LINETYPE TEXT UPSIDE DOWN ON CUSTOMIZED LINETYPE

[jbaldeo]

I am trying to draw a linetype using an arc but the text comes out upside down on a convex arc. when drawn concave the text is ok. 

[Patchy]

Try reverse command if you have one.

[BrianBenton]

You can control the rotation of your text in the custom linetype. See this example:

*HOT_WATER_SUPPLY,---- HW ---- HW ---- HW ---- HW ---- HW ----
A,.5,-.1,["HW",STANDARD,S=.1,R=0.0,X=0.0,Y=-.05],-.3

From AutoCAD help = 

rotation
R=value or A=value. R= specifies relative or tangential rotation with respect to the line. A= specifies absolute rotation of the text with respect to the origin; that is, all text has the same rotation regardless of its position relative to the line. The value can be appended with a d for degrees (degrees is the default value), r for radians, or g for grads. If rotation is omitted, 0 relative rotation is used.
Rotation is centered between the baseline and the nominal cap height.

If the text in the linetype is in an opposite direction from other lines around it use the command REVERSE to switch the direction of the line. The line won't change just which vertex is set as the start. 

You can also make it a polyline and join it to the lines around it making it one large polyline. that will make sure all of the lines have the text the same way.

[jbaldeo]

I tried using the reverse command but its not selecting the arc, it's not recognizing it as an object.

[BrianBenton · Accepted solution]

After some testing it seems the reverse command doesn't work on an arc unless it is a polyline. Make it a polyline and the reverse will work. But yet reverse works on lines. 

[jbaldeo]

yes I did turn it into a polyline and it did reverse, Thanks very much

[BrianBenton]

Fantastic! Glad I could help out.

[Kent1Cooper · Accepted solution]

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@jbaldeo wrote:

I tried using the reverse command but its not selecting the arc, it's not recognizing it as an object.

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You can do it in one step with ReverseDirection.lsp and its RD command, available here.  It will reverse the direction of several entity types that AutoCAD's Reverse command won't, including Arcs.  [Just for your information, it does reverse an Arc by turning it into a Polyline of a single arc segment running in the other direction.  It spares you the need to do the conversion to a Polyline first, as you need to do to use AutoCAD's Reverse command on it.]

[mackland]

Do you have a solution for the polyline that is both lines and curves. The line is right-side-up and the curves, depending on the curvature, is both right-side and up-side-down. I need the water lines to stay one continuous polyline. There was a fix for this in 2000i but I haven't found a working solution as of the last 15+ years. I'm thinking the must be a rotation bias that can control this. See picture attached.

[Kent1Cooper]

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@mackland wrote:

Do you have a solution for the polyline that is both lines and curves. The line is right-side-up and the curves, depending on the curvature, is both right-side and up-side-down. I need the water lines to stay one continuous polyline. ....

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Whether Linetype Generation is enabled for the Polyline makes the difference in that regard.

[BridgeGuy1978]

Here's a solution to that problem that one of the guys I work with showed me just last week (Thank you Adam).

in your custom linetype you'll see an "R=0". change the R to a U (see attached screen shot, Capture3.jpg)

in the screenshot Capture2.jpg, the lines were drawn in both directions: as lines, plines, arcs that were later joined to lines to create plines and plines that were drawn with straight segments and arcs. as you can see the words within it are all facing the same direction

I hope this helps you with you issue

Jim

[Anonymous]

Your suggestion to modify the text rotation in ”acadlt” was great and quickly.

Thank you 

[Anonymous]

Let's say the command is set with a 'U' already, then what? Change it back to an 'R'?

Thanks!

[Kent1Cooper]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Let's say the command is set with a 'U' already, then what? Change it back to an 'R'?

Thanks!

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I assume you mean the linetype definition includes text content with U-specified rotation [irrespective of any command ].  If so, and not all text elements show in the more-upright direction, is it like the exchange in Posts 9 and 10 here?  Or is your UCS rotated?  If neither of those is the issue, post an image or small sample drawing.

[mackland]

Back in 1999 I found an old lisp that fixed everything I threw at it including a pline that had reverse compound curves throughout and the letters would flip as needed. No reversing required. It worked the same as the readability bias does in line labels now. It was like magic but it did not work Civil 3d so I abandoned it. If anyone has a copy of it maybe it can be modified to work in newer versions. I look for this solution about every 5 years and still nothing since 2000i.

[crispy_bacon2 · Accepted solution]

Thank you Kent1Copper.

I am using Civil 3D 2020 and the combination of setting the overall direction correctly (Using the "REVERSEFEATURE" Command) and then setting the "Linetype generation" to "Enabled" has corrected any issues I had with this.

(Note: The Linetype generation is reset to "Disabled" when the REVERSEFEATURE command is used, so it has to be done in the order above.)

[rosaly.zambrana]

Thank you!!!

[KB3CAD · Accepted solution]

This solved my problem with reversed/mirrored linetype text on arcs and circles. Thank you so much. I tried all the reversing tricks, but in the end I need to keep an arc (not polyline) and re-orient the linetype text. I found the .lin file (which was another hurdle) then changed R to U, which apparently keeps the text portion "upright" readability. Relieved!