Text size - option to make it compatible with Autocad

[Art V]

Just found out (again perhaps) that the text size in Vectorworks is not about capital X-height as in AutoCAD but about line height (incl. ascenders/descenders etc) which is correct by itself.

This means that a text size specified as 2mm height ends up as 1.4mm in a dwg file for e.g. a capital X in Arial, i.e. as 70% of what you thought it would be.

Can the text size setting for Vectorworks be updated to have an option to make it match the way it works in AutoCAD, i.e. apply to capital X-height and not line height?

As it is now it's tricky to conform to text sizes specified for dwg based drawings as Vectorworks uses line hight.

Importing text from a dwg gives the correct point size, so theoretically it should be possible to define it in a similar way from "AutoCAD mm" to points.

Edit: corrected for initial mistake re text size based on x-height vs line height and updated request for matching the AutoCAD way of specifying text height

Edited October 15, 2015 by Art V

[Jershaun]

I also agree there should be an option for correct mm settings.

In addition, I really appreciate the annotative text features of AutoCAD. I can have different insertion points and different positions of the same text at different scales. Vectorworks can have different sizes however it isn't as powerful as AutoCAD's.

Same applies to all settings in dimensions. AutoCAD can have annotative settings applied to dimension styles.

[Art V]

Yes, annotative text would be nice, as I often do need to have the text at display output to be at an exact size, so being able to specify the output text size and have it automatically show up at the proper scale on a design layer would be convenient.

Ditto for dimensions, though for arrow size I'd like to have the option to not have them become huge at times when placed on a design layer as it sometimes covers other objects.

[Jim Smith]

Art,

Can't you do this in the Advanced Properties in the OIP?

[Art V]

Jim,

For text there is no such thing as advanced properties in the Object Info Palette, at least not in 2015.

If it is there in 2016 then I'll be able to check in a few days if there are no delays in the release of the Dutch version of Vectorworks.

[zoomer]

If I got that right there is no system wide or file wide setting to set Text Sizes.

You have to set it again for each Tool that uses Text.

Once you've don so it will be kept as default for the document (?)

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Art V]

Jim, just to make sure, were you referring to annotative text sizes or AutoCAD style text height sizing (i.e. using capital height instead of line height for text size)?

[Art V]

If I got that right there is no system wide or file wide setting to set Text Sizes.

You have to set it again for each Tool that uses Text.

Once you've don so it will be kept as default for the document (?)

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Text styles?

The text size will be kept until the size is changed for a tool, which may cause different tools to use different text sizes.

The only way to set a default size for tools for a document that at that time do not use text styles that I am aware of is to set the text size before using a tool, then this text size should be used by all. Though I have not really tested this on all tools that use text, so I could be wrong.