Explore the process of creating annotations in AutoCAD, focusing specifically on text for room labels. Discover techniques to adjust text size, alignment, and placement, and learn how to use the Multiline Text tool for effective drafting projects.
Key Insights
- The article offers guidance on creating annotations in AutoCAD, which can include items such as room labels, door and window symbols, and drawing dimensions.
- The Multiline Text tool is used in the process, allowing users to draw text, adjust its size and justification, and underline for emphasis. The text can be moved and placed using the center grip.
- The annotation process includes duplicating text for different rooms and updating the labels accordingly, demonstrating how to effectively use AutoCAD for drafting projects.
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In this video, we will begin with our annotations. Annotations mean anything that is not a physical object, and it helps us to understand our drawing.
In this case, it will be text for room labels, inserting blocks for our door and window symbols, and drawing dimensions, which is a special type of annotative object in AutoCAD. For now, let us start by drawing some text. To do that, I’ll first close my blocks dialog box, and let us choose our A text layer.
With A text selected, we can go to the Home panel, Annotation tab, and choose Multiline Text. To draw this text, I’ll draw a box that’s roughly this size, and let’s check our options. We can use Text 01 for these room labels.
So, I’ll choose Text 01. Our height can be six inches, and at a quarter inch equals a foot, this will print the text at one eighth of an inch high, and this is a fairly standard size for drafting projects. Justification is important.
This should be Middle Center, which will help us place the text in the middle of the room. Also, let us underline this text. And now, we can type 'bedroom, ' and close the text editor.
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Now, this text is in one of the rooms, and if I click on it, I will see that it has multiple grip options. This changes the width of our multiline text, and this changes the height if we wanted to adjust it in a different direction. For now, I’m more interested in moving the text using the center grip.
So, I’ll click it to activate it, and try to align the text in the middle of the room. Now, I want to copy this text to the other rooms, and I can use a grip edit for this. Click the grip to activate it, right-click, copy.
And I don’t need to use Ortho. Instead, I can use my long crosshairs to visually align where these text objects will go. I will click to place one here.
Even though this says 'bedroom, ' I can place one in the bathroom, and one in the family room. Press Escape to indicate that I’m done. Escape, Escape, Escape.
Now, quickly jump into the bathroom, and update this text with a double-click to change it to 'bath.' Close the text editor. Double-click the text in the family room and change that to 'family room.'
Remember, you can click 'Close Text Editor, ' or click anywhere outside the text box to close your multiline text. Zoom extents, and press Control + S to save. In the next video, we will update our blocks for the door and window symbols and insert them into our drawing.
See you there.
