To Add General Notes to a Drawing

Create free-standing notes, not attached to a view, symbol, or other object in the drawing.

What's New: 2025

Use Text to add general notes to a drawing.

Note: In drawings, the default text format is controlled by the active standard's object default style. To change the default text format for a drawing or template, modify the text style and object defaults style.

Add a note to a drawing

On the ribbon, click Annotate tab Text panel Text .
In the graphics window, click to place the insertion point for the text box, or drag to define the area of the text box.
In the Format Text dialog box, enter the text in the text box. You can use the options on the dialog box to add symbols, various properties types, and named parameters, or change the text formatting.
Changing the text formatting in the dialog box overrides the text style for this text only. To change the default formatting for all text, modify the specified text style or change the drafting standard to specify a different text style.

Note: Select the Physical Properties - Model property type in the Format Text dialog box to add the model Mass, Density, Volume, and Area in the text. If the displayed value of a physical property is N/A, physical properties of the model are out of date. To update the model, open the model file and choose Manage tab

Update panel

Update Mass .

Tips:

To maintain up-to-date physical properties when you save the model, in the Application Options dialog box, General tab, select Update Physical Properties on save.
If desired, select a pre-defined preset from the drop-down menu located at the top of the dialog box. Or, create a new one. For more information, see To Work with Presets.

Edit a drawing note

You can edit the text or change the symbols or parameters in the note.

Select the note, right-click, and then choose Edit Leader Text from the menu.
In the Format Text dialog box, click in the text box to set the insertion point. You delete or add text, or use the options on the dialog box to add symbols and named parameters or change the text formatting.

Rotate a drawing note

Text is rotated around its insertion point. For example if a note is top-left justified, it rotates around the top left corner.

Use one of the following methods to rotate a note:

Double-click the drawing note, and in the Format Text dialog box, enter a value in the Rotation Angle field.
Right-click the note and select Rotate 90 CW (clockwise) or Rotate 90 CCW (counterclockwise).
Select the note, and drag the blue rotation grip point to rotate text to the desired position.

Change the unit attributes of text

You can set text to display parameters in dual measurement units. They display in the units specified in the associated drafting standard and in the defined alternate units.

Select the text, right-click, and then choose Edit Unit Attributes from the menu.
Click to remove the check from the Use Standards Notation check box.
Set the attributes.

Change the style while creating a note

On the Annotate tab, Format panel, click the arrow on the Style list and select a style.

Change the style of existing note text

Select the note text to change and then, on the Annotate tab, Format panel, click the arrow on the Style list and select a style.