SubscribeI'm on vacation this week - but I thought I would post a quick tip for all of you (especially since most of you are still hanging in the office). Don't hate me - I really need a break before crazyness starts with another round of new Autodesk products (which means no chance for time off until summer).
Let's take a look at a Hip Tip on TEXTMASK
If you have text objects on top of other objects - you want your text to stand out - and that can easily be achieved with the Express Tool TEXTMASK. TEXTMASK places a wipeout (or solid or 3Dface) behind the text - masking the objects below. Check out the Cadalyst video if you want to watch this command in action.
Command: TEXTMASK
Current settings: Offset factor = 0.2000, Mask type = Wipeout
Select text objects to mask or [Masktype/Offset]:
You can control the size of the wipeout with the Offset option, and the type of object you wish you use for your mask (I vote for Wipeout!).
TEXTMASK works on both single line text objects (DTEXT) and multi-line text (MTEXT). If you move the text - the wipeout will follow.
Note: If you have turned your Groups off - then the wipeout will move independently of the text. A Ctrl+H will turn your Groups back on.
You can edit the Wipeout with grips if you turn TFRAMES on. This comes in handy when you want the textmask to follow a specific shape.
Always use TEXTMASK in model space if you want it to plot properly. Model Space is always printed first - and that means that a textmask in Paper Space just won't work (too late to mask objects when those objects are already printed!)
I always recommend watching the video for the best understanding of the tip (unless you're in the office and don't want to bother your colleagues). I'm off to enjoy a little R & R...(but I'll be thinking about all of you guys!)