topic Dimensioning text issue in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

Dimensioning text issue

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 13:44:34 GMT

Hi,

I want to add a text to my model as an extrude and I want to be able to change the size of the number using defined parameters plus keep it in an aligned place using distances to other sketch objects. I run into two issues though (also see the screenshot attached):

- I use sketch > text. I can select the height of the text, which makes a rectangle around my text with the height specified, however, there is still a gap between the top of the text and the top of the rectangle. How can I prevent that gap, clearly I want the defined parameter to be the height of the text, not the height of some random rectangle around the text.

- I draw two diagonal lines in the rectangle to find the center point of the rectangle (which should be the center point of the text, although it is not due to the issue above) and subsequently apply coincident constraints at all corners. Furthermore, I apply a coincident constraint to this centre point and a line, to ensure that the middle of the text stays on that line. Also I define the height of the text as a user parameter. If I am correct, this should lead to that when I change the parameter, the size of the box and thus the height of the text should change. However, the moment I adjust the text height the coincident constraints on the rectangle around the text get deleted and the text height adjusts without keeping the position that I want. The two diagonal lines and their centre point stay in position due to the coincident constraints, but the rectangle around the text changes and gets detached from my two diagonal lines. Is there a way to prevent this?

Thanks!

Re: Dimensioning text issue

etfrench — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 18:59:23 GMT

The key is to create the start point for the text prior to creating the text. In the screencast I made the start point line dimension equal to the text height. You'll need to use a formula based on the text height to have it closer to the rectangle. Angled text will require more complex formulas

Re: Dimensioning text issue

etfrench — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 19:19:16 GMT

Angled text may just need proper dimensioning

Re: Dimensioning text issue

etfrench — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 19:23:28 GMT

Angled text just needs proper dimenisoning

Still need to determine how to center the text.

Re: Dimensioning text issue

etfrench — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 05:56:28 GMT

It seems that centering the text is also fairly easy, but has to be done for each string and font. You need two magic numbers: The ratio of width to height of the text and the height of the white space between the top of the text and its bounding box. For the text, "2", in the Arial font, the first number is 0.474121. The second is .28 (Actually this changes a few microns for different text heights).

The formula for centering the text is: ( TextHeight * 0.474121 ) / 2

The formula for offsetting the text vertically is: TextHeight - ( TextHeight * 0.28 )

Notes:

The text height can be set parametrically, but the setting is not saved. Each time you change the text height, you'll need to edit the text to reset it to the parameter.

The construction rectangle doesn't need dimensions and only the bottom line needs to exist. It also needs to be fixed or it will move instead of the text when changing sizes.

I'm glad you brought the subject up as this technique is one I can use quite often in designing rosettes for my rose engine.

Re: Dimensioning text issue

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 14:55:45 GMT

Thanks a lot for your help! Much appreciated! Your solution works well for a this case, but I would like to be able to play with the font as well as the number height. It is odd to me that the parameter is not saved here, but I guess there is no way around it. Anyway, your help is nevertheless much appreciated!

Re: Dimensioning text issue

therealsamchaney — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 18:38:46 GMT

As you have discovered, the text tool in Fusion needs a lot of work. You can create a dimension on one of the vertical lines of the surrounding box but as you've stated, it's usually nowhere close to the actual height of the text. As for constraining text to horizontal, I usually put a point at the midpoint of the horizontal line and constrain that to a construction line, but the problem is the width of the text box doesn't update if you change the height/font, so you basically have to manually adjust the widths of all of the text boxes in your design whenever you change the heights.

Fusion can clearly calculate the actual shape of the letters, otherwise it wouldn't be able to extrude them, so I don't understand why it doesn't just make the surrounding box the actual size of the letters within it. Instead we get this box that sort of kind of fits around the letters, and doesn't update properly when the text inside changes. Also sometimes the text inside can flip upside down within the box. I don't even know how that's possible from a programming perspective.

In my opinion, Fusion 360 sorely needs to make the following changes:
1. Fix the surrounding text box feature so that it actually tightly surrounds whatever text is inside it and updates immediately whenever that text (font, height etc.) changes. Calculating the true size might increase processing a bit but it's well worth it. As it is there is no way to reliably constrain text horizontally.

2. Add font size as a possible "unit" in parameters

3. Add font as a "unit" in parameters. This is a big one, because currently, there is absolutely no way to change the fonts of multiple text boxes from a single place. This means if I have a D20 dice design and a client wants a different font, I have to go update 20 different sketches individually.

Just my 2 cents.
-Sam

Re: Dimensioning text issue

g-andresen — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 19:11:32 GMT

Hi,

Have you registered that Fusion has expanded and changed its text tool with the latest update?
So there is a changed relation of text to frame besides the relation to a path.

Günther

Re: Dimensioning text issue

therealsamchaney — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 21:29:46 GMT

Just wanted to let you (and anyone else who sees this) know that Autodesk is currently accepting feedback on proposed updates to the Text function and adding a new Text On Path function. Below are the links:

If you have some time, please go give these proposals a like, and submit your feedback before these threads close.

Thanks!

-Sam

Re: Dimensioning text issue

therealsamchaney — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 01:41:31 GMT

Thank you, I was not aware that the Text On Path feature had been added. Has the normal Text feature been updated too? I'm not sure what you mean by " changed relation of text to frame". The construction line frame around the normal text seems to behave the same way it used to.

I've just tried it out Text On Path and it's very good, props to the Fusion team for getting it done. However it doesn't solve all of the problems with the text feature. It almost solves the horizontal alignment issue but you can't use a parameter to define the text height. You can initially define the text height by a parameter but it does not stay linked. If you change the parameter later, the text does not update. In this way, it's actually less parametric than the normal text box because I can at least use parameters to control the heights of those.

There is also still no way to have a parameter control the text content, the font, or the formatting which would be a huge time saver for me. If you have a design with 70 different sketches, each with text boxes inside them as I do (a full set of D&D dice) and you need to change the font or formatting, you will have to edit 70 different sketches individually.

Thank you for letting me know of the recent update, I look forward to more improvements to text from the Fusion team soon.

-Sam