TEXTALIGN behavior

[Anonymous]

I have a drawing list on a title sheet. I want to expand the spacing between each row to fill the page a little more. I tried using TEXTALIGN with the Distribute option, and then separately the Set Spacing option. However, the Y-distance between each piece of text is slightly different. Additionally, the x position of each piece of text is also slightly different. I suspect it's aligning the text based on the shape file instead of insert point. I need it to align the insert points, because eventually the text will change. 

I can start over with MTEXT and then explode it, or I could array a single text object and edit each line, but I run into this task a lot and want to find an easy way to evenly distribute text. 

[beyoungjr]

Post a subject dwg and we can have a look and make a recommendation.

Blaine

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

command _TEXTALIGN and option SET SPACING as far as I undertand the question.

- alfred -

[Anonymous]

Please see attached dwg. 

[beyoungjr]

Have you looked at the Paragraph settings (line spacing) in the MTEXT editor?  This works like MS Word.

In my view a single MTEXT object with the drawing list would be more friendly to edit than individual text objects. 

Also, using a block for this list would permit you to assign attributes that could be filled for each use.  A table would be more than I would use.

I'd still prefer MTEXT for this particular task but my Title Blocks are always block objects with attributes.

Hope this helps a little.

Blaine

[Kent1Cooper · Accepted solution]

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@Anonymous wrote:

.... I tried using TEXTALIGN with the Distribute option, and then separately the Set Spacing option. However, the Y-distance between each piece of text is slightly different. Additionally, the x position of each piece of text is also slightly different. .... 

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Yes, I think it's a function of certain fonts, defined with tiny offsets to the right from the "nominal" left-side-of-baseline insertion point of each character to the actual  left edge of the character itself, and the fact that the lines start with different characters [note that the two starting with E have the same variance in the X coordinate].  The amount of mini-offset varies with each character -- I assume it's about a cursory kind of "kerning" for better spacing relationships between characters.

The same happens if you use TXT2MTXT and Explode it -- maybe TEXTALIGN actually operates that way in the background.

A workaround:  Change the font assigned to the text Style of the objects to something raw and basic such as SIMPLEX.shx or TXT.shx, in which the left edge of each character is truly on its insertion point, without those mini-offsets rightward.  Then use TXT2MTXT on them, and within the resulting Mtext object, set the line space style to Exactly to get the Y coordinates equally spaced, and set the line spacing to what you want.  EXPLODE that Mtext object, and the X coordinate of the insertion points of the resulting Text objects will all be the same.  Then change the font assigned to the Style back to what it was.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! Dealing with txt.shx is so much simpler.  1" height is exactly 1" from the highest point of a character to the lowest. Wonderful.

[Anonymous]

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@beyoungjr wrote:

I'd still prefer MTEXT for this particular task but my Title Blocks are always block objects with attributes.

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I considered that, but sometimes parentheses or other characters bump the baseline a bit and it would throw off the whole list below. 

[Kent1Cooper · Accepted solution]

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@Anonymous wrote: 

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.... sometimes parentheses or other characters bump the baseline a bit and it would throw off the whole list below. 

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Not if you have the line space style set to Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Wow this is a game changer. I run into this problem elsewhere a lot. I've spent so much time googling for a solution and failing. Can't believe it was just a property the whole time. Thanks!

[bhaydenEN3XT]

Except with TXT.SHX commas extend down below the bottom of characters and this distance gets added to the line spacing when you use TEXTALIGN. It's worse with SIMPLEX.SHX as then parenthesis extend above and below characters and that gets added to the line spacing. Still in search of a font where this command will actually space text objects insertion point evenly.

[Kent1Cooper]

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@bhaydenEN3XT wrote:

... commas extend down below the bottom of characters and this distance gets added to the line spacing when you use TEXTALIGN. .... parenthesis extend above and below characters and that gets added to the line spacing. Still in search of a font where this command will actually space text objects insertion point evenly.

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Such a font would need to have no characters that extend above the nominal height [you might find such a thing], and also none that extend below the baseline, but that's not going to happen [not just with commas and parentheses, but also descenders on lower-case letters g j p q y].

I doubt that TEXTALIGN will get fixed in the way you want.  Help for the command describes "spacing" as "between the extents of the text objects," which are affected by such things.  So Mtext with Exactly line spacing may be your only option.  See the last paragraph of Message 6, and also Message 9.