Mastering AutoCAD 2005 and AutoCAD LT 2005

At times you'll want to change all the fonts in a drawing quickly. For instance, you might want to convert TrueType fonts into a simple Txt.shx font to help shorten redraw times while you are editing. Or you might need to convert the font of a drawing received from another office to a font that conforms to your own office standards. The Fontmap system variable works in conjunction with a font-mapping table, enabling you to easily substitute fonts in a drawing.

The font-mapping table is an ASCII file called Acad.fmp . You can also use a file you create yourself. You can give this file any name you choose, as long as it has the .fmp extension.

This font-mapping table contains one line for each font substitution you want AutoCAD to make. A typical line in this file would read as follows :

romant; C:\ProgramFiles\Acad 2005\Font\Txt.shx

In this example, AutoCAD is directed to use the Txt.shx font in place of the Romant.shx font. To execute this substitution, you type Fontmap Fontmap_filename .

Fontmap_filename is the font-mapping table you've created. This tells AutoCAD where to look for the font-mapping information. Then you issue the Regen command to view the font changes. To disable the font-mapping table, you type

Fontmap .

You can also specify a font-mapping file in the Files tab of the Options dialog box. Look for the Text Editor, Dictionary, And Font File Names listing. Click the plus sign next to this listing, and then click the plus sign next to the Font Mapping File listing to expose the current default font-mapping filename. If you hold the cursor over the name, AutoCAD displays the full location of the file.

You can double-click this filename to open the Select A File dialog box. From there, you can select a different font-mapping file.

See Appendix D for more on the Fontmap system variable and other system variables .

When text styles are created, the associated fonts do not become part of the drawing file. Instead, AutoCAD loads the needed font file at the same time that the drawing is loaded. So if a text style in a drawing requires a particular font, AutoCAD looks for the font in the AutoCAD search path ; if the font is there, it is loaded. Usually this isn't a problem if the drawing file uses the standard fonts that come with AutoCAD or Windows. But occasionally you will encounter a file that uses a custom font.

In earlier versions of AutoCAD, you saw an error message when you attempted to open such a file. This missing-font message would often send the new AutoCAD user into a panic.

Fortunately, AutoCAD automatically substitutes an existing font for the missing font in a drawing. By default, AutoCAD substitutes the Simplex.shx font, but you can specify another font by using the Fontalt system variable. Type Fontalt at the command prompt and then enter the name of the font you want to use as the substitute.

You can also select an alternate font through the Files tab of the Options dialog box. Locate the Text Editor, Dictionary, And Font File Names listing, and then click the plus sign at the left. Locate the Alternate Font File listing and click the plus sign at the left. The current alternate is listed. You can double-click the font name to select a different font through a Standard File dialog box.

Be aware that the text in your drawing will change in appearance, sometimes radically , when you use a substitute font. If the text in the drawing must retain its appearance, substitute a font that is as similar in appearance to the original font as possible.