Reference Section > Shape Library > Primitives

The True Type Text shape turns a line of text into geometry, using the outlines of a TrueType font installed in Windows (the Font dialog lists TrueType fonts only). Every letter becomes one or more closed contours that follow the font's outline, so the text can be cut out as letters (signs, name plates, cut-through lettering) or cut as holes in a part. Because the letters are outlines, not single strokes, this shape is not the right choice for marking or engraving; see the Marking Text shape and Text Marking for that.

It appears in the shapes library under Basic Shapes and Primitives.

Insert point and text direction

The insert point is on the baseline of the text, at the left edge of the first character's cell (the point the font measures that character from). The text runs to the right along +X on a single line. Each character is placed at the font's own advance width from the one before it; no kerning is applied.

Letters sit on the baseline, so descenders (g, j, p, q, y), accents and some punctuation extend below the insert point or above the Height. The left side bearing of the first character means the first letter usually starts slightly to the right of the insert point.

To place the text at an angle or in a different position use Rotation, Base X and Base Y in the Transform group.

Properties

Property	Description	Default
Height	Height of the capital A in the chosen font: the text is scaled so that the outline of the A, from the baseline to its top, is this high. The same scale applies to every other character, so capitals, lower case letters, digits and symbols keep their size relative to the A. Length units. The Height edit box will not accept less than 1; the build itself does not check the value.	100 mm (4 in)
Text	The characters to build, on one line. Spaces and other characters that have no outline in the font produce no geometry but still move the following characters along by their advance width. An empty Text builds no geometry.	&
Font	Click the Font button to open the Windows font dialog and choose the typeface and its style (regular, bold, italic, bold italic). The size chosen in the dialog is ignored; Height sets the size. The dialog offers no underline or strikeout.	Arial (regular). If Arial is not installed, the first font in the installed font list.

No dimensions are drawn on this shape.

Notes

•Font not installed. The font is stored with the part by name. If that font is not installed on the PC that opens the part, the shape is rebuilt in Arial if Arial is installed, otherwise in the first font in the system font list, and the font name in the Font property is changed to match. Bold and italic are kept. The fallback is not checked to be a TrueType font, so check the letters after a fallback. Install the same font on every PC that works with the part to keep the letters the same.

•Inside contours. Letters such as A, B, O and & have inner contours (counters). When the text is cut out, the counters are separate pieces; if they must stay attached use a stencil font, which has bridges built into the outline.

•Small text. Height is not checked against the cutting process. Small text with thin strokes or narrow gaps may be narrower than the kerf; check the result against the process before cutting.

•No outline for A. Height is set from the outline of the capital A. If the chosen font gives no outline for A, the text is not scaled: the letters stay at the size the font has in the internal device context, not at Height, so check the size before cutting.

•Failed build. If building the text raises an error, the shape is marked as failed: the property page shows a red Warning: Cannot build shape from these parameters bar, and the shape is drawn as a broken-shape marker at its insert point instead of the text. The build does not check Text or Height beyond the Height minimum in the edit box.

•Overlapping letters. Script and some italic fonts have letters whose outlines overlap or touch. The shape keeps each letter's outline as the font defines it and does not merge overlapping letters into one contour.

Every 2D shape also has the Transform properties (Base X, Base Y, Rotation, Scale, Mirroring X) and the Polar Array properties, listed after the shape's own properties.