A
leader object typically consists of an arrowhead, an optional horizontal landing,
a leader line or curve, and either a multiline text object or block.
You
can create a leader line from any point or feature in a drawing
and control its appearance as you draw. Leaders can be straight
line segments or smooth spline curves.
A multileader object,
or MLEADER, comprises a leader and a note. It can be created arrowhead
first, tail first, or content first. If a multileader style has been
used, then the multileader can be created from that style
Multileader objects can
contain multiple leader lines, each of which can have one or more
segments, so that one note can point to multiple objects in your drawing.
You can modify the properties of leader segment in the Properties palette.
Using the MLEADEREDIT command, you can add leaders to, or remove
leaders from, an established multileader object.
Annotative multileaders
containing multiple leader segments can have different head points
in each scale representation. Horizontal landings and arrowheads
can have different sizes, and landing gaps can have different distances,
depending on the scale representation. The appearance of the horizontal
landing within a multileader, as well as the type of leader line
(straight or spline) and number of leader segments will remain the
same in all scale representations. For more information, see Create Annotative Leaders and Multileaders.
You can use grips to modify the look of a multileader.
Using grips, you can lengthen or shorten a landing or leader line,
or move the entire leader object.
Arrange Leaders
Multileaders
can be arranged to add order and consistency to your drawing.
Multileader objects with blocks as content
can be collected and attached to one landing line. Using the MLEADERCOLLECT
command, multileaders can be collected horizontally, vertically,
or within a specified area depending on your drawing needs.
Multileader
objects can be sorted evenly along a specified line. Using the MLEADERALIGN
command, selected multileaders can be aligned and evenly spaced
as specified.
Show Me: Align Multileaders
Associate Leaders with
Objects
When
associative dimensioning is turned on (DIMASSOC),
the leader arrowhead can be associated with a location on an object
using an object snap. If the object is relocated, the arrowhead
remains attached to the object and the leader line stretches, but
the multiline text remains in place.
To create a leader with
straight lines
-
- At the Command prompt, enter o to
select options.
- Enter l to specify
leaders.
- Enter t to specify
the leader type.
- Enter s to specify
straight leaders.
- In the drawing, click a start point for
the leader head.
- Click an end point for the leader.
- Enter your MTEXT content.
- On the Text Formatting
toolbar, click OK.
To create a leader attached
to block content at an angle
- In the Multileader Style Manager, click New.
- In the Create New Multileader Style
dialog box, specify a name for the new
multileader style.
- In the Modify Multileader
Style dialog box, Leader Structure
tab, under Landing Settings, uncheck Automatically
Include Landing.
- On the Content tab,
next to Multileader Type, choose Block content.
- Under Block Options, next to Attachment,
choose one of the following:
- Center Extents: Attaches the leader line
to the center extent of the block content
- Insertion Point: Attaches the leader
line to the block content from any point you specify
- Click OK.
- In the Multileader Style Manager, click
Close.
- Do one of the following:
To create a spline leader
with text or a block
- At the Command prompt, enter o to
select options.
- Enter l to specify
leaders.
- Enter t to specify
the leader type.
- Enter p to specify
a spline leader.
- In the drawing, click a start point for
the leader head.
- Click the end point for the leader.
- Enter your MTEXT content.
- In the Text Formatting
toolbar, click OK.
To edit leader text
- Double-click the text you want to edit.
If the ribbon is active, the MTEXT ribbon contextual
tab is displayed. IF the ribbon is not active, the In-Place Text
Editor is displayed for both single-line text and multiline text.
The Text Formatting toolbar is not available for single-line text.
- Edit the text.
To create multiple leaders
from the same annotation
- Select the multileader.
- Specify the endpoint for the new leader.
To remove leaders from
an annotation
- Select the multileader.
- On the Multileader toolbar, click Remove
Leader.
- Select the leader or leaders you want
to remove. Press ENTER.
To align and space leaders
- Select the multileaders to be aligned.
Press ENTER.
- Specify a starting point in the drawing
to begin the alignment. The point you select is the position of
the landing head.
- If you want to change the spacing of
the multileader objects, enter s and specify
one of the following spacing methods:
- Distribute.
Spaces content evenly between two selected points.
- Use Current.
Uses the current spacing between multileaders.
- Make Parallel.
Places content so that each of the last line segments in the selected
multileaders are parallel.
- In the drawing click a point to end the
alignment.
To collect multiple notes
to be attached to a single landing
- On the Multileader
toolbar, click Collect Multileaders.
- Select multileaders in the order you
want them to be collected. The last multileader selected retains
its landing. Press ENTER.
To create a landing line
with multiple segments
To change the properties
of a multileader object
- Press CTRL and select a segment of the
leader line.
- Right-click and then select Properties
from the shortcut menu.
- In the Properties palette, specify the
properties of the segment.
CommandsDDEDIT
Edits single-line text,
dimension text, attribute definitions, and feature control frames.
MLEADER
Creates a multileader
object.
MLEADERALIGN
Aligns and spaces selected
multileader objects.
MLEADERCOLLECT
Organizes selected multileaders
that contain blocks into rows or columns, and displays the result
with a single leader.
MLEADEREDIT
Adds leader lines to,
or removes leader lines from, a multileader object.
MLEADERSTYLE
Creates and modifies
multileader styles.
PROPERTIES
Controls properties
of existing objects.
System VariablesDIMASSOC
Controls the associativity
of dimension objects and whether dimensions are exploded.
DIMASZ
Controls the size of
dimension line and leader line arrowheads.
DIMCLRD
Assigns colors to dimension
lines, arrowheads, and dimension leader lines.
DIMGAP
Sets the distance around
the dimension text when the dimension line breaks to accommodate
dimension text.
DIMLDRBLK
Specifies the arrow
type for leaders.
DIMSCALE
Sets the overall scale
factor applied to dimensioning variables that specify sizes, distances,
or offsets.
DIMTAD
Controls the vertical
position of text in relation to the dimension line.
DIMTXTDIRECTION
Specifies the reading
direction of the dimension text.
MLEADERSCALE
Sets the overall scale
factor applied to multileader objects.
