individual cell. ✦ Format: Opens the Table Cell Format dialog box, where you can change the data type and format. ✦ Match Cell: Matches cell properties. At the Select destination cell: prompt on the command line, pick another cell that you want to have the same properties. The prompt repeats until you press Enter. ✦ Insert Block: Opens the Insert a Block in a Table Cell dialog box, where you can select the block that you want to insert, specify the block’s alignment in the cell, and set its scale and rotation angle. If you select the Autofit check box, the block is automatically scaled to fit the table cell. ✦ Insert/Edit Field: Lets you insert or edit a field. I discuss fields in the next section of this chapter. ✦ Insert Formula: Lets you insert a formula, as previously explained. ✦ Edit Cell Text: Opens the In-Place Text Editor so that you can edit text. ✦ Insert Columns: Inserts a column. You can choose to insert the column to the right or to the left of the current cell’s column. ✦ Delete Columns: Deletes the column that the current cell is in. ✦ Size Columns Equally: Makes two or more columns that you select equally wide. ✦ Insert Rows: Inserts a row. You can choose to insert the row above or below the cur- rent cell’s row. 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 348 349 Chapter 13 ✦ Creating Text ✦ Delete Rows: Deletes the row that the current cell is in. ✦ Size Rows Equally: Makes all of your rows an equal height. ✦ Remove All Property Overrides: Removes any formatting that you applied to the selected cell. ✦ Delete Cell Contents: Deletes any text or block in the current cell. ✦ Merge Cells: Merges two or more cells together. You can choose to merge all of the selected cells into one cell, to merge them by row, or to merge them by column. ✦ Unmerge Cells: Unmerges merged cells and recreates all of the original cells. ✦ Properties: Opens the Properties palette so that you can change the cell’s properties. When you edit a table, column and row headers appear so that you can easily refer to cells in your formulas. You can change the background color of these headers to make the text clearer. Select a table, right-click and choose Table Color Indicator. You can then choose a color in the Select Color dialog box. You can select multiple cells and apply changes to those cells. To select multiple cells, use one of the following techniques: ✦ Click inside one cell and drag over the other cells that you want to select. Release the mouse button at the last cell. ✦ Click inside one cell, hold down Shift, and click inside the last cell that you want to select. To enter the same text in multiple cells, select the cells. Then open the Properties palette and enter the text in the Contents item. The text appears in all of the selected cells. When you select multiple cells, you can also merge the cells. Right-click and choose Merge Cells from the shortcut menu. By merging cells, you can create fairly complex table structures. You can also edit tables using grips. To understand editing tables with grips, imagine that the left side of the table is the stable side, while the right side of the table is the flexible side. The top-left grip is the base point for the entire table. You can do the following edits with grips: ✦ Upper-left grip: Moves the entire table. ✦ Upper-right grip: Stretches the table horizontally. As you change the width of the table, the columns also stretch proportionally. ✦ Lower-left grip: Stretches the table vertically. As you change the height of the table, the rows also stretch proportionally. ✦ Lower-right grip: Stretches the table both vertically and horizontally. The columns and rows adjust proportionally. ✦ Top-of-column grip: Adjusts the width of the column to the left of the grip. The entire table adjusts accordingly. If you press Ctrl while moving a column grip, the adjacent columns adjust, but the width of the table remains unchanged. You can export a table to comma-delimited ( .csv) format. You can then open the table data with a database or spreadsheet program. To export a table, follow these steps: Tip 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 349 350 Part II ✦ Drawing in Two Dimensions 1. Select the table. 2. Right-click and choose Export. 3. In the Export Data dialog box, choose a name and location for the file. 4. Click Save. The drawing used in the following exercise on creating tables, ab13-c.dwg, is in the Results folder on the CD-ROM. STEPS: Creating Tables 1. Open ab13-c.dwg from the CD-ROM. This is the same drawing used in the previous exercise. 2. Save the file as ab13-06.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder. 3. Choose Table from the Draw toolbar. (If the Draw toolbar is not displayed, right- click any toolbar and choose Draw from the list of toolbars.) In the Insert Table dialog box, click the Ellipsis button to the right of the Table Style Name drop-down list. 4. In the Table Style dialog box, click New. In the Create New Table Style dialog box, enter AcreageSchedule in the New Style Name text box. The Start With text box should read Standard. Click Continue. The New Table Style dialog box opens. 5. From the Text Style drop-down list, choose ROMANS. In the Text Height text box, enter 12.5. Because you want the numbers in the table to be right-aligned, choose Middle Right from the Alignment drop-down list. In the Cell Margins section, change both the Horizontal and Vertical text box values to 5. 6. Click the Column Heads tab. Make sure that the Include Header Row check box is checked. Again, set the Text Style to ROMANS and the Text Height to 12.5. Leave the alignment as Middle Center. 7. Click the Title tab. Make sure that the Include Title Row check box is checked. Make the following changes: • Text Style: ROMANT (for a different look). • Text Height: 13.5 to make the title text bigger than the rest of the table text. • Text Color: Click the Text Color drop-down list and choose Select Color. From the Select Color dialog box, choose the lightest gray color (254) on the Index Color tab. Click OK to return to the New Table Style dialog box. • Fill Color: Click the Fill Color drop-down list and choose Blue. • Grid Color: In the Border Properties section, click the Grid Color drop-down list and choose Blue to match the fill. Click the All Borders button. 8. Click OK to return to the Table Style dialog box and click Set Current. Then click Close to return to the Insert Table dialog box. 9. In the Insertion Behavior section of the dialog box, make sure that the insertion behav- ior is set to Specify insertion point. In the Columns & Row Settings section, set the number of columns to 2 and the column width to 100. Set the number of data rows to 5. The row height should be 1. Then click OK. On the CD-ROM 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 350 351 Chapter 13 ✦ Creating Text 10. In your drawing, pick an insertion point anywhere in the lower-right area of the draw- ing. The In-Place Text Editor opens. Because you need to zoom in first, click anywhere outside the editor and do a ZOOM Window around the table. Then double-click the table to open the In-Place Text Editor again with the cursor in the title cell. To zoom in without exiting the In-Place Text Editor, you can use the wheel of your mouse (if you have one). I explain how to zoom using the mouse wheel in “The ZOOM Command” in Chapter 8. 11. Complete the data for the four plats as shown in Figure 13-23, pressing Tab to go from cell to cell. 12. Type Total in the last row. Right-click the cell and choose Justification➪ Middle Left from the shortcut menu. 13. Click anywhere outside the In-Place Text Editor and then click the lower-right cell to select it. Right-click the cell and choose Insert Formula ➪ Sum from the shortcut menu. 14. At the Select first corner of table cell range: prompt, click anywhere inside cell B3. At the Select second corner of table cell range: prompt, click anywhere inside cell B6. Press Enter. Your table should look like Figure 13-23. Figure 13-23: The plat acreage table. 15. Save your drawing. Inserting Fields Most drawings contain information about the drawing, such as the last date it was revised, the person who saved the drawing, or the sheet number in a sheet set. Draft plots often con- tain additional information such as the time and drawing name. You may also want to insert information about drawing objects, such as the area or circumference of a circle. Fields store information and allow you to insert it into a drawing. You can also place fields in block attributes, which I discuss in Chapter 18. When your drawing changes, you can update the fields to keep them current. Fields are not available in AutoCAD LT. If you open an AutoCAD drawing with fields in AutoCAD LT, the fields display and update properly, unless you have changed the value of the FIELDEVAL system variable to disable updating in certain situations. You can insert fields anywhere that you might normally use text. As you start using fields, you’ll think of many uses for them. You can format the text of a field in the same way that you format any multiline text. Tip 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 351 352 Part II ✦ Drawing in Two Dimensions Sfld creates custom fields. Look in \Software\Chapter 13\sfld. Creating fields To create a new field as a multiline text object, you can use two methods: ✦ Choose Insert ➪ Field (the FIELD command). ✦ Open the In-Place Text Editor or any other text box where you can enter text, right-click in the editor or text box, and choose Insert ➪ Field from the shortcut menu. Whichever method you use, the Field dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 13-24. Figure 13-24: Use the Field dialog box to choose, format, and insert a field into your drawing. Here you see the options for the Date field. The Field dialog box offers a huge variety of fields. To give you an idea of the possibilities, here are the available categories of fields: Date & Time: Offers various formats for inserting dates and times. Document: Relates to data that you complete in the Properties dialog box. (Choose File ➪ Drawing Properties.) Linked: Creates a field from a hyperlink. Objects: Offers properties relating to block attributes (that you insert from the Block Editor), formulas in tables, named objects (such as named views, layers, blocks, and so on), and objects (any object that you select). On the CD-ROM 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 352 353 Chapter 13 ✦ Creating Text Other: Displays values of AutoLISP variables and system variables. Plot: Displays plot-related information such as scale, sheet size, and orientation. SheetSet: Displays values relating to sheet sets. Note that there are two date-related fields. The CreateDate field creates a date based on the current date. This field does not change if you open the drawing on a future date. For exam- ple, you can use this field to show the last time a drawing was updated. The Date field always shows the current date. To insert a field, follow these steps: 1. Choose a field category from the Field Category drop-down list. You can use the All cat- egory to display all of the fields. The other categories help you to filter the fields, so that you can more easily find the field that you want. 2. From the Field Names list, choose the field that you want to use. 3. Depending on the field that you choose, you can usually select a format or example for the field. For example, you can choose a date format (such as m/d/yyyy) or a text for- mat (such as title case). 4. Click OK. • If you opened the Field dialog box by choosing Insert ➪ Field, the MTEXT com- mand starts, and you see the Specify start point or [Height/Justify]: prompt. Pick a start point or use one of the options. • If you started the MTEXT command first, the value of the field appears in the In- Place Text Editor. Click OK on the editor’s main toolbar to place the text. By default, fields appear in your drawing with a gray background. This background doesn’t plot. If you want, you can remove the background by choosing Tools➪ Options and clicking the User Preferences tab. In the Fields section, uncheck the Display Background of Fields check box. Click OK to close the Options dialog box. I cover the Properties dialog box and sheet sets in Chapter 26. For more information about hyperlinks, see Chapter 28. Figure 13-25 shows an example of a title block that uses fields. Figure 13-25: Filling in a title block is easier when you use fields. Cross- Reference 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 353 354 Part II ✦ Drawing in Two Dimensions Editing and updating fields To edit a field, double-click the field’s text to open the In-Place Text Editor. Select the text, right-click, and choose Edit field. The Field dialog box opens. You edit a field in the same way that you define the field originally. When you’re done, click OK. The field is reevaluated imme- diately. Close the In-Place Text Editor to place the edited field. By default, a field is evaluated and updated, if necessary, whenever you open, save, plot, eTransmit, or regenerate a drawing. (See Chapter 28 for information on eTransmitting a draw- ing.) You can change when AutoCAD updates a field by choosing Tools➪ Options and clicking the User Preferences tab. In the Fields section, click Field Update Settings. Check or uncheck the items that you want, and then click Apply & Close. Click OK to close the Options dialog box. You can manually update a field if you want. For example, you may have an object field that displays the radius of a circle. If you resize the circle, you probably want to update the field. To update a field, double-click the field to open the In-Place Text Editor. Select the text, right- click, and choose Update Field. Close the In-Place Text Editor to return to your drawing. Another method is to select the field and choose Tools➪ Update Fields. You can select as many fields as you want. To update all of the fields in a drawing, press Ctrl+A to select all of the objects in your draw- ing and choose Tools➪ Update Fields. You can convert a field to text. Double-click the field to open the In-Place Text Editor. Select the text in the field, right-click and choose Convert Field to Text. What happens to fields when you open a 2006 or 2007 drawing in a previous release of AutoCAD? The fields display at their last value in the newer drawing but are not updated. The drawing used in the following exercise on using fields, ab13-d.dwg, is in the Drawing folder on the CD-ROM. STEPS: Using Fields 1. Open ab13-d.dwg from your CD-ROM. Save the file as ab13-07.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder. This drawing is zoomed in on the title block. 2. To set some of the drawing properties, choose File ➪ Drawing Properties. (I cover the Properties dialog box in Chapter 26.) On the Summary tab, type the following in the Title field: 6" thru 12" 2727 EPV Valves. 3. On the Custom tab, click Add. Enter the following two fields and values: Drafter Enter your initials Dwg No SK-1972 4. Click OK to return to your drawing. 5. Choose Multiline Text from the Draw toolbar. Pick two boundary points within the Title box of the title block. The In-Place Text Editor opens. Right-click and choose Insert Field to open the Field dialog box. On the CD-ROM Tip 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 354 355 Chapter 13 ✦ Creating Text 6. From the Field Category drop-down list, choose Document. From the Field Names list, choose Title. From the Format list, choose Title Case. Click OK. Click anywhere outside the In-Place Text Editor to place the field. 7. Again choose Multiline Text from the Draw toolbar. Pick two boundary points within the Dwg No box of the title block. In the In-Place Text Editor, right-click and choose Insert Field to open the Field dialog box. 8. From the Field Names list, choose Dwg No. Click OK. Click anywhere outside the In- Place Text Editor to place the field. 9. Again choose Multiline Text from the Draw toolbar. Pick two boundary points within the Date box of the title block. In the In-Place Text Editor, right-click and choose Insert Field. 10. From the Field Category drop-down list, choose Date & Time. From the Field Names list, choose CreateDate. From the Format list, choose M/d/yy. Click OK. Click anywhere out- side the In-Place Text Editor to place the field. 11. Save your drawing. The title block should look like Figure 13-26. Figure 13-26: The title block after adding some fields. Managing Text Text is a complex object type that increases your drawing size and adds redraw and regenera- tion time. The more-complex fonts, such as the TrueType fonts, can have a significant impact on how long it takes to open and save a file. The techniques described in this section help you to manage text and improve performance while editing your drawing. Using Quicktext The QTEXT command replaces all text with rectangles that approximate the placement of the original text, as shown in Figure 13-27. All text objects, including dimensions, attributes, and tolerances, are affected. To use QTEXT, type qtext ↵ on the command line. Type on ↵ to dis- play the rectangles; type off ↵ to return to regular text. Then type regen ↵ at the command line. Quicktext takes effect only after a regeneration; it does not apply to OLE objects that you have pasted into a drawing from the Windows Clipboard (see Chapter 27). 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 355 356 Part II ✦ Drawing in Two Dimensions Figure 13-27: A drawing with QTEXT on. Rectangles have replaced all of the text. Thanks to Rod Greer of R. G. Greer Design, Inc., Fergus, Ontario, for this drawing. Using AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT fonts AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT fonts are simpler than TrueType fonts, and AutoCAD fonts also have a range of complexity. The simplest font is txt.shx, which is the font used by the default Standard text style. You can easily define a text style using an AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT font and then change the font to something nicer just before plotting. Be aware that the text may take up more or less space than before. When your drawing cannot find the specified font, it uses an alternate font. This may happen if you receive a drawing from someone else that uses a custom or third-party font that you don’t have. You can specify the alternate font by choosing Tools➪ Options and clicking the plus sign next to Text Editor, Dictionary, and Font File Names on the Files tab. Choose Alternate Font File to specify the alternate font, which is simplex.shx by default. You can further control the fonts used in your drawing by customizing the Font Mapping File, acad.fmp. The format is current_font; font_to_substitute. (You need to use the actual filenames of the fonts.) To substitute a simpler font for the Arial Black font, you can add the following line: Ariblk.ttf;simplex.shx To find the Windows TrueType fonts, look in the Fonts subfolder of your Windows folder. To find acad.fmp, choose Tools ➪ Options and click the File tab. Double-click Text Editor, Dictionary, and Font File Names. Double-click Font Mapping File. Click the path list to view the location of acad.fmp. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT only read the font-mapping file when you open a new drawing, so that any changes that you make are effective only after you start a new drawing. Freezing text layers Freezing text layers can reduce regeneration time dramatically; this is a good reason to give text its own layer. Don’t forget to freeze dimension text, as well. Dimensions (see Chapter 14) are usually placed on a separate layer. Note 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 356 357 Chapter 13 ✦ Creating Text Using MIRRTEXT When you mirror sections of your drawing that include text, you usually don’t want any back- ward text (unless you’re Alice going through the looking glass). The MIRRTEXT system vari- able controls whether text is mirrored or retains its normal orientation. The default value for MIRRTEXT is off, so that mirrored text is not backward. The text is copied to the mirrored location, but reads from left to right (if that’s the direction of the language that you’re using). If you do want to mirror the text, type mirrtext ↵. At the New value for MIRRTEXT <0>: prompt, type 1 ↵ to turn MIRRTEXT on. This system variable is saved with the drawing, and so you may still need to change it when you open older drawings. The drawing used in the following exercise on managing text, ab13-e.dwg, is in the Drawings folder on the CD-ROM. STEPS: Managing Text 1. Open ab13-e.dwg from your CD-ROM. 2. Save the file as ab13-08.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder. This is a small section of an electrical schematic, as shown in Figure 13-28. Make sure that ORTHO and OSNAP are on, and set running snaps for endpoint, midpoint, and intersection. Figure 13-28: A section of an electrical schematic. 3. Type qtext ↵. At the Enter mode [ON/OFF] <OFF>: prompt, type on_ ↵. Type regen ↵. The command replaces the text with rectangles. 4. Type qtext ↵. At the Enter mode [ON/OFF] <ON>: prompt, type off ↵. Type regen ↵. Your original text reappears. 5. Start the MIRROR command. Follow the prompts: Select objects: Start a window by picking 2 in Figure 13-21. Specify opposite corner: Pick 1. Press Enter to end object selection. Specify first point of mirror line: Use the Midpoint running object snap to pick the midpoint at 3. 51 3 2 On the CD-ROM 20_788864 ch13.qxp 5/22/06 7:16 PM Page 357 [...]... folder on the CD-ROM On the CD-ROM STEPS: Drawing Aligned Dimensions 1 Open ab 1 4- b.dwg from your CD-ROM 2 Save the file as ab1 4- 0 2.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder This is part of a floor plan of a house, as shown in Figure 1 4- 9 OSNAP should be on Set running object snaps to endpoint and intersection If the Dimension toolbar isn’t visible, right-click any toolbar and choose Dimension Figure 1 4- 9 : A section... exercise on drawing radial, diameter, and angular dimensions, ab 1 4- c.dwg, is in the Drawings folder on the CD-ROM On the CD-ROM STEPS: Drawing Radial, Diameter, and Angular Dimensions 1 Open ab 1 4- c.dwg from your CD-ROM 2 Save the file as ab1 4- 0 4. dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder This is a view of a bearing housing for an industrial washing machine, as shown in Figure 1 4- 1 8 OSNAP should be on Set running... Dimensions 1 Open ab 1 4- b.dwg from your CD-ROM 2 Save the file as ab1 4- 0 3.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder This is the same drawing used in the previous two exercises, as shown in Figure 1 4- 1 2 OSNAP should be on with running object snaps for endpoint and intersection If the Dimension toolbar isn’t visible, right-click any toolbar and choose Dimension 3 Turn on ORTHO and OTRACK on the status bar 4 Choose Linear... you’re dimensioning and click when you see the tooltip showing the snap point you chose The dimension goes just where you need it On the CD-ROM The drawing used in the following exercise on drawing linear dimensions, ab 1 4- a.dwg, is in the Drawings folder on the CD-ROM STEPS: Drawing Linear Dimensions 1 Open ab 1 4- a.dwg from your CD-ROM 2 Save the file as ab1 4- 0 1.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible folder This is... Figure 1 4- 1 2 Press Enter twice to end the command 9 Save your drawing It should look like Figure 1 4- 1 3 Figure 1 4- 1 3: The floor plan with baseline and continued dimensions 377 21_7888 64 ch 14. qxp 378 5/22/06 7:21 PM Page 378 Part II 3 Drawing in Two Dimensions Dimensioning Arcs and Circles When you dimension an arc or a circle, you measure its radius or diameter It’s also common to mark arc and circle... line origin or : Choose 1 in Figure 1 4- 9 Specify second extension line origin: Choose 2 in Figure 1 4- 9 Specify dimension line location or 373 21_7888 64 ch 14. qxp 3 74 5/22/06 7:21 PM Page 3 74 Part II 3 Drawing in Two Dimensions [Mtext/Text/Angle]: Right-click and choose Mtext In the In-Place Text Editor, press the End key on the keyboard and type a space, then type Typ Click OK Specify dimension... line location or [Mtext/Text/Angle/Horizontal/Vertical/Rotated]: prompt, the In-Place Text Editor opens, as shown in Figure 1 4- 5 369 21_7888 64 ch 14. qxp 370 5/22/06 7:21 PM Page 370 Part II 3 Drawing in Two Dimensions Figure 1 4- 4 : The bedroom with two linear dimensions Figure 1 4- 5 : Changing the dimension text with the In-Place Text Editor The best use of the MText option is to add some text before or... you can right-click and choose Undo to undo the previous dimension You can also press Enter at any time and select a different dimension from which to work Press Esc to end the command (or press Enter twice) The drawing used in the following exercise on drawing baseline and continued dimensions, ab 1 4- b.dwg, is in the Drawings folder on the CD-ROM On the CD-ROM STEPS: Drawing Baseline and Continued... Figure 1 4- 3 ORTHO and OSNAP should be on Set a running object snap for endpoint only OTRACK should be off The current layer should be set to Dim 3 To display the Dimension toolbar, right-click any toolbar Click Dimension If you want, drag the toolbar to the top or bottom of your screen until it docks 21_7888 64 ch 14. qxp 5/22/06 7:21 PM Page 369 Chapter 14 3 Drawing Dimensions 2 3 4 Figure 1 4- 3 : A bedroom... case, and toggle case Finding Text in Your Drawing In a large, complex drawing with a lot of text, you may have difficulty finding specific text that you need to edit The FIND command lets you find and replace text anywhere in your drawing — not only single-line text and multiline text but also text in tables, block attributes, dimensions, hyperlink descriptions, and hyperlinks To use the FIND command, . fonts AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT fonts are simpler than TrueType fonts, and AutoCAD fonts also have a range of complexity. The simplest font is txt.shx, which is the font used by the default Standard. Options and click the File tab. Double-click Text Editor, Dictionary, and Font File Names. Double-click Font Mapping File. Click the path list to view the location of acad.fmp. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. the Results folder on the CD-ROM. STEPS: Creating Tables 1. Open ab13-c.dwg from the CD-ROM. This is the same drawing used in the previous exercise. 2. Save the file as ab1 3-0 6.dwg in your AutoCAD Bible