by Dennis Collin
Leader tools have been a function in AutoCAD for many years. These tools are useful in annotating busy drawings, where a noted arrow or detail reference is required.
Fig. Balloon create increments numbers automatically, simply set a start number and text size and place the note.
Balloon Number is a free Add in from the Autodesk App store. The new commands located within the Add-ins tab creates leader bubbles with an automatic numbering sequence. Should a number need to be added, choose insert balloon with a desired reference number, the other leaders adjust their reference accordingly. By using the remove balloon function, the numbers adjust downwards, effectively filling the gap. Should this functionality not be required simply use the standard AutoCAD delete command.
Fig. Adding a balloon updates the existing leader objects (Left). Conversely removing a balloon (No.3 ) adjusts the numbering to suit. (Right)
The app makes use of an attributed block for the notes. Hopefully in a future version a multi-leader object, with annotative scaling options will be used for the notation rather than separate objects. Nevertheless, Balloon Number is a useful tool for noting drawings and update the references quickly.
The app can be found here: (login required) and is available for full AutoCAD versions 2018 - 2021