Format Multiline Text in an Alternate Text Editor

If you use an alternate text editor, you apply formatting by entering format codes.

You can underline text, add a line over text, and create stacked text. You can also change color, font, and text height. You can change the spaces between text characters or increase the width of the characters themselves. To apply formatting, use the format codes shown in the following table.

Format codes for paragraphs
Format code	Purpose	Enter this …	To produce this …
\0...\o	Turns overline on and off	Autodesk \OAutoCAD\o
\L...\l	Turns underline on and off	Autodesk \LAutoCAD\l
\~	Inserts a nonbreaking space	Autodesk AutoCAD\~LT
\\	Inserts a backslash	Autodesk \\AutoCAD
\{...\}	Inserts an opening and closing brace	Autodesk \{AutoCAD\}
\Cvalue;	Changes to the specified color	Autodesk \C2;AutoCAD
\File name;	Changes to the specified font file	Autodesk \Ftimes; AutoCAD
\Hvalue;	Changes to the text height specified in drawing units	Autodesk \H2;AutoCAD
\Hvaluex;	Changes the text height to a multiple of the current text height	Autodesk \H3x;AutoCAD
\S...^...;	Stacks the subsequent text at the /, #, or ^ symbol	1.000\S+0.010^-0.000;
\Tvalue;	Adjusts the space between characters. Valid values range from a minimum of .75 to 4 times the original spacing between characters.	\T2;Autodesk
\Qangle;	Changes obliquing angle	\Q20;Autodesk
\Wvalue;	Changes width factor to produce wide text	\W2;Autodesk
\A	Sets the alignment value; valid values: 0, 1, 2 (bottom, center, top)	\A1;1\S1/2
\P	Ends paragraph	Autodesk\PAutoCAD

Braces can be nested up to eight levels deep.

You can also use control codes to add special characters, such as tolerance or dimensioning symbols. See MTEXT.

Example: Formatting Text in an Alternate Text Editor

This example describes how the text in the following illustration was created.

Each line below was entered in an alternate text editor:

{{\H1.5x; Big text} \A2; over text\A1;/\A0; under text}\P 
{\A0;Baseline: 1 \S1/2;}\P 
{\A1;Center: 1 \S1/2;}\P 
{\A2;Topline: 1 \S1/2;}\P 
{Tolerances: \A1;1.000\H.75x;\S+0.010^-0.000;}\P 
{Architectural: 9-{\H.666x;\A2;11\A1;/\A0;16}\A2;"}\P

Procedures

To specify an alternate text editor

At the Command prompt, enter mtexted.
At the prompt do one of the following:
- Enter the path and name of the executable file for the ASCII text editor that you want to use to create or edit multiline text.
- Enter internal to restore the text editor.

To create multiline text in an alternate text editor

To specify a text editor, at the Command prompt, enter mtexted. Then enter the path of the editor you want to use.
Click Home tabAnnotation panelMultiline Text. At the Command prompt, enter mtext.
Specify the first corner of the multiline text boundary rectangle.
Specify the opposite corner of the multiline text boundary rectangle.
In the text editor, enter the text. Enter \P to end a paragraph and start a new paragraph on the next line. (Be sure to capitalize the P.)
When your text entry is complete, save the changes and exit the text editor.

Commands

MTEXT

Creates a multiline text object.

OPTIONS

Customizes the program settings.

System Variables

MTEXTED

Sets the application for editing multiline text objects.

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