Add Text
In 2D View mode, the Add Text dialog allows
you to add text, including numeric characters, to a board. You can also add a text string that is displayed for only certain variants of the design. The dialog is displayed as follows.
- In eCADSTAR PCB Editor,
click or
on the
ribbon.
- In ,
click on
the ribbon.
Command dialog
Variant
Allows you to specify the text string that is displayed in the different variants of the design. This button is displayed only in eCADSTAR PCB Editor. If there are no variants in the current design, or you do not have a PCB Variant license, then it is made unavailable.
| Value |
Description |
| ON
|
If selected, then the Details button is displayed in the Strings box. Click this button to launch the Variant Text dialog. This allows you to add a text string that is displayed for specified variants of the design. You can specify its properties in the same way as for non-variant text. For all variants, the text has the same properties. These include its position, rotation, font, etc. Specified values are saved if you toggle this setting to OFF and then back to ON. |
| OFF
|
If selected, then you can add a text string in the Strings box. This string is displayed permanently in the design, and is not affected by the Variant view that is currently displayed on the canvas. |
Strings
| Value |
Description |
| Details
|
In eCADSTAR PCB Editor only, the Details button allows you to add text for specified variants of the design. This button is displayed if you select ON in the Variant field. If there are no variants in the current design, or you do not have a PCB Variant license, then the Variant field is made unavailable.
|
| Strings
|
Specify the text string that is added to the design. In eCADSTAR PCB Editor, this string is displayed permanently in the design, and is not affected by the Variant view that is currently displayed on the canvas. |
Text mode
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Reference point | Specify a point on the canvas to set
the position of the text. |
| 2 points | Specify two points on the canvas to set the
position and dimensions of the text. See Adding
Text by Specifying Two Points. |
Characters
This section allows you to specify the properties of the
text. When you add text to the canvas, eCADSTAR
places each character within a box, which is not displayed. The values
that you specify refer to the dimensions of this box, rather than the
dimensions of the characters. The actual dimensions of characters will
vary, depending on their position within the box. This is illustrated
below.
If you select 2 points
in the Text mode field, then the position
and dimensions of the text are set by specifying two points on the
canvas. See Adding Text by Specifying Two
Points.
Font
| Value | Description |
|---|
| [Font name] | Select the system font that you want to use. If you select
the zafont0, _zafont0,
zpafont0 or _zpafont0
font, then you can add the following symbols to the canvas by
typing the associated character.
| Character | Displayed symbol |
|---|
| "<"
(less than) | "°" (degree
symbol) | | ">"
(greater than) | "Ø" (diameter
symbol for a circle) | | "^" (caret) | "μ" (mu) | | "_" (underscore) | "±" (plus
or minus) | | " ` " (back
quote) | "Ω" (ohm
symbol) | | "|" (pipe) | " " "
(quotation marks) |
If you select the zvisula or
_zvisula font, then you can
add the following symbols to the canvas by typing the associated
character.
| Character | Displayed symbol |
|---|
| "^" (caret) | "Ø" (diameter
symbol for a circle) | | "|" (pipe) | "μ" (mu) |
|
Character width
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number greater than 0. | Set the width for each character in the text that you add to
the canvas. You can also set this value in the Select
font sizes field, in this dialog. This value refers to
the dimensions of the non-displayed box which contains the character,
rather than the actual width of the character. |
Character height
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number greater than 0 | Set the height for each character in the text that you add
to the canvas. You can also set this value in the Select
font sizes field, in this dialog. This value refers to
the dimensions of the non-displayed box which contains the character,
rather than the actual height of the character. |
Character spacing
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number equal to or greater than 0. | Set the character spacing for the text that you add to the
canvas. You can also set this value in the Select
font sizes field, in this dialog. This value refers to
the spacing between the non-displayed boxes which contain the
characters, rather than the actual spacing between characters. |
Line spacing
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number equal to or greater than 0 | Set the spacing between the lines of text that you add to the
canvas. You can also set this value in the Select
font sizes field, in this dialog. This value refers to
the spacing between the non-displayed boxes which contain the
characters in each line of text. |
Pen width
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number equal to or greater than 0. | Set the pen width for characters in the text that you add to
the canvas. You can also set this value in the Select
font sizes field, in this dialog. Because of the method
used by eCADSTAR
to place text on the canvas, the values that you specify do not
refer to the units in the design. |
Select
font sizes
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Select | Displays the Font setting dialog.
This contains the text size and spacing criteria that you define
for eCADSTAR PCB Editor
or Footprint Editor. Select
a row in the dialog, and click Apply
or OKto apply the settings to the Text
dialog. Existing values in the Text
dialog are overwritten by the values that you specify. |
Origin
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Origin button | Select the anchor position of the specified text string from the following
options. This is indicated by a red point on the image that
accompanies each option. When placing the text string on the canvas, the anchor position describes the position of the cursor relative to it. - Top-Left
- Top-Center
- Top-Right
- Middle-Left
- Middle-Center
- Middle-Right
- Bottom-Left
- Bottom-Center
- Bottom-Right
|
Mirror
Allows you to select whether the specified text string is flipped horizontally. In eCADSTAR PCB Editor, the setting is saved when the design is saved, and persists after eCADSTAR PCB Editor is closed.
| Value | Description |
|---|
| ON | The specified text string is flipped horizontally when added to the canvas. The Mirror origin position button is made available. This allows you to specify whether the origin of the text string is also flipped horizontally.
|
| OFF | The specified text string is placed on the canvas in the normal orientation. The Mirror origin position button is made unavailable.
 |
Mirror origin position
Allows you to select whether the origin of the text string that is set in the Origin box is also flipped horizontally. In eCADSTAR PCB Editor, the setting is saved when the design is saved, and persists after eCADSTAR PCB Editor is closed.
| Value | Description |
|---|
| ON | The origin of the text string is not flipped when the text string is flipped. The origin is set to Top-left in the following example. 
|
| OFF | The origin of the text string is flipped horizontally, as well as the text string. The origin is set to Top-left in the following example.
|
Initial angle
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number greater than -360 but smaller than 360. | Set the input angle for characters. |
Rotation step
| Value | Description |
|---|
| Real number greater than -360 but smaller than 360. | Set the angle increment applied when Rotate by Specified Angle on the assist menu is clicked. If you specify a positive value, then the text is rotated anti-clockwise. |
