How to set a font to default?

[lrichterl]

We just upgraded from '12 to '13, and the guy who usually is in charge of updates recently left us.  I have noodled around online trying to find ways to set a font to default, but am unable to find a way that fits how we operate here.  My boss likes to do things a certain way, so I have to make sure whatever I do falls within his parameters.

Anyway: I have read a number of articles about people saying to just change your template settings and save it.  We don't, however, use a template.  I guess we could start (if he let me), but all we do now is copy another x-ref or architecture page or what-have-you, save it in a new file, and go from there. 

I also think I may have messed up my computer by trying to use fontalt.  Now every time I start my machine up, it asks me to specify the fontalt.  Any idea how to turn that off?

But the main thing: is there a way to get a default font setting to affect all of our files at once?  If I go to "style" I can change every page at a time, but that gets lengthy.  Was assuming there should be one change that does everything.

Thank you SO much if you can help,

Liesl

[cadtastrophe]

The process you described is a recipie for problems and will make it very difficult and time intenseive to maintain consistency. 

You can not use this software without a template, every time you open a new drawing it is coming from your template (whether it is one you created or the one that came with the software out of the box).  You need to set the font in the template period, unless of course you want to set it every time you start a new drawing.

[lrichterl]

Thanks for the response.  So, what I'm hearing is that the template exists beneath the drawing, in a sense.  So I think if I search around I could figure out how to create new drawings with the settings we want.

But what I'm still foggy on is: will changing some existing template then get all of our old (and current) drawings to adapt to the changes?  I need the font settings to globally affect everything; that is the major task that's been given to me.   (...and how would I even figure out which template all of our drawings are based upon? I can guarantee we've never changed templates.)

I feel like my former coworker did something with a string in the options panel, but I'm wary of messing with the pathing of the program without really knowing what I'm working with.  And we have an autocad subscription, but those buggers haven't gotten back with us yet 🙂  Don't really want to spend $100 on a phone call but in the end it might be worth it. 

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

All a template file does is provide a starting point for a new drawing.  While you really should have at least one template file set up with your preferred settings for new drawings, once that new drawing is created, it is on its own.  There is no "connection" between a drawing and the template file from which is was created that would allow you to edit the template file and have those changes appear in the files previously created from it.

Without knowing exactly how things were set up by your predecessor, or even exactly what the current problem is, it is hard to provide an answer.  Are you saying that when you open an old file, the existing text has all changed from architxt to simplex?  (For others, see also this thread.)  Or is it just when creating new text that simplex is being used?  Upgrading from 12 to 13 and then opening an existing drawing (or a copy thereof) should not have any effect on the text styles in an existing drawing, nor should it change the current text style.

You mention having to "style change" every drawing to get the font you want, so I assume that you actually have the architxt font file in a location that ACA 2013 can find.  The only thing I can think of is that all of your drawings were created using text style(s) that were defined with the simplex.shx font (or some other font), and rather than "style change" them all, your predecessor removed the simplex (or other) font and used FONTALT to set the substitute font to architxt.  The new install would have provided a new copy of simplex.shx, so any FONTALT setting would be ignored.

Not sure how many "source" drawings from which you make copies for new drawings that you may have, but you might want to look into a scripting program that can be set up with a script to automate the process of changing the font associated with your standard text style(s) (assuming that consistent style naming is used across the files) without having to manually open each file and make the change.

[pendean · Accepted solution]

Did you manually move the required SHX fonts from ACA2012 ro ACA2013?

Did you use the MIGRATE feature? Do you still have 2012 installed?

Did you also change computers when you upgraded to 2013?

2013 (and 2012) will only replace a font with another if it cannot find the one needed by the DWG file. No exceptions.

>>>...but all we do now is copy another x-ref or architecture page or what-have-you, save it in a new file, and go from there....<<<

If that DWG file has everything you want already, you should have no problems: it would appear the DWG files you all are using as incomplete or missing content you deem as 'required'. What exactly is missing? Your replies seel to be jumping all over the place.

[lrichterl]

Thanks David for your help describing templates; that makes things a bit more clear. 

The problem is solved!  Noodled around this site long enough and came across a help screen saying to: go to Options, File, Text, and substitute the desired text in the Alternate Text area.  Which, I also learned, is the same thing as doing fontalt, as you suggested.  Thanks for being detailed in your discussion, and patient with someone rather new to this... not even a year under my belt yet with Autocad.

Really appreciate all the assistance.

[lrichterl]

Thanks for your reply.  In answer to your questions:

1. yes I did make sure the font got copied to '13

2. yes '12 is still installed, and I have no idea what Migrate does.  I clearly need to check that out.

3. no we didn't change computers

Also, thanks for the tip about when the program would replace fonts.  I think we had used a somewhat-altered version of architxt.shx... which I absolutely could not find anywhere on our computers.  Who knows where the previous operator had buried it.  So when I downloaded the original architxt.shx, even though the names were similar (don't even know if they were exactly the same or not) the program reverted to simplex.

Learning Autocad seems as complex as a relationship... probably would still be learning new quirks in five years even if they never updated it.