Text in lines

[pedarrin]

I am trying to find a way to easily insert text into lines on my piping drawings to designate the type of pipes I have.

I want to be able to control where on the line I put it no matter how long the line is. I want to be able to control the orientation of the text, also. I want to do this so the text is aligned on the drawing correctly and aligned with parallel lines near it. Because of these constraints, I cannot use a custom linetype unless I create a bunch and that would be a time consuming mess.

I cannot use the "wipeout" tool, because the printers/plotters we use or send our drawings to be plotted do not recognize it correctly. The plots come out with a black block where the wipeout box with text is located.

I currently just insert the text and then break the line. I was thinking that this is probably a common problem and somebody has come up with a solution.

I am looking for some type of lisp or something like it to do this.

Please let me know if there is anything out there which would do this.

Thanks,

pedarrin

 

[PLB]

Hi pedarrin,

I have written a LISP program for R14 (it might work for 2000+) that draws a polyline, asks you for the word to insert and the spacing of the word along the polyline. It then places the word at the correct spacing and breaks the polyline to fit the word. You would be able to "stretch" the ends of the polyline segments and the word if you need to custom locate it.

Let me know if you are interested and I'll see if I can find it in my stored "stuff".

Hope this helps,
Paul

 

[pedarrin]

I am not sure it would help.

I have been using linetypes that have the text as part of the file. This allows for text to be put in the line at predetermined spacing, but it is difficult if I want to move the text a little on the line. I usually have to break the line at a point which is hit or miss. Also, the linetype requires you draw the line from left to right or down to up to get the correct orientation.

If I do not use the created linetype, I place my line from point to point, then put in the text using break or trim. This can be a little cumbersome, especially if I want to move my text later in the project.

I was just looking for something that would allow me to simplify this operation a bit.

Thanks for the reply and the offer.

pedarrin

 

[jugglerbri]

Paul,

I would love to take a look at your lisp routine. I've been thinking about writing a routine that would do something similar (something like the AEC Contour labels from Land Development Desktop). If you find it, please send a copy to me at jugglerbri@hotmail.com.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[elminer]

We don't do a lot of it, but we have devised a system that works for us. We create a block that has the text within a 3dface that is set at an elevation greater than all other elevations in the drawing. A 3d face will not hide text, but will hide everything at a lower elevation. We then use the Autocad Measure command. It allows you to insert blocks along a line at a specific interval. Later, if you need to move some of the text, you can move the block(s) and still retain the same effect on the line.