Unicode from older CAD files not displayed correctly

[JBISHOPPAZW8]

Hello,

In the past we used Fastlook V14.  We now use Fastlook V15.  We are now noticing that subscripts and superscripts are not displaying, instead a "?" is displayed.  The unicode present is %%132 which should display the 2 as a superscript.  This is now evident in the AutoCAD drawings as well.  Is there a way to find these old unicodes and replace them all with the current version of the the unicode?  That is, Search and Find %%132 and change it to \{2\}, etc.

In the attached sample, there are two examples enclosed in a red box.

[Kent1Cooper]

Are you using a different font now?  Not all support Unicode characters, and not all have the %% special characters.

[JBISHOPPAZW8]

Hi,

We have placed all the fonts in the Font library. Based on what I have been told, this issue came up before and the Simplex1 font was used to get around it. Worked in the past, but not sure why the issue the has cropped up again.

[Sea-Haven]

Is the font library you refer to c:\windows\fonts and the font is a TTF font not a shx the type of older Autocad fonts.

Is your text style pointing to this font ?

[pendean]

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@JBISHOPPAZW8 wrote:
Hi,

We have placed all the fonts in the Font library. Based on what I have been told, this issue came up before and the Simplex1 font was used to get around it. Worked in the past, but not sure why the issue the has cropped up again.

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Share your font files here: it's not difficult to quickly figure out if they have the %% codes you want or not (from your post, they do not, but you seem insistent).

[Kent1Cooper]

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@JBISHOPPAZW8 wrote:

....  The unicode present is %%132 which should display the 2 as a superscript. ....

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That's not Unicode format.  Unicode entries start with \U+.  AutoCAD's built-in Symbols option in Mtext editing shows you what that Unicode is, and it works for me:

and that also work in plain Text if typed in [you don't get the option to pick it from a pull-down].  And I find that for Mtext [though not plain Text] FIND works to replace %%132 with \U+00B2.

You can also use ALT+253, in either Text or Mtext, .shx or .ttf fonts.

[JBISHOPPAZW8]

These are the Simplex fonts we have in the Font directory.  The AutoCAD LT supports pointers point to the directory with these fonts in them.

[pendean]

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@JBISHOPPAZW8 wrote:

These are the Simplex fonts we have in the Font directory.  The AutoCAD LT supports pointers point to the directory with these fonts in them.

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Thanks for the fonts.

Simplex1 (from an unknown source) does not appear to have any built-in %% superscript choices from what I can see in this classic tool (and in your DWG file). perhaps others can glean something I may have missed

Your Simplex.SHX file is the stock one from Autodesk (copyright 1997-2004) we all have. 

I don't know what "fastlook Vxx" is, and what V14 did that V15 did not, perhaps it needs to share more than it did.

See the tips above from @Kent1Cooper For what you can do with these shared SHX fonts in the meantime.

[Maxim-CADman77]

@pendean  
Where did you get the SHX Viewer tool from? I've checked some links and all are dead.

[pendean]

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@Maxim-CADman77 wrote:

@pendean  
Where did you get the SHX Viewer tool from? I've checked some links and all are dead.

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It's an ancient DOS-based freeware (finnicky to use more than once in one session)

But it still runs in Win10Pro but not tested in Win11 yet. The host/creator website vanished over the pandemic period so that may be why you cannot find it anymore.

I'll dig in my archives to see where I buried the installer "for safe keeping" and post it here if I find it.

[paullimapa]

I found this free one called StarShapes which even lets you edit the shx:

Download page:

http://starcad.com/indexbdcf.html?q=en/node/4

It's the last one on the list.