AutoCAD 2005 for Dummies

?” = 1’–0”	48	?”	6”
?” = 1’–0”	16	?”	2”
1” = 1’–0”	12	?”	1?”
1 = 100 mm	100	3 mm	300 mm
1 = 50 mm	50	3 mm	150 mm
1 = 20 mm	20	3 mm	60 mm
1 = 10 mm	10	3 mm	30 mm

Figuring out a drawing’s scale factor

If you’re adding text to a drawing that someone else created, you may not immediately know its drawing scale factor. In some cases, making the determination is trivial, whereas in other cases it’s tricky indeed. Here are some methods you can use:

? Ask the creator of the drawing.

? Look for text or a scale bar on the drawing that indicates the scale.

? Use an architectural or engineering scale to measure distances on the plotted drawing, if you have one.

? Check the value of the DIMSCALE (DIMension SCALE) system variable, as described in Chapter 10.

None of these methods is infallible by itself, but by comparing the evidence, you usually can figure out the drawing scale factor with reasonable certainty.

After you know the AutoCAD text height, you can use it to define the height of a text style or of an individual text object. If you assign a nonzero height to a text style (Step 7 in the “Get in style” section, earlier in this chapter), all single-line text strings that you create with that style will use the fixed height. If you leave the text style’s height set to zero, AutoCAD asks you for the text height when you draw each single-line text object.

  This discussion of text height assumes that you’re adding text in model space, which is the most common practice. You may want to add text to a paper space layout — for example, when you draw text in a title block or add a set of sheet notes that doesn’t directly relate to the model space geometry. When you create text in paper space, you specify the actual, plotted height, instead of the scaled-up height.

One line or two?

For historical reasons (namely, because the AutoCAD text capabilities used to be much more primitive than they are now), AutoCAD offers two different kinds of text objects and two corresponding text-drawing commands. Table 9-2 explains the two options.

Table 9-2 The Two Kinds of AutoCAD Text

Text Object	Command	Comments
Paragraph text	mText	Designed for multiple lines, with word-wrapping. AutoCAD keeps the multiple lines together as a single object. Other special formatting, such as hanging indents, is possible.
Single-line text	TEXT	Designed for creating single lines. Although you can press Enter to create more than one line of text, each line becomes a separate text object.

Although you may be inclined to ignore the older single-line text option, it’s worth knowing how to use both kinds of text. The TEXT command is a bit simpler than the mText command, so it’s still useful for entering short, single-line pieces of text such as object labels and one-line notes. And it’s the command of choice for CAD comedians who want to document their one-liners!

Your text will be justified

Both the TEXT and mText commands offer a bewildering array of text justification options — in other words, which way the text flows from the justification point or points that you pick in the drawing. For most purposes, the default Left justification for single-line text or Top Left justification for paragraph text works fine. Occasionally, you may want to use a different justification, such as Centered for labels or