Using Special Characters with Single-Line Text Objects

Using Special Characters with Single-Line Text Objects
Just as with multiline text, you can add a limited set of special characters to single-line text objects. Forexample, you can place the degree symbol (°) after a number, or you can underscore (underline) text. To this, you use double percent (%%) signs in conjunction with a special code. For example, tounderscore text, you enclose that text with %% followed by the letter u, which is the underscore code.So, to create this text, “This is underscored text.” you enter the following at the prompt:This is %%uunderscored%%u text.
Overscoring (putting a line above the text) operates in the same manner. To insert codes for symbols,you place the codes in the correct positions for the symbols they represent. For example, toenter 100.5°, you type 100.5%%d. Table 10.2 shows some other examples of special character codes.

Table 10.2: Here is a list of the codes you can use:
Code What It Does
%%o Toggles overscore on and off.
%%u Toggles underscore on and off.
%%c Places a diameter symbol where the code occurs.
%%d Places a degree sign (°) where the code occurs.
%%p Places a plus/minus sign where the code occurs.
%%% Forces a single percent sign. This is useful when you want a double percent sign to appear or
when you want a percent sign in conjunction with another code.
%%nnn Allows the use of extended characters when these characters are used in a text-definition file.
nnn is the three-digit value representing the ASCII extended character code.

Using the Character Map Dialog Box to Add Special Characters
You can add special characters to a single line of text in the same way you add special characters to
multiline text. You may recall that to access special characters, you use the Character Map dialog box.
To open the Character Map dialog box, choose Start  All Programs  Accessories  System
Tools  Character Map. You can then use the procedure discussed in the “Adding Symbols and
Special Characters” section, earlier in this chapter, to cut and paste a character from the Character
Map dialog box. If you use the Character Map dialog box often, create a shortcut for it, and place
the shortcut in your Start menu or on your Desktop.

Using the Check Spelling Feature
Although AutoCAD is primarily a drawing program, you’ll find that some of your drawings contain
more text than graphics. Autodesk recognizes this fact and has included a spelling checker
since AutoCAD Release 14. If you’ve ever used the spelling checker in a typical word processor,
such as Microsoft Word, the AutoCAD spelling checker’s operation will be familiar to you. These
steps show you how it works:
1. Click the Spell Check tool in the Text control panel. You can also choose Tools  Spelling
from the drop-down menu or type Sp↵.
2. At the Select objects: prompt, select any text object you want to check. You can also enter
All↵ to select everything in the drawing. AutoCAD ignores nontext objects. You can select
a mixture of multiline and single-line text. When the spelling checker finds a word it doesn’t
recognize, the Check Spelling dialog box opens.



In the Check Spelling dialog box, you see the word in question, along with the spelling checker’s
suggested alternate word in the Suggestions input box. If the spelling checker finds more than one
suggestion, a list of suggested alternate words appears below the input box. You can then highlight
the desired replacement and click the Change button to change the misspelled word, or you can
click Change All to change all occurrences of the word in the selected text. If the suggested word
is inappropriate, choose another word from the replacement list (if any), or enter your own spelling
in the Suggestions input box. Then, click Change or Change All.
Here is a list of the options available in the Check Spelling dialog box:
Ignore Skips the word.
Ignore All Skips all occurrences of the word in the selected text.
Change Changes the word in question to the word you’ve selected (or entered) from the Suggestions
input box.
Change All Changes all occurrences of the current word when there are multiple instances of
the misspelling.
Add To Dictionary Adds the word in question to the current dictionary.
Dictionaries Lets you use a different dictionary to check spelling. This option opens the
Change Dictionaries dialog box, described in the upcoming section.
The Check Spelling feature includes types of notation that are more likely to be found in technical
drawings. It also checks the spelling of text that is included in block definitions.

Choosing a Dictionary
Clicking the Dictionaries button in the Check Spelling dialog box opens the Dictionaries dialog
box, where you can select a particular main dictionary for foreign languages or create or choose
a custom dictionary. Main dictionary files have the .dct extension. The main dictionary for the
U.S. version of AutoCAD is Enu.dct.



In the Change Dictionaries dialog box, you can also add or delete words from a custom dictionary.
Custom dictionary files are ASCII files with the .cus extension. Because they’re ASCII files,
you can edit them outside AutoCAD. Click the Current custom dictionary drop-down list to view
a list of existing custom dictionaries.
If you prefer, you can select a main or custom dictionary by using the Dctmain system variable.
Click the Help button and search for Dctmain for more on the Dctmain system variable.
You can also select a dictionary from the Files tab of the Options dialog box (choose Tools 
Options). You can find the dictionary list under Text Editor, Dictionary, And Font File Names.
Click the plus sign next to this item, and then click the plus sign next to the Main Dictionary item
to display the dictionary options.



Substituting Fonts
At times, you’ll want to change all the fonts in a drawing quickly. For instance, you might want to
convert TrueType fonts into a simple Txt.shx font to help shorten redraw times while you’re editing.Or you might need to convert the font of a drawing received from another office to a font thatconforms to your own office standards. The Fontmap system variable works in conjunction with afont-mapping table, enabling you to easily substitute fonts in a drawing.
The font-mapping table is an ASCII file called Acad.fmp. You can also use a file you create yourself.You can give this file any name you choose, as long as it has the .fmp extension.
This font-mapping table contains one line for each font substitution you want AutoCAD to
make. A typical line in this file reads as follows:
romant; C:\Program Files\Acad 2008\Fonts\txt.shx
In this example, AutoCAD is directed to use the txt.shx font in place of the romant.shx font.
To execute this substitution, you type Fontmap↵ Fontmap_filename.
Fontmap_filename is the font-mapping table you created. This tells AutoCAD where to look for
the font-mapping information. Then, you issue the Regen command to view the font changes. To
disable the font-mapping table, type
Fontmap↵↵
You can also specify a font-mapping file in the Files tab of the Options dialog box. Look for the TextEditor, Dictionary, And Font File Names listing. Click the plus sign next to this listing, and then clickthe plus sign next to the Font Mapping File listing to display the current default font-mapping filename.If you hold the cursor over the name, AutoCAD displays the full location of the file.



You can double-click this filename to open the Select A File dialog box. From there, you can
select a different font-mapping file.

Making Substitutions for Missing Fonts
When text styles are created, the associated fonts don’t become part of the drawing file. Instead,
AutoCAD loads the needed font file at the same time the drawing is loaded. If a text style in a drawing
requires a particular font, AutoCAD looks for the font in the AutoCAD search path; if the font is there, it’s
loaded. Usually this isn’t a problem if the drawing file uses the standard fonts that come with AutoCAD
or Windows. But occasionally, you’ll encounter a file that uses a custom font.
In earlier versions of AutoCAD, you saw an error message when you attempted to open such a file. This
missing-font message often sent new AutoCAD users into a panic.
Fortunately, AutoCAD automatically substitutes an existing font for the missing font in a drawing. By
default, AutoCAD substitutes the simplex.shx font, but you can specify another font by using the Fontalt
system variable. Type Fontalt↵ at the Command prompt, and then enter the name of fontyou want to
use as the substitute.You can also select an alternate font through the Files tab of the Options dialog box. Locate the Text Editor,Dictionary, And Font File Names listing, and then click the plus sign at the left. Locate the Alternate Font Fileitem, and click the plus sign at the left. The current alternate is listed. You can double-click the font name toselect a different font through a standard file dialog box.Be aware that the text in your drawing will change in appearance, sometimes radically, when you use asubstitute font. If the text in the drawing must retain its appearance, substitute a font that is similarin appearance to the original font as possible.