By Martin Phelps
The “Text Align” command is not new to AutoCAD, and is available in both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, however it is often overlooked but can be a useful time saver when trying to line up text objects.
This function will work with both “Single” and “Multiline” text.
The “Text Align” tool is located in the “Text” panel of the “Annotate” tab of the ribbon menu as shown in Figure 1.
Once the command has been activated, select the “Text” object to “Align”, multiple “Text” objects can be selected, the selected objects are shown in blue, as in Figure 2.
Press “enter” to move on to the next stage of the command.
The command default now requires the selection of another text object, to align the previously selected text object or objects.
An “Orange Dashed” line will now appear, attached to the crosshairs, as shown in Figure 3.
The user can now move the crosshairs to gain the correct alignments of the selected text objects.
Note: - The defaults of the “Textalign” command are as follows, the alignment point is the “Left” of the selected “Text”, regardless of the “Text” Justification, and the “Spacing mode” is “Current Vertical” which means the vertical position of the “Text” will remain fixed, these and other “Options” will be covered in a later blog.
Tip: - Alignment of the “Text” objects can be made easier if “Polar Tracking” is turned on, this will also allow the “Text Alignment” to use the set incremental “Polar” angle, however the general requirement is to “Align” the text vertically, as shown in Figure 4.
Left click to select a second point and confirm the required angle.
As an alternative to aligning the selected text with another “Text” object, after pressing “Enter” a sub command that comes available is “Point”, as shown in Figure 5.
Selecting this option from the command line, typing in “P” or right mouse click and selecting “Point” from the displayed menu, will allow the user to select an alignment point with in the drawing area, as shown in Figure 6.