Draft ShapeString

Description
The ShapeString tool inserts a compound shape representing a text string at a given point in the current document. Text height, tracking and font can be specified.



How to use

 * 1) Press the  button, or press  then  keys
 * 2) Click a point on the 3D view, or type a coordinate
 * 3) Enter the desired text, press
 * 4) Enter the desired size, press
 * 5) Enter the desired tracking, press
 * 6) Press  to accept the displayed font file, or,
 * 7) Press  to select a font file.

Options

 * To enter coordinates manually, simply enter the numbers, then press between each X, Y and Z component.
 * Pressing will cancel the operation.
 * You can set a default font file in Draft/Prefences.

Properties

 * : The base point of the compound shape
 * : The contents of the text string
 * : The height of the letters in FC units
 * : The inter-character spacing in FC units
 * : The font definition file used to draw the string

Scripting
The ShapeString tool can by used in macros and from the python console by using the following function:

makeShapeString(String,FontFile,[Size],[Tracking]) : Turns a text string into a Compound Shape using a specified font.

Example:

Limitations

 * This tool is not yet generally available. It will be included in a future version.  (post v0.13)
 * TrueType(*.ttf), OpenType(*.otf) and Type1(*.pfb) font files are supported.
 * Very small text heights may result in deformed character glyphs due to loss of detail in scaling.
 * The current version is limited to left-to-right layouts on a horizontal baseline.