Creating a Free Text

This task explains how to create a text, with possible line wrapping. This text is assigned a frame of unlimited width, even though it may reach the frame boundary. You can set the properties of a text (anchor point, font size, justification, etc.) either before or after creating it.

You will learn how to perform the following operations:

	Creating a Free Text
	Specifying Text Orientation

Creating a Free Text

Open the Brackets_views02.CATDrawing document.

1. Click the Text icon

from the Annotations toolbar.

tbannotations01.gif (1956 bytes)

2. Click where you want to insert the free text on the drawing. A green frame appears, as well as the Text Editor dialog box.

3. If you want to specify the horizontal boundary of the text, drag the frame to where you want to place the boundary. If you want the horizontal boundary to adjust to your text, proceed with the following step.

4. Type your text in the Text Editor dialog box.

The drawing is automatically updated with the text you are typing in the Text Editor dialog box.

	You can copy and paste text from another application. Its layout and properties will not be preserved.
	You cannot copy complex objects (such as tables) from another application.

5. When you are done typing your text, click OK in the Text Editor dialog box, click anywhere on the drawing, or click any command. You can also click the Select icon

: in this case, the text will remain selected so you can change its properties for example.

You can now start setting the properties of the text you just created using the Text Properties toolbar.

Although you can create a text in a view that is not up-to-date, you cannot associate it to geometry. If you try to do so, the following message will appear:

Specifying Text Orientation

You can associate the text to an element and make it parallel to it. To do this, you can do the following:

Go to Tools -> Options-> Drafting -> Annotations tab and check Text in Annotation Creation -> Apply snapping to. From then on, any text you create after having selected an element will be automatically associated to this element.

When the above option is not activated, you can specify when you want to associate a text to an element. To do so, click the Text icon

and then press the shift key while selecting the element you want the text to be associated to. You can then type your text.

You can also make the text vertical. To do this, click the Text icon and then press the ctrl key while clicking in the drawing where you want to create your free text.