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#81793 by DavidBergman
Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:26 pm
I know this topic came up as part of one of my recent queries here, and apologies for the newbie-type questions.... I'm just now really coming back into using CAD and, specifically, Datacad after a hiatus in which I wasn't doing much in the way of CDs and am having trouble wrapping my head around text scale and dimension scale as well as other related areas such as symbol sizes. I've perused the manual, but somehow this is escaping me. At this point I think I should start from scratch and get things set up correctly. Can someone point me to some sort of tutorial where I can see how to set up text and dimensions so they scale properly at different print scales? Similarly with symbol sizes. If, for instance, I have a plan that I intend to print at 1/4" - 1'-0" and also a enlarged section of it for a detail at , say 3/4" = 1'-0", I should be able to get text to come out the right size (say 1/8") for each of those using Text Scale, right? What should my text size be set to? As I (maybe) understand it, I'd be setting a GTV at the desired scale, and the text for each print scale would be on separate layers?

Am I on the right path? And then, do I set up a dimension style similarly?

I imagine this is covered somewhere in the manual, and I'd happily learn it that way, but for some reason I'm not seeing it. Hence my throwing my hands up in despair - while trying to multitask with tons of other unrelated work - and turning here for direction.

Years ago, I had a couple of how-to books aside from the manual (Michael Smith's in particular but Carol Buehrens as well), but those are, unfortunately long gone.

Thanks!
#81794 by Neil Blanchard
Mon Dec 12, 2022 4:56 pm
Hi David,

The way that Text Scale works, and how it works for dims as well - is you first set the intended plot scale for what you are drawing. Then with Text Scale toggled on, you set the sizes of the text (and all the dim settings) to what you want them to be on the paper / plotted sheet.

And for Symbol Scale, you need to have the symbol drawn (in the symbol editor) to the size you want it to be on the paper. When you have the plot scale set correctly, and then place a symbol with Symbol Scale toggled on - it will be at the correct size to plot the size you want it to be.

In tandem with this, you should toggle on the setting in Program Preferences to save the current plot scale with each GTV. Open a GTV, and change the plot scale to the scale you want, and then Update the GTV. Then every time you open that GTV, you just enter text/dims or place symbols they will be at the correct size.

AND when you place a GTV on an MSP sheet in MultiLayout - it will be at the correct scale.
#81796 by DavidBergman
Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:40 pm
Thanks Neil! What I'm hoping this means is that I can set up the Text typeface and font size once for a project (is there a Text Style I can save similar to the Dimension styles so I don't have to do that for each project?) and then create the GTV before starting to input text.

(It's slightly complicated by the fact that different typefaces are different heights, which drives me crazy.)

And I know that Dimension styles can be preset. So that would be the same approach: save a GTV first, load a Style (or perhaps do that at the start of a project?), and then start dimensioning?

I think the step I've been missing is setting up GTVs first.

Thanks,

David
#81797 by Neil Blanchard
Tue Dec 13, 2022 9:02 am
Yes, this is the big advantage of using Text Scale - you just set the font size as you want on the paper, and change the plot scale and text will be created correctly for that scale. Same goes for Dims - everything is set to the size you want them to be on paper, and when you save the plot scale with each GTV, when you move between GTV, the sizes of everything you create will be the right size.

And I hear you on fonts - SHX are plotted at 75% the size that you set because the line spacing is "built in". The dimension you have for the "size" of the font is actually the line spacing. As it always has been. The real change is when we got TTF fonts - these are plotted at the size you set - and the line spacing is set by the Factor.

This is where I have an issue - when I change from an SHX font to an TTF - the Factor (often/always?) stays at 1.0, so the TTF font has no space between the lines of ParaText ...
#82070 by ORWoody
Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:14 pm
I realize that I am four months late with this answer, but hopefully, it will still be helpful.
When I bumped into a similar need, I just created alias sequences for each text situation that I commonly use. Once I had created a few, it became so simple that thinking up short defining identifiers was almost more problematic than was the writing of each new alias. Finally, it became apparent that linking it to a dimension style would be helpful. In order to do that, I just used the same initial text only alias, but added a 2.
Now, I can type something like "aq6", and all of the settings for 6" Archquik is made transparently. "r12" gives me the roman font in a 12" size.
Being that I use the same font for almost all of my dimensions, the dimension font is unchanged for "aq62". The font size is changed, but not the font.
What I found after creating several variations of certain alias commands was that I had made a lot more than I needed. It just became too easy to quickly add another that ended up being used only once or twice.
Good luck,
Woody

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