Text is entered from the keyboard using either the "DTEXT" or theãMTEXTä command.

Step No. 1: Create a text Style

Before you  enter text in the drawing, you need to create a text "Style"  You can do this by Clicking on the word  "Format" from the pull-down menu, then "Text Style..."

Text styles consist of the following variables which you will need to set:
 

1. A "Style Name" for the style, which is any name you want to give it (do not use spaces in the name)
2. A "Font Name" - this is a selection of one of several letter designs which come with AutoCAD
3. A "Height" for the style - always make this 0 (i.e., "zero")
4. A "Width Factor" - this is set to the value 1 by default, but you can stretch the font letter design out by setting this number to any number greater than 1, or you can skinny down the width by setting this value to any positive number less than one.  Try to set this variable to various number and use the "Apply" button on the dialogue box to see how the width would make your style look.
5. An "Oblique Angle" - this is set to the value of 0 by default.  It is the angle of the vertical strokes of the letters.  If you assign a positive value of some angle other than 0, the vertical strokes will lean toward the right at their tops.  If you assign a negative value of some angle other than 0, the vertical strokes will lean toward the left at their tops.  This is a way of creating an "Italics" type style.
6. The so-called "Effects", or as it is sometimes called the "Generation" of the text.  The "Normal" generation is writing the text from left to right.  You may check the boxes which create an "Upside Down, "Backwards,"or "Vertical" type effect. Note that some fonts will not allow a Vertical effect or generation.

The default text style is called "Standard" and makes use of a very   boxy and ugly looking   lettering design called the "TXT" font.  To set a nicer text style, select "Format" from the pull-down menu, then "Text Style..."     Under the "Font Name" section in the dialogue box is a drop-down menu.  Clicking on the down arrow to the right of this drop down box will show a long list of names of various "fonts" in alphabetical order which can be used for the style you are creating.  A "font" is a set of designs for all the letters of the alphabet, all numbers, and all symbols on the keyboard.  For instance, the font in which this text is printed is called the "Arial" font.  It  is one of the most popular designs for lettering used for printed books.   I usually use the  AutoCAD "romans"  style for most notes and titles.

Nota Bene:  Do not set any value for the box after the word "BigFont" This is only to be used with Asian language(Japanese or Chinese) font files.
 
 
 

Step No. 2: Draw the text itself
 

Text Drawing Method 1: DTEXT

The easiest way to enter text into the drawing is to invoke the DTEXT command.  Select the word "Draw" from the pull-down menu, then "Text," then "Single Line Text" from the Pull-down menu.  You will then be prompted for a  <Start point>.   Pick the point where the lower left hand corner of the text string will be located.  With the DTEXT command, each single line of text is one entity, although several lines may be typed sequentially.

Once you have selected a "Start point" location, you will then be asked how high you want to make the lettering.  If you are typing notes in a drawing in model space drawing, the height you make the letters will depend on the scale at which you want to plot the drawing.  The default text height is always the last height which you used in the drawing, or, if no text has been drawn yet, the default height will be 3/16" high (which is much too small for model space drawings).  The table below lists recommended sizes for text for each plot scale factor.

After you have typed in a height for the lettering, then a <RET>, you will be asked for a "rotation angle."  That means the angle of the text baseline measured from a horizontal line drawn toward the east.  Normally it would be 0, which is the default, and which gives text reading from left to right, horizontally.  You may accept the default by hitting a carriage return on the keyboard.

You should not use too many variations of size of lettering you use on your drawings.  Consistency and minimization of lettering variation is preferable.  Text should all be drawn on the A-NOTE layer.
 

Text Drawing Method 2: MTEXT

Another, perhaps more sophisticated and flexible way to enter multiple lines of text into the drawing is to use the "MTEXT" command.

Select the word "Draw" from the pull-down menu, then "Text," then "Multiline Text"   - or type MT<RET>. You will then be prompted to "Specify First Corner."   Pick the point where the upper left-hand corner of a text box will be located.  Then pick a lower right corner of the defining text box.  This is an imaginary border within which your text will be confined.  With MTEXT, the entire paragraph of text that you type will be a single entity in AutoCAD.  Once you have defined the text box area, the "Edit Mtext" dialogue box appears on the screen.  This is where you will type in your text.  You can set the height by clicking in the "Height:" box in this dialogue box and typing the height (in inches) you want the text to be, and then hitting a <RET> key.  This should be done before you type in the text in the box.  You can import "TXT" files by simply clicking on the "Import..." button and selecting the ___.txt file you want to import into the dialogue box.  You have full editing capabilities within the box.  You can highlight letters or words and cut them and paste them into different places.  You can delete letters or words.  You can even format portions of the typed text by applying different fonts to highlighted text by using the "Browse..." button.  If you have fractions in the text like  ½   you can highlight them with the cursor and stack the 1 on top of the 2 by clicking on the "Stack" button.  When you have finished composing your text, click the "OK" button.
 
 
 

Step No. 3: Changing Text That is Already Drawn

Text changes are frequent during the process of making a drawing.  If you want to change one line of type to new wording or add text to a line or paragraph, simply double-click on the text to change. If it is MTEXT, the text editor dialogue box will appear with the text in it - change what you want. If it is DTEXT, a single line dialogue box will appear. Change the letters in this line.

You can change tyle style, height, color, etc. in the MTEXT dialogue box.

To globally change the type fonts used in a text style throughout the drawing from one font to a different font, simply change the definition of that text "style" by selecting from the pull-down menu "Format" then "Text Style..." and then select the romanc "Font Name" from the drop-down list, then pick the "Apply" button, and then the "Close" button. You may have to regen the drawing to see the change.