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Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 4:18 pm
by BEMArchitect
Still slowly transitioning to DC18 from 10, and I do not like the text insertion points. How do you turn the things off?

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 4:56 pm
by joshhuggins
Can you post a screenshot of what you are seeing? Not sure what you mean by text insertion points.

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2017 6:49 pm
by MtnArch
Maybe Brady is referring to the grips on the text entity?

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 5:54 pm
by BEMArchitect
Josh: It's the little "+" on the lower left of the text cursor. See screen shot.

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 10:12 pm
by MtnArch
Is it simply the "+" you see on screen that you don't like, or that it's not where you want the text insertion point to be? I've noticed that on some fonts the text insertion point does not coincide with the bottom of the font letters - but I'm guessing that has more to do with the font definition than where Dcad assumes the insertion point to be.

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2017 11:06 pm
by Ted B
I suspect that Datacad is using the individual font's definition of baseline x-height and caps height for bottom, center and top. Our drafting idea of text-height is typically the same as caps height, where computer font-sizes are typically descender-to-ascender height. One problem is often a font may actually output above or below any of these values -- complicated by the Operating System, the display drivers and the printer-drivers -- and some are actually defined exceeding the caps height of the ascender-descender height, particularly "Architect's lettering" fonts that are drawn on the bias and exaggerated. Some font are also designed with built-in "leading" above or below the ascender=descender to create more "white space" between the lines -- similar to Datacad line-factor.

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I find that when looking at a new .ttf-font for use in construction drawings that I have to do a quick style-sheet to look at the actual aspect-factor and spacing-factor of the font as it plots out to compare text-heights versus font point-size or "text size". Typically the dimension-command will osnap to the baseline and cap-height to actually measure the output accurately for comparison. Point-size is roughly similar to the dimension at 1.0 factor and aspect from baseline-to-baseline.

Also the larger the desired text output, the tighter the aspect and spacing factor adjustment to look "correct". The particular font that is my office-standard-text for construction drawings is an architect's-style lettering that is modified to aspect 1.25 and factor 0.85 to look like manual lettering; typically in shift-lock CAPS. If I want "regular" mixed-caps (caps and lower-case), I have to increase the text-height to insure the lower-case remains legible. I don't use Datacad's "all-caps" since I prefer having more control over the text; like brand-names in mixed-caps when the body-text is all-caps, abbreviations or lower-case "x" in (2x4), etc...

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I find that using "architect's-style" lettering, generous line-weight variations and overshoots enlivens CAD drawings for a hand-crafted architectural feel -- versus the rather sterile default Autocad-style -- especially for drawings used by clients and non-professionals. I also have SketchUp Layout set-up similarly for a hand-rendered b&w presentation.

I find that Datacad's "Datacad"-font, "Heavyhand" and "Graphite" fonts are very useful. For a contrast for specs or blocks of text the "Gentium", "Old-style" and "Goudy" font-familes have a comfortable serifed-look. "Apple Garamond Light" and "Franklin Gothic Light" have reputations for being very ink-jet ink efficient.

I also LOVE typewriter fonts for their old-fashioned appearance, "F25 Executive" being a personal favorite for correspondence and transmittals.

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Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:40 am
by BEMArchitect
Alan and others responding:

I don't want to see the "+" at all. It is nothing but distracting, and it didn't show up in DC10. I want to continue using the same font that I have used for years, I dislike changes that have to real benefit, and I feel this is one. I use Avg_tp text.

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:16 am
by MtnArch
This may be one that Dave G. needs to answer - I haven't found a way to turn off that indicator.

Re: Text Insertion Point

PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:36 am
by David A. Giesselman
That Alignment indicator has been there since, at least, DataCAD 11. There is currently no way to suppress it. I could certainly add that option to a future update to v19.

Regards,
Dave