field mask not working in plot

[erik795805]

Hi there,

I have an attribute block with a field that updates automatically the y-value, to indicate the height in sections and facades of buildings. I didn't make it myself but I use it for many years now.
The automatically updated text has a mask function that hides the underlying elements for maximum visibility. This still displays correct on screen (grey area behind text), but for some reason my pdf outputs do not: the mask function doesn't work anymore.
Other text objects and my dimensions which have masks too still work perfect. I didn't change the attribute block nor have I changed any settings or variables. I spent an hour on Google to find a solution but nothing came up. I use LT2018

Thanks in advance!

[cadtag]

The grey you are seeing on screen in not a mask, it's a visual indicator that the the text displayed is a field,

To ensure that a the attribute is masked, Edit the block, verify that the attribute is multiline, and apply a background mask in the block editor.

[erik795805]

Thanks Cadtag, I didn't know that it was just a field indicator.
However, like i said: I use this block for quite some time and it always worked like it should. It's a mystery to me why the text mask has stopped functioning.
I know how to apply a new mask to plain text by right-clicking, but can't figure out how to do this with field text. I get an 'edit attribute definition' dialog when trying to adjust the text within the block editor (it consists of a drawn symbol with the text above it).
So I'm not sure whether this is multiline or not. There's no option in the properties panel that seems to do what I need. And the txt2mtxt command kills the field functionality...

[cadtag]

You need to edit the Block definition, not just the inserted instance of the block. I don't know about LT, but try using the BEDIT command.

[erik795805]

that's what I was doing...

[cadtag]

Look in the properties dialog for the ATTDEF, under the MISC heading, there is a Mulitple Lines yes/no option, Verify it is Yes,

the double click the ATTDEF, and under Default, hit the ellipsis to enter the Mtext editor, and the downarrow at the right of the text formatting toolbar to ensurre background masking is set

[erik795805]

yes, that worked! I had to use attsync to see it's effect, but problem solved. Thanks for being so patient with me Cadtag

However, still one minor problem: After attsync the text ends somewhat lower then it should. If I make any changes to this block (I want to udpate it's font to our new standard text style, but it goes for every minor adaptation I'm trying), all data changes to ####. Should I figure out how to recreate this field block from scratch or is there a way to tweak this block without my field getting broken?

[tedg]

yes, that worked! I had to use attsync to see it's effect, but problem solved. Thanks for being so patient with me Cadtag

However, still one minor problem: After attsync the text ends somewhat lower then it should. If I make any changes to this block (I want to udpate it's font to our new standard text style, but it goes for every minor adaptation I'm trying), all data changes to ####. Should I figure out how to recreate this field block from scratch or is there a way to tweak this block without my field getting broken?

You should be able to use the same procedure, where you edit the block definition with "bedit" and change the attribute definition properties: location and font etc. and then save it and then attsync.
This should update all instances of the block without breaking the fields.

[erik795805]

I'm afraid it still get's broken... even if I just click 'save' in the block editor without actually changing something, the #### appears after attsync.
I also tried 'save block as', but when I insert the new block, the field functionality just displays '0'
I must be doing something wrong, but I tried everything