AutoCAD LT 2008 - Multiline Text global editing

[chris.dooley]

Hello AUGI,

This is my first post :)

Does anyone know of a way to do global changes to text width on multiline text within a drawing. I am currently editing a drawing which has lots of multiline text, but the text widths are variable and need standardising. There does not seem to be an option to apply global text width changes using the properties toolpalette.

Please save me from having to manually go into each multiline text object and make the changes.

Merci Beaucoup

[chris.dooley]

Come on guys, its been a fortnight and no reply.

Some of you AutoCAD LT gurus must know wether it's possible or not, or a workaround.

Due to necessity, I spent several hours doing the manual changes.

Computers are tools, made and ment to make work more efficient, please help me and fellow AutoCAD LT users from future inefficiency.

[jaberwok]

Have you tried to Match Properties?
Create a new style as you want it and use that at your property source.

[chris.dooley]

Thanks for your suggestion jaberwok,

Unfortunatley the match properties only seems to match the style,layer,text height,color and the other attributes which can be changed globly from the properties toolpallet, and hence i still have the problem of not being able to change the text width.

There seems to be something about multi-line text objects which discludes the global changing of the text width, tracking and oblique angle. (all the 'spin-box' variables)

But any workaround would be greatfully recieved.

[jaberwok]

It worked for me. :screwy:

[chris.dooley]

Before I make a full response Mr Jaberwok, could I ask you what version of AutoCAD did you check my problem on. Are you sure it was AutoCAD LT 2008 ?

Calling someone screwy does not make 2+2=5

[chris.dooley]

This is the small test I tried...

Create 2 text styles, with different text widths

Type a line of multi line text from each of the styles.

Now, try to match properties from one to the other, in AutoCAD LT 2008 & AutoCAD LT 2009 the text width will not apply from one to the other.

However, when I tested on a full version of AutoCAD 2008, the match properties worked fine on the text widths.

As you said, Jaberwok, the text editor between full and LT AutoCAD should work the same. Something is a little screwy here :)

Maybe this small niggle has been fixed on AutoCAD LT 2010, but on the earlier versions that I tested, it has not.

There must be a variable which controls the multi-line text width for each multi-line text object. Maybe it would be possible to write a small custom program to change this variable. I'd give it a go myself, if I knew what this variable was.

[jaberwok]

I've still got 2009LT here - I'll try reloading it tomorrow and give it a try.

[kate.morrical61357]

I just tested your procedure in LT 2008 & LT 2010 and it worked fine in both programs. Are you sure that your width factor wasn't applied after the fact, i.e. inside the text editor? That's the only scenario I could find where match properties wouldn't update the width (it can't handle formatting codes).

[jaberwok]

I've still got 2009LT here - I'll try reloading it tomorrow and give it a try.

Ah well. 2009LT simply will not run usefully on my spare machine.

[jaberwok]

~Bump~

Chris, have you taken note of Kate's answer?

[nextvkin]

If you're still there - how about using quickselect & select all mtext NOT EQUAL to what you want, then make the selection what you want using the properties dialog box.

[Shinyhead]

Sounds like you have text that has had its width modified after its creation inside the multiline editor mixed with some that was edited elsewhere.

Unfortunately there is not a way in LT to modify them globally when they are mixed this way.

I would look for someone with full willing to use lisp to modify these, that or allow some time for digging through things and fixing them one at a time.

Then of course make sure that people do not modify width factors inside the editor window.

[scott.hodges]

I've just upgraded to AutoCAD LT 2010 and I had not noticed this before, but my properties box has the defined width section "greyed out" and will not allow editing of the width of multiline text objects this way, which is not how previous versions worked. I had often used the properties box to match the width of text boxes. I just checked LT 2006 and it permitted selecting multiple mtext objects and adjusting the text, similar with LT 2002.

[Shinyhead]

I've just upgraded to AutoCAD LT 2010 and I had not noticed this before, but my properties box has the defined width section "greyed out" and will not allow editing of the width of multiline text objects this way, which is not how previous versions worked. I had often used the properties box to match the width of text boxes. I just checked LT 2006 and it permitted selecting multiple mtext objects and adjusting the text, similar with LT 2002.


Scott,
My 2010 does the same thing. When we have found that problem before we had to use a station with full to fix them.

I now tell people not to mess with width factor. I would rather them create a narrower/wider style and apply it. That way you can simply change or edit the text style, which is easily accomplished in LT, whereas the width factor has to be changed for each object individually.

Here is a question, if none of the text entities have a local width override ( look for \W in the contents part of the property box), then you may be able to edit the text style. You need to decide if this will work in your situation (for instance if not all mtext of that style needs modification).

If you can easily select the text that needs modification AND it is not overridden locally, just change the style definition. For instance, say your base style is called ariel, and you need a narrower version, create 'narrowariel' and set its width to say .75. Then set those entities to that text style. A bit of a longshot, but it may help.

Hope this gives some aid to your situation, I have banged my head against that wall a few times.

-Chris

[jsmith.88513]

Hello AUGI,

This is my first post :)

Does anyone know of a way to do global changes to text width on multiline text within a drawing. I am currently editing a drawing which has lots of multiline text, but the text widths are variable and need standardising. There does not seem to be an option to apply global text width changes using the properties toolpalette.

Please save me from having to manually go into each multiline text object and make the changes.

Merci Beaucoup

I'm running AutoCAD 2010 and I just found the answer to this problem; this may also apply to AutoCAD 2010 LT.

There is a new feature in the Mtext command set. You can now have columns in an mtext object. The choices are: dynamic columns, which reset themselves as you resize the mtext object; manual columns, which setting allows you to set the length of columns separately within the same mtext object, and; no columns. The default setting for mtext columns is for dynamic columns.

Having columns available in Mtext now overrides the defined width setting in the Properties pallete. With the Columns feature on, you can't access the Defined Width entry in the Properties pallete. What you CAN do is go to the Columns entry (at the bottom of the Text section of the Properties pallete for your Mtext object), click on the extension box with the ellipses in it, and access the Columns menu. There you can enter a width in the Column Width box, and define the width of your Mtext object(s) that way. Or, in the Column Type area of the menu, click on the No Columns buttom to do away with columns altogether. You weren't using them anyway, were you?

You've probably never used or even heard of this feature, because you weren't expecting it, and it isn't listed in the readily available documentation as far as I know. So since you generally DON'T EVEN NEED IT, you can turn off Columns altogether for your future Mtext objects pretty easily.

Enter MTEXTCOLUMN (a system variable) at the command line. The command line will probably return a default setting of 2. The choices are: 0 = No columns, 1 = Manual columns, and 2 = Dynamic columns. Set MTEXTCOLUMN to 0, and you will now have access to the Define Width entry in the Properties pallete for future Mtext objects. Since this setting is saved in the Registry, it will stay this way from now on until you change it. You WILL have to change the settings for your EXISTING Mtext objects, however, which you can do through the Columns menu accessed through the Columns entry in the Properties pallete, as above.

Hope that helps!

[hasan.danash441120]

i need a lisp that can allow me to do everything the multiline style can do but the fill options is that i can choose between which elements different colors, and to draw a dimension with the text override is the multiline style name

please help