The Edit Label window ( Drawing Editor )
To, in a drawing, edit all labels that have the same text, hover any label with that same text, then right-click ( Menu ) and choose " Edit Other " or " Select Other " on the context menu . Then select on that menu the option for " All ... " labels that share the same text as the label you were hovering. Or just double-click one instance of the label and use " Change all labels with original text ."
Also see :
- Labels (topic)
- Label character height (sets default for auto detailing)
- Label width/height ratio (sets default for auto detailing)
- Label font (affects auto detailing)
- Label font style (affects auto detailing)
- Linetype Edit Palette (default sizes for Label Add )
- Layer selection tool (default layer for Label Add )
- Special labels (have special features other labels don't)
- Grayed out fields (indicate mixed entries or that the field is disabled)
- Multi Items Edit (related window)
- Explode (operates on labels with borders)
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" Copy " " Paste " " Save " " Load " buttons :
- You'll find buttons like these at the top of this window. They apply to all user-editable settings that are on this window. Click here for more information.
- You can " Copy " (
) the settings on this window, then change the " Label__of " number you are editing using the VCR buttons, then " Paste " ( 
) those settings to the newly selected label.
- " Save " (
) saves a "form" file to the 
form/label folder that is used by your current version of this program. Give the form a name that will help users in other Jobs on your network identify its purpose. " Load " ( 
) changes all settings on this window to those settings that are stored in the file that you select.
- " Paste " and " Load " replace mixed entries to a single field with a single entry. " Copy " and " Save " ignore fields with mixed entries, treating them as if they have no entry or do not exist.
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------ Settings ------
Material designation type: The option is visible when you add a Material Callout for a material. It is invisible (not available) for Edit Label operations.
For a material callout, the settings are ' Pcmk only ' or ' Mtrl type & pcmk ' or ' Mtrl type, size & pcmk '. The default choice is the " Default designation for user added material callout " specified at Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Member and Material Piecemarking > the " Submaterial " tab..
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Bolt designation type: The option is visible when you add a Material Callout for a bolt. It is invisible (not available) for Edit Label operations.
For a bolt callout, the settings are ' Bolt type only ' or ' Bolt size and type '. The default choice is the " Default designation for user added bolt callout " specified at Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Member and Material Piecemarking > the " Submaterial " tab. Another related option is " Bolt callout " at Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Detailing > Bolt Detailing Settings .
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View: A number designating the view that this label is attached to. This applies mainly to member details . For instance, a column detail may have a view of face A, face B and face C. It may also have various section views (Section A-A, Section B-B, Section C-C). All graphical objects that are in a particular view are assigned the same number. The only other type of drawing on which you might find multiple views is a submaterial detail .
Assigning the correct number to an object (line, weld symbol, label, etc.), prevents Shorten and Unshorten problems on submaterial details and member details . Automatically detailed submaterial details and member details are the two Drawing Editor drawing types that can have multiple views.
To show a view's number, you can add the X-Y-Z Display to your toolbar. An alternative decoration you can add to display view numbers is the X-Y Dual Show/True Display .
In the Drawing Editor , the X-Y-Z Display shows the view number that the point location target (
) is over.
Troubleshooting: If you Unshorten a drawing then Shorten , only to find that objects are repositioned in a way that seems wrong, the problem might be that the objects are attached to a view that is not the view that they should be attached to. A good troubleshooting method is to select all of the objects that you believe should be attached to the same view, then right-click ( Menu ) and choose " Edit " on the menu . This will open the Multi-Items Edit window. Look at the " Attached to view " field on that window. If that field is gray (shows no view number), then that field has a mixed entry , indicating that objects in your selection have have two or more different view numbers. Entering the desired view number to the " Attached to view " multi-edit field assigns all objects in your selection that one view number.
View number assignment is fairly random. While view numbers assigned during auto detailing are generally the same as the numbers assigned to views in member isolation (or material isolation's edit views mode ), there are cases where that general one-to-one correspondence will not hold. Also, while the main view of a member detail is almost always view 0, the other views are assigned numbers as they are added, and since the order in which views are added is arbitrary, there is little correspondence between a view's number and its type.
How can objects be assigned wrong view numbers? When a user adds an object to a drawing on which there are multiple views (a member detail or a submaterial detail), it is the responsibility of that user to ensure that the object is attached to the correct view. That sounds like an easy thing to do, but it isn't always so simple. Take, for example, a pointer . When a user adds a pointer using Objects > Pointers > Add , the user does not see the Pointer Edit window and therefore does not see the " Attached to view " entry field. Pointers can also be added using Paste , Paste at Original Location , Paste Repeatedly , Paste Special , Paste to Several , Add Standard Detail , Add Standard Detail to Several , Add Weld Combo , Hole Sym Combo , Label Combo , etc. Each of these tools is a different way for users to add a pointer to a wrong view.
Layer: The drawing layer (any layer given a " Name ") that the label you are adding or editing is placed onto when you press " OK " to close this window. If that layer happens to be hidden (not marked " Show "), the label disappears after the first Redraw .
Defaults: For an Label Add operation, the default selection (
) will be the layer that was selected on the layer selection tool before you began the operation. For an Edit Label operation, the default selection is the layer that the graphic object is currently on.
Origin: Upper left or Upper center or Upper right or Left center or Center or Right center or Lower left or Lower center or Lower right . The selected button is highlighted green and chooses an origin point for the label as shown below:
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= ' 
= ' 
= ' 
= ' 
= ' 
= ' 
= ' The origin ( o ) of a label is highlighted along with the label when the label is selected.
Examples: To orient the text block so that its origin point is at its lower left, select the ' Lower left ' button (
). To center the text block over the origin point, select ' Center ' (
).
Tip: Instead of using " Origin " to reposition a label, you can Shift -drag the label to a new position.
Breaks lines: 
or 
. The setup options " Break material lines at label interference " or " Break dimension lines at label interference " must be checked for this option to apply.
| Example of a label breaking a line : | |||
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| A label breaking a dimension leg : | |||
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| A label breaking a polygon side : | |||
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If this box is checked (
If the box is not checked (
Border: None or Rectangle or Cloud or Slot .
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Note: A border is part of the label, not an object that is distinct from the label. This means, for example, that you cannot select cloud borders with the Selection Filter set to ' Clouds '. Nor can you select a rectangular border with the Selection Filter set to ' Lines '. Unless you Explode the label, the label and its border are always selected together.
Border line style: A line type . This applies when " Border " is ' Rectangle ' or ' Cloud ' or ' Slot '.
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These line styles are equivalent to the dash patterns that you can select to be the " Line type " for a line. They set the dash pattern for the border aound the ' Rectangle ' or ' Cloud ' or ' Slot ' that is selected to be the " Border " of the label. |
Border gap: A distance (in the primary dimension " Units "). In the example below, the gap is measured using Add Dimension .
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Example: Suppose you enter a " Border gap " of ' 0.5 ' inches and your " Drawing scale " is ' 1 ' (Base 12). The actual gap on the printed drawing will be 1/12 x 0.5 = 0.04167 inches . This is different than " Font size ," which sets the actual height of characters in the printed drawing.
Border pen: 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 . No button is pressed if you are editing multiple labels whose borders have different pen numbers.
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| If you use the defaults for Line Weights , the choice made here sets the thickness of the border (as well as its on-screen display color). |
Underline: 
or . You can use this button to underline one or more words or letters of the " Label text " that makes up this label.
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If the cursor (text insertion bar) is within a block of " underline " " Label text ," the
If you select a string of " Label text " that is "non-strikethrough" text then press the
If you select a string of " Label text " that is already strikethrough text then press the
Strikethrough: 
or . You can use this button to strikethrough one or more words or letters of the " Label text " that makes up this label.
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If the cursor (text insertion bar) is within a block of " strikethrough " " Label text ," the
If you select a string of " Label text " that is "non-strikethrough" text then press the
If you select a string of " Label text " that is already strikethrough text then press the
Justification: Left or Center or Right . Each line in multi-line " Label text " can have a different justification. Select one or more lines of text, then press the appropriate button to apply the justification that you want.
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A label's bounding box is a rectangle whose height is determined by the number of lines of label text and the maximum character height of each those lines of text. The width of the bounding box is the length of the longest line of label text. " Justification " has no effect on label text that consists of a single line since the bounding box is the length and maximum character height of that single line.
Also see: To orient an entire text block with respect to its origin, see " Origin ." That option can also be used on a text block that consists of a single line.
Pen: 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 . No button is pressed if you are editing multiple labels that have different pen numbers.
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The button that is pressed sets the on-screen display color of the label and, if you are using the 'SDS2 ' font , it sets the printed thickness (though not the displayed thickness) of that font. |
For a TrueType label font, the " Pen " affects the display color of the text while you are in the Drawing Editor , but does not affect the plotted appearance of the " Font " so long as all pens in Line Weights are set to print in black. By default, all pens in Line Weights are set to print in black.
For the ' SDS2 ' Font, the pen color sets the stroke weight (thickness) of the label characters. Line Weights assigns a particular thickness to each " Pen ."
Font: Any font that is listed can be selected for the label.
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Tip : For a TrueType font , such as any of those shown here, set the " Font aspect ratio " to ' 0.6 ' to have the font rendered at its native width. |
Be sure to also choose the " Font style " that you want. The " Font size " sets the character height. If you select the ' SDS2 ' font, be aware that the " Pen " affects the thickness of the font when it is plotted.
Font style: The style (' Bold ' or ' Bold Italic ' or ' Italic ' or ' Regular ') of the selected " Font ." Different fonts may have different styles available to them.
Available font styles are listed alphabetically in the font style list box , and the first style that is listed for a particular font is the style that is selected by default. You may, instead of using the default, prefer to choose ' Regular ', which is generally the most popular style for a particular font. ' Regular ' is the only choice that is available for the ' SDS2 ' font. To adjust the stroke thickness of the ' SDS2 ' font, you can change the " Pen ."
Also see: " Label font " and " Label font style " (in Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Detailing > Drawing Presentation > the " Fonts " tab > ) determine the font and font style that are applied automatically to labels that are generated during automatic detailing .
Font size: The character height (in millimeters) of letters/numbers that make up the label. This value is independent of the " Drawing scale " of this drawing. Assuming that the sheet that this drawing will eventually be placed on has a scale of 1:1 and you do not re-scale the labels and the printer does not adjust the scale, this will be the actual height of characters on the plotted sheet.
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Font dependencies: This applies to whatever font is selected as the label " Font ," regardless of whether that font is a TrueType font or the ' SDS2 ' font.
Setup: You can set the default character height for automatically detailed member and submaterial drawings using " Labels character height " in Drawing Presentation . Labels added using Objects > Labels > Add are by default assigned the character height of the last-added or last-edited label -- see " OK ."
Font aspect ratio: The width/height of the characters that make up the label.
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Font dependencies: This applies to whatever font is selected as the label " Font ," regardless of whether that font is a TrueType font or the ' SDS2 ' font. For a TrueType font, a ratio of ' 0.6 ' renders that font at its native width. A ratio larger than ' 0.6 ' stretches the font. A ratio less than ' 0.6 ' compacts the font. For the ' SDS2 ' font, ' 0.4 ' is the default choice.
Setup: You can set the default font aspect ratio for automatically detailed member and submaterial drawings using Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Detailing > Drawing Presentation > the " Sizes " tab > " Labels width/height ratio " Labels added using Objects > Labels > Add will by default be assigned the ratio of the last-added or last-edited label -- see " OK ."
Rotation: A positive or negative (-) number of degrees from 360 to -360 .
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An entry of ' 0 ' (zero degrees) sets the lettering to be horizontal.
A ' positive number ' of degrees rotates the label counterclockwise from horizontal.
A ' negative (-) number ' of degrees rotates the label clockwise from horizontal.
On the drawing itself, you can Ctrl -drag a label to rotate it. The " Rotation " will automatically be updated on this window. Ctrl+Shift-drag does the same, but at 45 degree increments.
Label text: Any text string of up to 1024 alpha/numeric characters. By default, the character string of the last-added or last-edited label is automatically entered to this field during an Label Add operation -- see " OK ." Special characters can be added as " Label text " using Latin 1 characters 0160 to 0255 -- hold down the Alt key and type in the number, or copy and paste from the Character Map that can be launched from your operating system's Accessories menu.
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| Key Bindings for Text Entry (when the cursor is in the text-entry area) |
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| key | action bound to key |
| Alt +num |
inserts characters 0160 to 0255 |
| Enter | creates a line break |
| Ctrl +a | selects all text |
| Ctr+Enter | executes " OK " |
| Ctr+c * | copies selected text |
| Ctrl+x * | cuts selected text |
| Ctrl+v * | pastes cut or copied text |
| Tab | moves focus to next widget |
| Esc | executes " Cancel " |
| * = applies to all text entry fields. | |
| Examples of Character Codes | ||
| Alt+num [num lock] |
character | description |
| 0176 | ° | degrees |
| 0177 | ± | plus/minus |
| 0188 | ¼ | one fourth |
| 0247 | ÷ | division sign |
| 0248 | ø | diameter |
| Tip : For a complete list, click here , or see the Character Map on your operating system's Accessories menu. | ||
For a truetype font, " Label text " shows the font at its native aspect (" Aspect ratio " = ' 0.6 ').
For the SDS2 font, " Label text " shows a proxy font. The " Pen " does not affect the thickness of this proxy font, but will affect the thickness of the SDS2 font on the printed drawing.
Tip: To ovewrite the " Label text " with new text, press Ctrl + a while your cursor is in the text block to select the entire text block, then type over that selection with the new text.
Change all labels with original text: or . The field is visible (packed) when you edit a label. It is invisible (not available) for Label Add operations. It applies when at least one other label in your current Drawing Editor drawing has the same original " Label text " (including upper and lower case) as the one label you are currently editing. You can use VCR buttons to change to a different label, then " Change all " and make the changes you want, then use the VCR buttons to switch to a different label. Your changes will be applied at the time you switch to a different label.
If this box is checked (
If the box is not checked (
Note 1: If you check this box, then uncheck it, all fields are Reset back to the state they were in at the time you first opened this window or last switched to a different label using the VCR buttons .
Note 2: When "
Note 3: The mixed appearance that is applied to entries when "
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For when you edit one label and multiple labels are in the drawing :
Label _ of __ (not applicable to Label Add or multi-edit) : The number of the one label you are editing and the total count of all labels in your current drawing. You can use the VCR buttons to select a different label and edit that label's settings while still on this window. When a label on a shown layer is selected, it is displayed in green (cyan if its actual color is green). The selected label must be on a shown layer for it to be shown.
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| VCR buttons (first-previous-next-last) for selecting a label to edit. |
Note: If you change one label, then select a different label, the first label remains changed even if you press " Cancel " on this window.
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To close the Edit Label window :
"OK" (or Ctrl + Enter ) closes this window and completes the Label Add or Label Edit or Label Edit (multiple) or Labels Edit All operation.
Defaults: When you press " OK ," the settings on this window -- except mixed entries -- become the default settings for the next label you Add during this session of the Drawing Editor . Even if all you do is double-click a label then press " OK " without making any changes on this window, this window's settings become the defaults for the next-added label.
Note: After making changes to this window and pressing " OK ," you can still undo your changes by using Revert or Undo . If you Save to make your changes permanent, you can no longer Revert , but you can still Undo .
"Cancel" (or the Esc key or the 
button) closes this window without saving changes you have made. In the case where you selected one label for editing but changed more than one label, " Cancel " only applies to the label currently selected as the " Label _ of __ ."
Defaults: The settings on this window do not become the defaults for new labels if you press " Cancel " to close this window (unless you used " Label _ of __ ").
Tip 1: If you used " Label _ of __ " to edit more than one label, then Undo (after you have closed this window) does undo all changes made using this window.
Tip 2: If you double-click a label just to review it and don't want to set the defaults for to-be-added labels, the best way to close this window is to press " Cancel. "
"Reset" undoes changes made to the label whose number is currently selected as the " Label _ of __ ." The window remains open.
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