Dynamic Block, Keep Text Horizontal

[chriswade]

Yes, there are other threads about this, but I want to keep the text horizontal while using an alignment parameter to automatically align the outlet.

The trick though is that I can't use annotative text styles, as the block itself will need to be annotative.

I explored the possibility of using annotative text and scaling the block up or down accordingly, but the problem there is that the text scales proportionately as well.

I have an invisible attribute that calculates what the text rotation needs to be, but I can't figure out how to read that information and set the rotation of the text without resorting to some lisp routines, which I would like to avoid in this case.

So, I don't want annotative text and I do want an annotative block. There may still be some issues with the block, as it hasn't been fully tested out yet, but hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

[h_s_walker]

The only problem is an alignment parameter will always rotate the whole block. Why don't you either put a rotation parameter in the block and use that and remove the alignment parameter or stick a rotation parameter on the text, then after you've used the alignment parameter it's simply a case of switching on ortho mode and rotating the text.

[chriswade]

The alignment parameter is needed so that the outlets automatically align to the wall when being inserted.

If you opened the block I included, the text does indeed have rotation parameters, but my users will want it to be corrected automatically. I also found that the rotation parameters don't always properly recognize ortho mode.

[h_s_walker]

Why can't you use annotative text? Just leave a 1:1 scale in the font properties and make sure "Match text orientation to layout" is ticked. See the attached drawing.

[chriswade]

The problem is if you use annotative text, then the block can't be annotative. And if you scale the block, then the text scales up or down accordingly as well, unless there is something I have missed there.

I have attached an example to show what I mean, scaling the block makes the text too large. When you change the annotation scale, the text gets scaled again as well.

[h_s_walker]

Unless you use full AutoCAD and there is a lisp somewhere which does it, the only way is either the annotative text route or as you did in your block manually rotating the text with a rotation parameter.