Creating Texts 

This task shows you how to create an annotation text.
Three kinds of text may be created:
  • Text with Leader
  • Text
  • Text parallel to screen
  • A text is assigned an unlimited width text frame. 
  • You can set  graphic properties (anchor point, text size and justification) either before or after you create the free text. See Setting Basic Graphical Properties.
  • You can change any text to another kind at any time.
  • A text can be applied on:
    • All geometrical elements.
    • PartBody and Body features.
    • The following Part Design features: Pad, Pocket, Shaft, Groove and Hole.
    • Axis systems.
    • User Features.
    • Technological Result features of Part Design Hole feature and User Features.
Open the Annotations_Part_04.CATPart document.

  1. Activate the Front View.2 annotation plane.

  2. Click Text with Leader  in Annotations toolbar.

  1. Select the face as shown to define a location for the arrow end of the leader.

    The Text Editor dialog box appears.
     

    The Tools Palette is displayed according to the type of face selected depending on the canonicity. In this scenario the Tools Palette is not used. For more information, refer to 3D Functional Tolerancing & Annotation User's Guide: User Tasks: Propagating Geometry Selection for Feature Creation.

 
  • This scenario illustrates the creation of a text by selecting geometry, but you can also select any Part Design or Generative Shape Design feature in the specification tree. In this case, the created annotation will not be attached to the selected feature, but to its geometrical elements at the highest level.
  • If the active view is not valid, a message appears informing you that you cannot use the active view.
    This means that the annotation will be displayed in an annotation plane normal to the selected face.
    For more information, see View/Annotation Planes.
 

  1. Enter your text, for example New Annotation in the dialog box.
    Press Shift+Enter to add new line in the Text Editor if needed.

  1. Click OK or press Enter to end the text creation. You can click anywhere in the geometry area too.

    The text appears in the geometry. 
    The text (identified as Text.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

    The leader is associated with the element you selected. If you move either the text or the element, the leader stretches to maintain its association with the element.

    Moreover, if you change the element associated with the leader, application keeps the associativity  between the element and the leader.

    Note that using the Text Properties toolbar, you can define the anchor point, text size and justification.

  2. Optional: Move the leader so that the leader extremity is snapped on the privileged direction.

    The privileged directions are horizontal, vertical, reference normal, and reference tangent directions. For more information, see 3D Functional Tolerancing & Annotation User's Guide: Customizing: Manipulators.

    The leader segment turns orange. You can click anywhere in the geometry to unselect the text.

  1. Click Text  in Annotations toolbar.

  2. Select the face as shown.

  3. Enter your text, for example New Annotation 2 in the dialog box.
    Press Shift+Enter to add new line in the Text Editor if needed and click OK or press Enter.

    The text appears in the geometry. 
    The text (identified as Text.xxx) is added to the specification tree.

  1. Click Text Parallel to Screen  in Annotations toolbar.

  1. Select the face as shown.

  2. Enter your text, for example New Annotation 3 in the dialog box.
    Press Shift+Enter to add new line in the Text Editor if needed and click OK or press Enter.

    The text appears in the geometry. 
    See also Setting Annotation Parallel to Screen.
    You can move a text using either the drag capability. See Moving Annotations.
    Note also that you can resize the manipulators.
    For more information, refer to Customizing for 3D Functional Tolerancing & Annotations.
The texts (identified as Text.xxx and its text between brackets) are added to the specification tree in the Notes group.