Filled-in symbols in Symbol library

[cinnamongirl]

Is there a way to add filled-in symbols, other than circles and arcs, to the Symbol library (i.e. Gtol.sym file)? I would like to add square and triangle symbols so I can use them in my notes. I've been using sketches but that presents problems when editing and moving notes.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

See faq559-1229

 

[cinnamongirl]

Thanks CorBlimeyLimey, but none of the custom symbols posted in that link had a filled solid box or triangle. I am wondering if it's even possible.

 

[handleman]

I don't think shading/fill is possible with that interface. The best you could do is probably to make a symbol with a lot of lines that fill up the space so that they look solid when printed. You could probably use Excel to quickly generate the incremented lines of text needed to define all those filling-in lines. I'm not sure if there's a limit to how many segments/elements can make up one of those custom symbols.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[EEnd]

You may have luck with using the geometric shapes defined in the unicode fonts: Link. For instance, in your note, press and hold the left alt key, type 9632 on your number pad, and release the alt key to get a solid black square. There are also triangles (9650, 9654, 9660, 9664). Oddly I get a different symbol when I do alt 9650, but a single backspace changes it into the triangle.

Eric

 

[cinnamongirl]

After looking at some of the existing code I found a way around it.

Using "POLY" creates a solid triangle using three lines. To create a square I used two right-angle triangles.

Here's the code for the three shapes I needed;

*BLKSQR,Black Square
A,POLY 0.175,0.825,0.825,0.825,0.825,0.175,0.175,0.825
A,POLY 0.175,0.175,0.175,0.825,0.825,0.175,0.175,0.175
*BLKTRI,Black Triangle
A,POLY 0.1,0.15,0.5,0.9,0.9,0.15,0.1,0.15
*BLKCRC,Black Circle
A,SARC 0.5,0.5,.375,0,360

 

[cinnamongirl]

*BLKDIA,Black Diamond
A,POLY 0.1,0.5,0.5,0.9,0.9,0.5,0.1,0.5
A,POLY 0.1,0.5,0.9,0.5,0.5,0.1,0.1,0.5

 

[EEnd]

Can you make a solid square with a single poly command using 4 lines?
A,POLY 0.175,0.825,0.825,0.825,0.825,0.175,0.175,0.175,0.175,0.825

I would also like to point out that if they work for you, the unicode characters should be more portable as they do not require everyone who is trying to view the file to have the custom Gtol.sym

Eric

 

[cinnamongirl]

No, I tried the four-line solution earlier and again by copying/pasting your numbers. All I got was a triangle.

By the way, I also created the diamond shape by using two triangles; a pyramid and an inverted one.

I originally tried the unicode character solution when I first tackled this project, it was difficult to find the right proportion and size (not a big deal), but then when I printed the drawings the printer did not recognize some of the characters (big problem).

 

[cinnamongirl]

Here's a helpful link;

http://solidworks.cad.de/lib_gtol.htm

 

[EEnd]

I wondered if there would be problems with some devices not supporting the full unicode set. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Eric