Text not aligning


johnny
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No matter what I choose (rich text or standard) I can't get the text locations to align - even though using standard mode it should be in its own "cell".  Visually in the Chief text box everything looks fine, but then on the plan its incorrect....or on the plan its correct but in the text screen its not.  I can't have it both ways - a bit nuts.

 

Anyone had issues like this?   Super frustrating....

TEXT1.png

TEXT2.png

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2 hours ago, johnny said:

No matter what I choose (rich text or standard) I can't get the text locations to align - even though using standard mode it should be in its own "cell".  Visually in the Chief text box everything looks fine, but then on the plan its incorrect....or on the plan its correct but in the text screen its not.  I can't have it both ways - a bit nuts.

 

Anyone had issues like this?   Super frustrating....

TEXT1.png

TEXT2.png

 

This is so silly.  You should not even need to ask the question.......  but I get it......  the way CA works some of its text is a mystery.

 

I might have have a text block I am looking at in its DBX,  and it is a guess on how many tabs I need to line up with text above and the text below. 

 

I willl say the Alaskan son did a good vid on thiss a couple of weeks ago,  but if I had to guess,  his solution does not solve your issue.

 

i hear your complaint.

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I didn't know the answer, was curious so looked through the reference manual over coffee.

No joy with regular text but with Rich Text there is an option to edit text in place which gives you WYIWIG.

I think this is what you were trying to do? in any case edit in place gives control.

Edit rich text in place.png

is this what you're after.png

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2 hours ago, MarkMc said:

I didn't know the answer, was curious so looked through the reference manual over coffee.

No joy with regular text but with Rich Text there is an option to edit text in place which gives you WYIWIG.

I think this is what you were trying to do? in any case edit in place gives control.

Edit rich text in place.png

is this what you're after.png

 

This is only true under the perfect circumstances.  Try slowly zooming in and out while you have that Edit Rich Text In Place DBX open and you'll see the layout jump all over the place. 

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Johnny,

 

I don't really have an answer for you as far as actually seeing what you get with the text boxes however here are a few quick ideas you could play around with...

  • Using actual objects and their related schedules instead of text boxes.  There are a lot of options in this regard.   Here's a really quick example before I head out the door...

Schedule.thumb.jpg.118e49123a282d37aa32fe1af953afe1.jpg

Footnote Example modified.plan

NOTE:  The title and gridlines could be included with the schedule itself but I know how particular you can be so I just included those as separate items so they look more like what you were showing.  The lettering in lieu of numbering could also be automated but only in the schedule.  If you're okay with sticking to a numbered sequence (with or without a prefix) then the associated callouts are automated as well (as they are in the attached plan).

EDIT:  Lettering in lieu of numbering could actually be automated so that the callouts and schedule both matched by creating a unique CAD block for each item but they would have to be manually set the first time around and would not automatically re-order themselves if you decided to rearrange the schedule (you would have to re-assign the appropriate CAD blocks to each symbol as necessary).

  • Copying grids from Word (or other program) and pasting into your Rich Text box.  This gives you much more control.  The problem is that you either have to mask the gridwork (you won't like it and we have no control over the display) or you can just do a little post processing to delete it (I just us a PDF editor after printing to PDF to do this type of thing. 
  • Use side by side text boxes for the different columns instead of one big text box. 

 

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I thought Johnny wanted columns to start and then a line that spanned columns?
In the ref manual I found that for columns-if you tab in a standard text box it makes columns that you can resize-in RT it makes tabs. (Was news to me anyway) Appears pretty manageable for columns BUT once the columns are there they are there so no option to split further lines.

Columns in text box.png

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1 minute ago, MarkMc said:

I thought Johnny wanted columns to start and then a line that spanned columns?
In the ref manual I found that for columns-if you tab in a standard text box it makes columns that you can resize-in RT it makes tabs. (Was news to me anyway) Appears pretty manageable for columns BUT once the columns are there they are there so no option to split further lines.

Columns in text box.png

 

Yep.  I think Johnny realizes this but again...what you see in your text box does not match what you see in the plan or layout.  It can just be very difficult to keep track of proper alignment with things working as they currently do.  

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12 hours ago, Joe_Carrick said:

If you use a "Fixed Font" such as Courier the text will align.  The problem is that spaces and tabs are not the same with proportional fonts.  In fact, very few characters and numerals are the same width in proportional fonts.

 

So changing the text to Courier did work too - although I do like Micheal's idea as well.

 

I have to say, the fact this doesn't work correctly is another notch in the WTH working in Chief.  Truly nutty.

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50 minutes ago, johnny said:

Michael - I was looking and using another one of your threads on this footnote/schedule solution, and noticed you are using "01", "02" etc etc.  Is there anyway to set that to "1" "2" etc?

 

I downloaded  the example from this site - https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/13620-note-schedule-tips/#comment-116218

Did you check the example plan I posted in this thread?  I think it will suit you better.  Anyway, yes...almost any numbering or lettering style is possible but anything outside the 01, 02, 03 scheme would have to be a little less automated.  As I mentioned above you would have to choose between keeping the schedule full auto and manually placing matching callouts in plan OR keeping both tied together at the expense of losing the ability to easily renumber your schedule.  All solutions would likely require some custom macros but once set up I also think all of the aforementioned solutions would be faster, easier to manage, and more automated than what you're doing now.  Just shoot me an email if you want help setting it up.  

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Hey Johnny,  before I head out the door this morning, here's a quick example of a solution that doesn't require any custom macros.  There are a lot of potential uses for this type of thing, it's really easy to set up, you could use any number of object types and schedules, and you could even use this as nothing more than a special sort of custom text box by just dropping the associated symbols off to the side somewhere.  It obviously has it's advantages and disadvantages, but probably something good to have in your toolbox nonetheless...

59303c87960c3_Schedule2.thumb.jpg.989e1bb36b064fdca974f1dfbf1754d4.jpg

Custom Schedule Example.plan

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If I want a custom schedule with rows, columns, and headers, I just draw CAD lines for the grid, and write my text using regular text (not rich) and then use point to point moves to place my cell contents.  The text alignment tools work nicely for me.

 

Nothing's automatic, but it seems quick and easy.

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So I wanted to write back and let everyone know i've opened files which were done in X8 - and specifically didn't have problems like I am experiencing, but now with X9 those same text boxes aren't working.

 

Is this more a problem with x9 than it was in other releases?

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I was thinking - should this be reported as a bug?  Chief isn't working correctly, and when I spoke to a tech support guy there at corp. they sounded like there is no reason it doesn't work and he felt it must have been something on my end.

 

Well, it appears this is a problem for everyone.

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