Problem with AutoCAD Font

[kzhang]

I've been having problems with the scale of the new AutoCAD LT 2018. This is the first time I've bumped into such problems. For some reason every time I open any (old) file, save it, and open it again - the font will be huge. Any file that I also create from scratch has the same problem. When I go to save it looks just fine, but when I open it again the fonts are 10x the size.

http://imgur.com/a/Jmw1W
I made an album showing the problems I am experiencing.

Here is a video of me showing you how I go about fixing the problem. I don't change anything at all! I just open up annotations and make sure I click the font height section (only clicking nothing else), click the rotations, and click OK.  I don't even have to click OK, only clicking the font height section and font rotation will fix the problem.  It is like it forces autocad to reload it or something?  I double checked the scale is right and I've also hit REGEN numerous times. I've restarted my computer too. Yet this problem still persists. I open it back up and the font is HUGE. I am at the end of my ropes here. It's annoying having to change the font each and every time I open the file. I'm not sure how to fix it as there doesn't seem to be any solves online.

[EDIT]: I've uploaded another video showing when I save, close my file, and open it again.  The fonts are huge again.  I've hit regen but it's useless.

[rculp]

Is it changing the default height in the style?? or changing the height of the individual pieces of text??

[kzhang]

Can you clarify by what you mean?

I tried going into text style to change the default height.  This is a work template that nobody else seems to be having trouble with except for me.

[pendean]

Are you using Annotative Text Styles by chance?
Does anyone else in your office, in this same file, also having the same exact problem? Find out.
Is the problem limited to this one file, or every file you open? Find out.

[imadHabash]

Hi,

would you please take a copy from your file and erase every thing except the items that become big and post it here?

Regards,

[kzhang]

I am using annotative text styles.  I am the only one who has this problem.  Granted there are only two people in this office that are using AutoCAD LT.  I had my coworker open my file and there was no problems.  He tried helping me and matching his computer's setting with mine but we weren't able to solve it.

Sorry for the late reply, boss was wondering why I couldn't publish the files hahahaha *sobsobsob*

I've attached the files with just the annotations.  Thanks so much!

This is what the file looks like on my screen

[kzhang]

It doubled my reply for some reason! Not sure how to delete the double post.  Sorry!

[pendean]

Your file seems to crash here in AutoCAD 2016 and 2017 after saving it down: weird.

I see you use a 1:20 scale in your screenshot: what if you change that to something else, does your annotative scale become "normal" again?

UPDATE: which text style are you using? Your attributes are defined with the text style ANNTEXT, in the block the height is hard set to 2", it is not set to anything and not set to annotative in STYLE command, it also uses a missing BIGFONT called "special.shx".

You have a lot of settings to fix first my friend: this is something you and your office colleague need to work on together.

[kzhang]

Thank you for the reply!!

So yesterday I spent a bit of time going through a list of commands to see if there is anything I can do.  As there is not much I can do with the text styles as that is set the way it is.  Apparently this is the first time that this kind of problem has occurred in their 6 years of practice.  I actually think it has to do with the version of AutoCAD I have.  As mine is the only one that is AutoCAD LT 2018.  I also tried changing the scale as well.  The problem is even worse than that as I hadn't really shown what happens during PUBLISH.

So what I found worked best was

1 -  When opening an older file, back save to AutoCAD 2013 to avoid the big font problem all together.

2 -  Command BATTMAN can be used to sync all the attributes to their blocks again.

However both 1 & 2 are visually only.  As when I publish, the font is big again for some reason.  However, this doesn't happen when I print to PDF.  I looked through a couple thread and it seems like this is actually a common problem.  I can get around it because this office doesn't have too many sheets to publish at once (MAX of 15 sheets).  I can print them individually.  I've attached a video of my work around.

Also I did go in and look at the BIG FONT special.shx.  It does not appear to be missing for me?

[pendean]

Forgive me, but I'm not sure what you are talking about.

Turn these two icons on (BLUE is on, GRAY is OFF), change the cannoscale right next to them from 1:20 to 1:1 then back to 1:20 and your blocks fix themselves.

[kzhang]

Sorry.  I'm not sure how else to illustrate the problem I'm having.  I am having a hard time getting the annotations to stay their size.  Even if on the computer screen it looks normal, it comes out looking weird on when published.  I tried doing what you said.  I honestly have no idea.  Even with the annotation (blue being on - bottom right), it still publishes weird.  It looks like it would, if I hadn't fix the big font problem.

So to put it in few words as possible:  I get really big annotation font.  Making it look right on my screen doesn't solve the problem in Publish.

The conclusion I am after is to get rid of those big texts altogether.  So they never pop up again if I open a file in 2018 AutoCAD LT.  Or have them appear in Publish despite it looking perfect in paper/model space.

[pendean]

See the second half of my past post plus picture plus dwg file https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-lt-forum/problem-with-autocad-font/m-p/7059232#M152952 the same fix applies to a viewport in layout, set your viewport scale to 1:1 then back to 1:20 and the blocks should snap back into the correct size.

[kzhang]

The snapping back works.  That is so much easier than changing them one by one.  However, it still doesn't solve the publish problem.  It still publishes with really big font.  Is there a reason why it's doing that?  Thanks for still replying!!

[pendean]

Before or after you make the corrections to viewport scales noted above and save all the files?
PUBLISH parameters are what? pagesetup being used is what? Explain how I can replicate the problem.

[kzhang]

Thanks for replying still!  It got a bit busy yesterday so I didn't have the chance to reply.

I am showing you my setting and how I publish.  Can you let me know what else you need to replicate the problem?

Video:

Thanks again!  I really really appreciate you still replying!

[pendean]

So that's PLOT command, not PUBLISH command 🙂
Be careful about using lingo outside of the program/command names around here, it just adds to the confusion.

On the PLOT dialog box screenshot I see a scale of 1inch=1foot.
Shouldn't that actually be 1:1 when plotting from a layout set to an actual sheet size?

[kzhang]

I used Page Setup to show you what the setting was, then I use PUBLISH command in the video.  Set it to the "Plotter named in page setup", then I hit publish.  That's why I had a screenshot of that.  I also tried changing the scale in Page Setup to 1:1 before using the publish function again and it still didn't work.  The fonts still came out really big in PUBLISH command.

Plotting to PDF works.

Publishing to PDF doesn't work.

Plotting the PDF, the annotations will come out normal, but that also means I can only plot one page at a time.

Publishing to PDF will give me the weird big font despite using "plotter named in page setup".

Does this help clear it up a little?  Thanks 🙂

[pendean]

>>>...plotter named in page setup...<<<
Fix every viewport in every layout. Fix every pagesetup for every layout as I noted about scale. For ALL of your layouts in ALL files. Not just one pagesetup. Not a few. All of them in all layouts.

Save all of your files.

Use PUBLISH: works fine here, no issues at all. I tested (see attached) with your one and only posted file and about a dozen layouts I created that emulate the first one.

PS: so you only want single pdf sheets from PUBLISH command, not one PDF with multiple sheets?

[kzhang]

Thanks for the reply!  I went ahead and tried that but for some reason I wasn't able to get my page set ups to stay 1:1 after clicking OK.  I would go back and look at it again and it would become 1" = 1'.  Not sure what I am doing wrong.  I downloaded the files you had attached to your most recent post and wasn't able to replicate your publish results.  I wanted to publish multiple pages within one PDF.  I tried publishing the duplicate page set ups you had but my annotations still became really big.

Today is also the last day of my internship.  I think I'm just throwing in the towel.  Thank you so much for your help!!  I have really appreciated it.

[s.borello]

Maybe brush up on your AutoCAD Skills with some tutorials and/or training... this is user error.  I was able to manipulate all your annotative text objects to different scales.  I saved and re-opened several times and everything worked fine.  Good luck.