Controlling Annotative Text Display in AutoCAD
Annotation text objects in AutoCAD are used in drawings to determine text height or the overall scale of an annotation text object. An annotative object whether it be text or a block is set to a scale in model space at a particular paper height then when the viewport scale is changed the object changes its scale based off that factor.
If the annotative property of an annotation object is enabled, the text height or scale of the annotation object adjusts based on the current drawing annotation or layout viewport scale with the result that it will remain at the same size automatically.
Annotative Objects continue to be key learning component for many AutoCAD users. For Civil 3D users all our labels and styles are annotative which means the concept becomes more of a natural workflow.
There are two commands (one system variable) that I find helpful when working with Annotative objects. The first is the system variable SELECTIONANNODISPLAY. This variable will control the “faded visibility” or multiple scales showing up when you select the text or object as shown below.
The default value is set at 1, change the system variable to 0 and your multiple annotative scales will not appear.
Many times we want to see those different object scales giving us the visual display to help determine if the location is correct at an alternate scale. If you want the text and/or leader to be pointing at the same spot in all places then you must reset the annotative object. This can be controlled by Synchronizing Multiple-scale options as shown below.
- Select your object (text shown below)
- From the menu select Annotative Object Scale
- Select Synchronize Multiple-scale Positions.
This will reset the location of all the annotative scales to align with the current scale selected.
This year at Autodesk University 2021 I taught Professional Tips and Techniques using the Sheet Set Manager in AutoCAD. Extremely faced paced and a very fun class. If you get a chance check out the video here and download the materials from this session and my previous two sessions on Sheet Sets.
If the community keeps up the interest I will propose to present all of the tips and tricks I have learned over the past 6 years of teaching Sheet Sets at AU. There are some changes coming and by the time we meet again next year we can dive into those and discover the most productive workflow needed to make our daily lives easier.
Have a great weekend wherever in the World you may be.
Stay healthy and safe – Sam
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