Annotate

Create notes, labels, bubbles, and callouts. Save and restore style settings by name.

You create general notes using the MTEXT command (or enter MT in the Command window), which stands for multiline text. The multiline text tool is available on the Text panel of the Drafting tab.

After you start the MTEXT command, you are prompted to create a "text box" with two diagonal clicks.

The exact size of the text box is not that important. After you specify the text box, the In-Place Text Editor is displayed and you can easily change the length and width of the note before, during, or after typing the text.

All the usual controls are available in the In-Place Editor, including tabs, indents, and columns. Also notice that when you start the MTEXT command, the Text Editor visor displays which includes many options such as text styles, columns, spell checking, and so on.

• To exit the text editor after you finish entering the text, click anywhere outside it.
• To edit a note, simply double-click it to open the text editor.

Tip: You can use the Properties Inspector palette to control the text style used for one or more selected multiline text objects. For example, after selecting five notes that use different styles, click the Style drop-down and choose a style from the list.

Create a Text Style

As with several other annotation features, multiline text provides a lot of settings. You can save these settings as a text style using the STYLE command, and then you can access the text styles you've saved by clicking the Text Style drop-down arrow on the Properties Inspector palette. The current text style is displayed on the Properties Inspector palette when no objects are selected.

To create a new text style, click the Text Style control on the Drafting toolset as shown.

When you create a new text style, you give it a name, and then choose a font and a font style.

Tip: Save any new or changed text styles in your drawing template files. This will save you a lot of time by making them available in all new drawings.

Multileaders

Multileader objects are used to create text with leader lines such as general labels, reference labels, bubbles, and callouts.

Create a Multileader

To create a multileader, use the MLEADER command. Click the Multileader tool in the Leader panel of the Drafting toolset , or enter MLD in the Command window. Follow the prompts and options in the Command window. Feel free to experiment.

After you create a multileader, select it and then modify it by clicking and moving its grips.

Grip menus appear when you hover over arrowhead and leader grips. From these menus, you can add leader segments or additional leaders.

You can edit the text in a multileader by double-clicking it.

Create a Multileader Style

You can create your own multileader styles from the Leader panel, or by entering MLEADERSTYLE in the Command window.

For example, to create a "detail callout" style, start the MLEADERSTYLE command. In the Multileader Style Manager, click Add and choose a descriptive name for the new multileader style. Click Content (1), choose Block (2), and then Detail Callout (3) as shown.

Note: As with text styles, once you create one or more multileader styles, save them in your drawing template files.