using 2010 and still have this problem.
Lame.
anyways, any fixes? something about triming contours? although this still doesnt solve other text mask situations.
I am now evaluating Civil 3D 2011 on Win 7 64 and this is still an unresolved issue.
We cant use masked label styles or masked text when our PC3 file graphics are set to Lines Merge. What a failure.
We must continue to use Express Tools to mask text with a wipeout and add a boundary.
Unfortunately this issue still exists across all Autodesk products. We use both ACA and C3D in our office and the only way I have been able to prevent myself from being burned at the stake every time this issue arises was to create two separate pc3 files for our plotters and printers. One for lines merge which is the bulk of our plotting and one for lines overwrite for the C3D group.
The worst part is the problem still exists in ACA 2011. It is a shame that this issue still exist oh so many versions later.
I'm using AutoCAD 2012, and unless I've missed something, text masking is STILL not working when lines merge is on. Autodesk, ARE YOU LISTENING?
(I copied my comment from another post.)
I have the same problem. The text is masked on the screen but not on the plot from our HP1055CM. (See attached screen captures.) Another strange thing is that the masking works when plotted to our HP5550 Laser Printer. Yes, changing the Merge Control to "lines overwrite" in the Plotter Configuration Editor solves the problem, but it creates a new problem. Since we use a lot of solid hatching, we have to make sure it is all "moved to back". But with the lines overwrite setting, we don't get the "look" we want when lines pass through the hatching. Perhaps i'm just being too picky.....
I'm wondering if it could be a driver issue. Attached is a screen capture of the driver we're using.
Advice anybody?
No, it's not you.
There are a couple of things that went haywire with the mtext in 2010 or 2011. One is the masking, so that the software perceives the mask as the lightest grey and moves it to the lowest level on lines merge. The other is paragraph spacing. The text can no longer (easily) be configured to have anything less than 1/4" between paragraphs!
AutoDesk doesn't seem to be listening. This has been a problem through at least two years, and no patch or even suitable acknowledgement of the problem has been offered.
It is horribly inconvenient to set up drawings so that the same effect can be achieved with draworder as used to be so simple with lines merge. And it takes us back to all the problems we had previously with wipeouts to have to make a workaround to these issues. It certainly has me looking at the alternatives to the AutoDesk product.
Link to post concerning background masking for contour labels only. Works whether lines merge or overwrite. 🙂
You would not need to use with plotters set to "lines overwrite" unless you are using an area hatch that you wanted to show with the contour label text rather than a blank area under the contour label text. When "lines merge" is used, this setting allows the contour line to be masked below the contour label text. Attached image uses "lines merge" with one contour label set to "Contour Line Only" and the other set to the default "From Label Style".
Hope this helps some people...
So, this conversation started in 2008. We are now nearing the end of 2020. Why isn't this resolved yet? We use a lot of hatching to represent surface treatments. Even if a text layer is frozen in a viewport, its mask is visible when plotting. Lines merge is a must when using hatching. Lines merge is also important when clouding changes. We use a polyline with a screened color and a 0.05" width when clouding so that the clouds jump out on the page. If you use lines overwrite, then the clouds mask text. If you use lines merge, then text underneath the cloud is still legible.