Scaling several lines of text without increasing spacing

Hello all

I'm sure this is basic but cannot find a solution. I have tried scaletext etc. without success.

I have a survey sent to me in dxf format which consists of points and lines. At each point there is a dot with 3 pieces of text stacked one above the other. However the text is too large to easily read as it overwrites. I wish to reduce the text size (easy) but at the same time keep the 3 lines of text close to each other so I know which text relates to which point. You will note that the text is on 3 layers.

Can you advise me?

Please see attached.

Thanks in advance

Surveyman

survey.dxf

I would use QSELECT or just pick them and then change the height with the properties palette. Alternatively change one piece of text and use the paint brush. But I'm using 2008 and am not sure if either of these was available 2002.

I would use QSELECT or just pick them and then change the height with the properties palette. Alternatively change one piece of text and use the paint brush. But I'm using 2008 and am not sure if either of these was available 2002.

MatchProperties (PaintBrush) is available in '02. Not sure about QSelect, if not, use Filter or the Express Tool: SSX.

Thanks for ideas, but I'm not sure if I don't understand your replies, or haven't properly described the problem.

Grabbing the text and reducing the size is not an issue. The problem is the increased spacing that results between the 3 lines.

I now attach a modified file with 2 pieces of text in the bottom left hand corner. This demonstrates the effects of scaletext (which reduces the text size but leaves large spacing gaps) and a manually modified section which shows what I am trying to achieve.

I am grateful for all responses so far.

Regards

Rob

survey.dwg

so your title of "without increasing spacing" should have read differently?

I don't have access to AutoCAD over the weekends so I'll bow out now.

Since they're three lines of text (not mtext), you have to accomplish two tasks at the same time: change the size of the font, AND relocate the text insertion points to a position closer together.

You can either use the SCALE command over and over on each one..

Or you use

#1- SCALETEXT the whole drawing once.

#2- Using "quick select filter" you select all the Green text at once,

#3- Use the MOVE command, pick a random basepoint, then a destination point of @.75

#4- Using "quick select filter" you select all the yellow text at once,

#5- Use the MOVE command, pick a random basepoint, then a destination point of @1.68

#6- Using "quick select filter" you select all the Red text at once,

#7- Use the MOVE command, pick a random basepoint, then a destination point of @3

(god.. you HAD to use radians! lol I've never used them before.. they're very strange to me, so I'm sorry that the resulting angles/distances are approximations, rather than precise, but when you can fine tune it. If you do this a lot, you should do a LISP for it or something)

This only works because the text labels are all in precisely the same position, relative to the point being labelled.

It's not going to correct the fact that some of the labels continue to overlap because the points were taken too close together.. as a result, you're likely to need to do this again.. even smaller.. I found points that were essentially close enough that the labels overlapped almost precisely.. like 3 times on a single location.

Hope this helps though.

NOTE: if you don't have "quick select" on that version, each of the three labels are on their own layer, so you could turn off the other layers to move each label group.

Mike

Many thanks for that. You understand my problem exactly. I do have quickselect so will press on with a 3 movement strategy. I'm not up to lisp yet! The main thing to understand that I'm not missing some super trick which could have made life easier!

Regards

Rob

As the three lines of text are scaled about the surveyed point, perhaps you could get the surveyor to provide you with a DXF output at another scale.

I would certainly ask the surveyor to survey the top of kerb at the back edge of the kerb stone, then you would not get the top of kerb and channel points written on top of each other. Looks like a spider's web in places

If you are into processing the DXF text file, you could alter the scaling and position of the text.

Looks like output from a program called Metes and Bounds done in coordinates rather than bearing and distance.

I have the free version on my computer but only the paid pro version can generate drawings that are importable into AutoCAD or i'd try to get you a call list for the lines on there out of that mess or at least re-scale the text. I can't import the dxf and there is no text scaling control. It stays the same size no matter what happens to the lines.

My Father-in-Law is a Professional Land Surveyor here in Maryland and I have had to deal with this issue from time to time doing drawings for him. He has no control over the text scale relative to the drawing scale in M&B. He also is too cheap to buy the pro version (hope he doesn't read this forum).

You should see what an 87 acre survey made up of 6 contiguous parcels with 4 overlaping easements looks like in Metes and Bounds.

I just have my Father-in-Law email me the call list from the Metes and Bounds program and lay the thing out myself by the bearings & distances. with dynamic input = line @ 120.5'

Wait, I suppose that might not help very much, you've already got the lines.

I seem to have missed the point a little, but maybe I gave you some ideas?