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Kind of embarrassing to admit that as an 18 year DC user I have never used Mtext or Ptext.

Today I had to build a General Notes page and thought OK it's time I learned.

However it was very disappointing to find zero references to either Mtext or Ptext in the DC Manual index.

So I have been searching threads in this forum but have found not much in the way of how to use Mtext or Ptext. One thing I gleaned from the threads is you can edit Mtext by ctrl-rt-click. Is there anywhere I can look for full instructions on how to use these tools?

I have seen a multitude of posts from ten years ago suggesting DC incorporate tab functionality into Mtext but all the threads seem to end up going off topic. Did this issue ever get resolved?

Used up half a day on this and it looks like the fastest way to get my General Notes done is using plain ol' text.

Building the schoolhouse was a great way to get started with DC but since then I have learned the most about this program from this forum and by trial and error, mostly error. Is it time to blow up the old manual and write a brand new one to help us get the most out of what DataCAD has to offer?

You should be able to find more info on this searching in the Revision History and What's New documents.

Fastest way I know to edit text is use a keyboard macro. Here's mine that I use for ALT+U

U^;^f0^s8^s2^f1^$^
U *** Change | Text > Contents

PText & MText - Use CTRL+Enter to close the edit window

Try ALT+09 on Numpad for TAB (that's not working for me, maybe there's another character code for tab?)

Thanx for the hints, Joseph.

I reviewed the Revision Histories and What's New? and learned a couple of new things, for example KNOCKOUT.

This reinforces my belief that there is so much power in DC that I have no idea how to access, that could be addressed in an expanded, up-to-date manual.

Another question I had is can regular text be converted to Mtext? By searching the forum I found a post from 2011 titled "Old Text --> ParaText or MText" that explains the process. Thank you to the forum (again)

joeferguson wrote:Kind of embarrassing to admit that as an 18 year DC user I have never used Mtext or Ptext.

Today I had to build a General Notes page and thought OK it's time I learned.

However it was very disappointing to find zero references to either Mtext or Ptext in the DC Manual index.

So I have been searching threads in this forum but have found not much in the way of how to use Mtext or Ptext. One thing I gleaned from the threads is you can edit Mtext by ctrl-rt-click. Is there anywhere I can look for full instructions on how to use these tools?

I have seen a multitude of posts from ten years ago suggesting DC incorporate tab functionality into Mtext but all the threads seem to end up going off topic. Did this issue ever get resolved?

Used up half a day on this and it looks like the fastest way to get my General Notes done is using plain ol' text.

Building the schoolhouse was a great way to get started with DC but since then I have learned the most about this program from this forum and by trial and error, mostly error. Is it time to blow up the old manual and write a brand new one to help us get the most out of what DataCAD has to offer?

Hello Joe,

For most text that you would use plain text for, you will want to use ParaText (PText). It uses the same fonts, or it can use TTF fonts. It gives you the ability to do a paragraph(s) as a single entity - and you can resize it as needed. I.E. make it 2 lines rather than 3+ or make it more lines, rather than fewer. You can add/delete text from the middle of the note and it will "reflow" the whole thing.

There is almost nothing that you need to use plain text for, that ParaText can't do, or do better.

MText is available for when PText isn't enough - which for us is pretty rarely. Indexed text even can be mimicked in PText. The things that MText can do that are unique:

Have more than one size/style of font in on entity - so different sizes of text, different fonts, underlined/italicized/bold within the one text entity.

You can change the color of text within the one entity. This is great for "hiding" text you are not needing to print, by making it you non-print color; in a boiler plate note that is not needed for a project.

That's about it.

I should mention Text Scale - you may want to learn about this, if you don't already use it.

Neil

Kind of embarrassing to admit that as an 18 year DC user I have never used Mtext or Ptext.

I've been a Datacad user for over 30-years and I still find Mtext and Ptext a mystery. I just cheat and issue specifications and general notes as a Doc in letter-size attached to the drawings.