Author's Note: This FAQ page
was originally written for both the DOS and early Windows versions. However,
it is all still relevant right on through the latest release: DataCAD X.
I will try to fill in the blanks in this page, and add more DataCAD X specific
information in the very near future. Feel free to submit your own
FAQ questions and answers to me ( mike.smith208@verizon.net ). Mike Smith.
| What Is
a FAQ?
A FAQ is a "Frequently Asked Question." That is, a question which gets asked a lot. But more important than the questions are, of course, the answers, which our page will try to answer. And while we can't hope to post answers to everything, we will endeavor to add more questions and answers as we receive them. We also do not profess to have all the correct, nor all the best answers. If you see something that is incorrect, or you have a better way to do something you see on this page, pleas let us know. For now there is no order to the FAQ's, but as more FAQ's are added we wil try to categorize them in some manner. Where Do FAQs Come From? Some of these FAQ's, both the questions and the answers, come from us. But in order for this page to really work, we depend on e-mail from other users, giving us both a question AND AN ANSWER. Ideally, to make our work easier, we would like to see a Q&A (question and answer) format like this: Q: How do I... A: To do that... Even if you are a new DataCAD user, don't feel shy about sending us your questions and solutions, even if you think yours seems too "simple". On a FAQ page there are no dumb questions, only the questions that aren't asked. All the FAQs are numbered (A1, N2, etc.), to make it easier to refer people to specific topics and answers. |
Just the FAQ's:
A. HOW DO I DRAW THINGS?
A1 - Q: How do I draw a line?
A1 - A: In DataCAD that's easy. The answer is, you don't have to do anything, since the program defaults to drawing lines! Well, you don't have to select any menu options anyway. Just place the cursor in the Drawing Window and click the left mouse button. This is the point from which the line will begin. Now move the cursor where you want the end of the line to be, and left click the mouse again. If you continue to move and left-click, you will continue to create lines. To stop drawing lines, press the RIGHT mouse button, or press the Exit button in the menu. There are MANY, MANY other ways to draw lines in DataCAD, but this is the most basic method.
A2 - Q: How do I draw a wall?
A2 - A: In DataCAD, a wall is essentially two or more lines running parallel to one another. So drawing a wall is just like drawing a line (see the FAQ answer above), but you first need to turn on the Walls function, and set the width of the wall. To do this, go to Edit/Architct and select the Walls option. Now select the Width option, and you will be prompted to, "Select the wall width" (or press the = key to get there with one key press!) Type in a width and press the <Enter> key. Now you can draw walls just like you draw lines. In the Architct menu you should also note that you can define your walls by the Outside line of the wall, by the Inside line, by the CntrWall (centerline), or by the CntrCvty (center of the cavity). See the DataCAD manual for more info.
A3 - Q: Can I draw walls with more than one line, like for a brick cavity wall?
A3 - A: Yes. You can draw walls of up to 3 or 4 parallel lines. Follow the directions above for drawing a 2-line wall, but after selecting Edit/Architct, select either 3LnWalls or 4LnWalls. As you select each one, a different set of option buttons will appear to allow you to select the color and linetype of each line. Once you get something you like you can save those settings for future use by using the WallStyl/SaveCurr option, and giving your new wall style a name.
A4 - Q: How do I quickly draw a simple rectangle?
A4 - A: Select Edit/Polygons/RectAngl (if you leave the CntrPnt option ON, a snappable dot is placed in the center of the rectangle).
A5 - Q: How do I work with plans at an angle?
A5 - A: There is more than one way to do this, but the simplest is to leave the plan at an angle, while rotating the CURSOR, instead. To do this, select Utility/Geometry/Tangents (or press the B or b key to get there in one step!). The message line at the bottom of your screen will say, "Select the line to draw tangent to." Pick any line in the rotated plan and the cursor will automatically rotate to match that line! Now you can draw everything off of that angle! To rotate the cursor back to its original orientation, go back to the Tangents menu and select Cancel.
A6 - Q: How do I draw a property boundary using surveyor's data?
A6 - A: The answer
comes from Ferdz Reyes:
Switch to Relative
Polar input mode -- by pressing the Insert key repeatedly -- and to Bearing
angle mode (Utility/Settings/AngleTyp/Bearings). Click on the drawing area
to locate first point of the property line then press the Spacebar.
Supply the necessary distance and angle for the succeeding points.
If you need to supply irregular angles such as N 35 degrees 48 minutes E type in "N35.48E" without the quotes. Note that the dot here is being used as a delimiter between degrees and minutes. (Note : For those using the Imperial/English System, usage of the dot as a delimeter in distance input depends on the current scale type).
A7 - Q: How do I draw text aligned to a line's angle?
A7 - A: The answer
comes from Ferdz Reyes:
Use Edit/Text/Angle/Match
then select the line you wish to align the text to. The current text angle
will be changed to match the line you selected. You also have the
option of clicking on two points to create the angle to match.
B. HOW DO I EDIT & MOVE THINGS?
B1 - Q: How do I erase only part of a line?
B1 - A: Select Edit/Erase/Partial. Select the line you want to partially erase. Select or snap to the first point, then select or snap to the second point. The area of the line between those two selected points will be erased. You can do this in the middle of a line, or at the end of a line.
B2 - Q: How do I erase only part of an arc or circle?
B2 - A: The process is nearly the same for an arc or circle as it is for a straight line. Select Edit/Erase/Partial. Select the arc or circle you want to partially erase. Select or snap to the first point, then select or snap to the second point. To complete the process you must tell DataCAD which part of the circle or arc is to be removed by selecting the section to be erased. The area of the circle or arc between those two selected points will be erased. You can do this in the middle of an arc, or at the end of an arc. You can do this anywhere around a circle.
B3 - Q: How do I copy something multiple times without having to constantly pick it and select new distances?
B3 - A: Use Copy/Drag. Select the item(s) you want to copy. Pick a reference point to move from, then locate the copy where you want it and click the left mouse button. Continue to copy more instances of the selected item by placing the cursor and left-clicking. You can continue to do this until you press the right mouse button, or press Exit in the menu. If you want to select more then one item to be moved at one time, select Copy/Drag/Multi. Select all the entities you want to copy, the press Begin. Pick a reference point to move from, then locate the copy where you want it and click the left mouse button.
B4 - Q: How do I change or copy ONLY green arcs, of a Dot-Dash linetype (or other such specific entity combinations)?
B4 - A: See our DataCAD
How-To page regarding "Masking Tricks"
for a link to a full explanation.
C. DIMENSIONS
C1 - Q: Sometimes the dimensioning process only places a tick mark or arrowhead at ONE end of the dimension line rather than both ends of the line. How do I fix this?
C1 - A: Try going to the Dmension menu then to Linear/DimStyl/Incrment. If that is set to 0 you will only get 1 tick or arrow. Set it to anything but 0 and that should fix the problem.
C2 - Q: How do I add text like +/-, V.I.F, O.C., R.O., etc., to my dimensions?
C2 - A: Some CADD programs allow you to add text to associative dimensions. Currently DataCAD does not. If you need to add text ( like +/-, V.I.F, O.C., R.O., etc.), you have two basic options:
D1 - Q: How do I customize my keyboard shortcuts?
D1 - A: Go back to our DataCAD How-To page for a link to a full explanation.
D2 - Q: How do I customize my icon toolbar?
D2 - A: Go back to our DataCAD How-To page for a link to a full explanation.
D3 - Q: I'm not a toolbar kinda person, so I keep trying to shut off the toolbar permanently. I go to Tools/Program Preferences/Interface Settings, and turn the toolbar off, but every time I open up DCAD from the desktop, it defaults to showing the toolbar. How do you get it to default to no toolbar and stay that way?
D3 - A: The answer comes from Tony Blasio:
Open any drawing file, then go to Tools/Program
Preferences/Interface Settings. Click on the toolbar to turn it off, as
you have done before. But now go to the Misc tab, and drop down list
next to "Default .KEY File", select the blank line, then click on
OK. Now no more toolbar on startup!
D4 - Q: How do I customize the DataCAD screen and menus?
D4 - A: In the Windows menu options, select Tools/Program Preferences/Interface Settings. You will get a graphic image that looks like your DataCAD screen. Move your cursor over the thing you want to change (menu buttons, icon toolbar, drawing screen, message area) and click on it to change the current settings (see the DataCAD manual for more info). Select OK to accept the changes.
D5 - Q: How do I move my menu buttons from the left side of the screen to the right, or from the right to the left?
D5 - A: Follow the FAQ question above. Place your cursor over the image of the square area below the menu buttons. The DataCAD message line will read, "Click here to change the menu position." Click once and the menu buttons will switch sides. Select OK to accept the changes.
D6 - Q: How do I make my drawing cursor bigger or smaller?
D6 - A: Press the
+
key (easy to remember, since the plus sign looks like your cursor crosshairs!).
E. PRINTING & PLOTTING
E1 - Q: Can I plot out a half-size drawing set without composing these sheets all over again in different scales? For example, my original layouts are on 24"x36" sheets. I want to print out a half-size "check set" at 12"x18". Can I do this?
E1 - A: If you are using the Windows version, then yes, you certainly can. Note that Step 1. is THE MOST IMPORTANT step of the process:
E2 - A: Select the correct driver... Use Plot/ToFile.
E3 - Q: We cannot get the printed image to rotate properly on our plotter. The plotter uses a 24" wide roll feed and regardless of datacad settings the 18" dimension of the drawing sheet plots along the 24" dimension of the paper. I'd guess it is a plotter setting, but we never had the problem while running 5.x or 7.x in DOS. Does anyone have any ideas?
E4 - A: The answer comes from Neil Blanchard,
of Maynard, Massachusetts:
For some reason, the Rotate doesn't work
in Windows on some HP plotters, due to the driver. If it has an "Auto
Rotate" setting, then that might work, but you have to be aware of the
printable margins and to the Plot Size setting -- "Software" often prevents
the Auto Rotate from working because it "thinks" it needs the whole 24".
It's 5mm nonprintable margins on the edges of the roll reduce the 24" to
roughly 23 5/8". Setting the Plot Size to "Inked Area" is best, but
you need to design your border to "center" itself -- the plot will always
go right up against the lower right corner of the printable margins.
The nonprintable margins on the cut edges of the sheet are 17mm (~3/4")
on each end. So, if the 18"x24" border has 3/4" of margin at the
top and the bottom and the right end needs to be bigger than 5mm (3/16")
then you will need to put a small, light line on the lower right corner
of the sheet (near the sheet number?) to "push" the inked area to the desired
distance from the edge of the paper. You must allow enough room,
then, on the left (stapled) edge to fit within the 23 5/8" or so; otherwise
the plot will not automatically rotate. Assuming that it does rotate.
Here's what I would recommend: don't worry
about it too much unless you do a lot of these sheets. I would buy
the size roll that allows you to plot your largest common sheet size *without*
rotating it, and when you need to plot the smaller sheets -- don't bother
to change out the roll for the sake of saving the bit of extra paper (I'm
talking progress plots here). Just plot 'em unrotated (or whatever
works) and trim the excess. The Olo roller scissors work great for
this. Set up your borders accordingly. If you use vellum or
a higher quality paper for final plots and you don't want to trim those
-- buy them in the exact width you need to plot unrotated. If you
have to change out the paper, then you might as well use what works easily.
By which I mean that it seems much easier not to worry about rotating some
plots and not others -- it just gets too cumbersome!
F: HATCHING & LINETYPES
F1 - Q: How do I change hatch patterns or settings without redefining the hatch boundary all over again?
F2 - A: The most important advice is to use "associative" hatching (Edit/Hatch/Associat). Associative means that all the lines in the hatch pattern are grouped together as ONE entity. Non-associative hatching is just a collection of dozens or hundreds of individual entities. If you use associative hatching, here is all you have to do to change an existing hatch pattern in a drawing ---> Pick the new hatch settings, then select the existing associative hatch by Entity, Group, Area or Fence. Now select Begin and the hatch pattern will change to reflect the new settings.
F1 - Q: How come I can't seem to snap to the intersections of my hatches? I'm trying to lay out some light fixtures in a 24"x48" suspended ceiling grid.
If you are using "associative" hatching, as you should in most cases, then you can not snap to intersections. A hatch pattern is just a polyline outline with a pattern 'filled in'. DataCAD does not recognize the 'fill' entities as something that can be snapped to. There are several methods that people use to lay out lights in a ceiling. Here is one method:
I create a temporary layer and copy the
ceiling grids to that layer. Make the temporary layer the ActvOnly
layer. Now go to DCAD_3D/Explode/ToLines and pick all the
grid hatches. This will explode the hatch pattern into individual
3D lines. Use the free 3DLINCVT.DCX
macro (from the DCAD web site) to change all the 3D lines to 2D lines.
Now, by turning on that temporary layer while laying out your lighting,
you will be snapping to the grid intersections of the temporary layer.
Turn off the temporary layer whenever you're not using it. Of course,
if you change your grid you will have to do the process again for the new
grid. Making the temporary grid (hatch) lines a different color from
your primary grid (hatch) lines will help ensure that you know when the
temporary grid is on or off.
G: TEXT & FONTS
G1 - Q: How do I import text into DataCAD?
G1 - A: See web site...
G2 - Q: How do I export text from DataCAD?
G2 - A: See web site...
G3 - Q: How do I create 3D text to put in my 3D models?
G3 - A: The most
important step is to set your z-base and z-height for the text BEFORE you
make the text 3D, by either:
- Set Z-Base & Z-Height as required, then create text, or
- Use Change/Z-Base, Z-Hgt to change the text
At least 2 methods for making the text 3D:
1. Select DCAD_3D/Explode/ToPgons. This method has yielded the best results
for me.
2. Select DCAD_3D/Explode/ToSlab. This method sometimes drops slab faces
of some letters.
H. TOOLBOX MACROS & ADD-ONS
H1 - Q: If one of my Toolbox macros stops working or behaves oddly, what can I do?
H1 - A: Usually this
is an indication that the macro has been "corrupted" somehow. Reinstalling
the macro (.DCX) file should fix the problem.
H2 - Q: What is the DataCAD "Productivity Pack", and how do I install it on my system?
H2 - A:
H3 - Q: I can't even get into the Toolbox. What's up?
H3 - A: Check to make sure the active layer
is not "locked". The Toolbox cannot be accessed if the active layer
is locked. Either unlock the layer, or switch the active layer to
one that is not locked.
J. MULTI-SCALE PLOTTING & CLIP CUBES
J1 - Q: When using Clip Cubes, entire lines of text will sometimes disappear from the screen, and will not be printed either. What's going on?
J1 - A: Most fonts
must be COMPLETELY within the clip cube boundaries in order for the text
to be displayed. To fix the problem, either enlarge the boundaries of you
clip cube, or decrease the lenght of the text line so it fits within the
existing clip cube boundaries. Some fonts, like the "Arch" font,
will display correctly even if part of the font is outside the clip cube
boundaries.
K. TEMPLATES AND SYMBOLS
K1 - Q: Why are all my symbols being inserted in my drawing BACKWARDS?
K1 - A: Open the
Template menu and select the Enlarge option. Click on each
of the settings to check the current enlargement factor. If one of the
numbers is a NEGATIVE number, that will cause the symbols to be inserted
backward. Make sure all the settings are positive numbers.
L. IMPORTING & EXPORTING DWG & DXF FILES
L1 - Q: We received an AutoCAD file for a project which would import into DataCAD, but then it had different scaling in the x and y axis! Also, the crosshair in DataCAD was very jerky around the screen.
L2 - A: The answer comes from Mark Bell,
of Peddle Thorp NT Architects, Darwin, NT Australia, after a discussion
with DataCAD's Tech Support.
[DataCAD currently has what is called
"single point precision", meaning (in a nutshell), that when the drawing
gets very far (thousands of meters, or many kilometers away) from the "absolute
zero" point of the drawing file, DataCAD's accuracy begins to suffer due
to the calculations involved in the long distances. The answer that
follows refers to phisically moving the entire drawing close to, or on
top of the "absolute zero" point of the drawing file in order to increase
the accuracy of the entities in the drawing.]
Moving the imported info to DataCAD's absolute zero solved the jerky crosshair movement but not the scaling problem about the two axis.
In AutoCAD, when we identified an entity, and its distance from the AutoCAD origin was very far away. We moved the drawing closer to the origin in AutoCAD, re-saved the drawing, then imported the new drawing into DataCAD. The cursor moved properly, and all the dimensions in the X and Y axis were correct.
To avoid this problem yourself, especially
if you don't have AutoCAD in your office, you should ask the person sending
the file to make sure that their drawings are closer to the AutoCAD origin
before sending you the file. The person sending the file will probably
even find that they will have fewer problems themselves once they do!
M. TECHNO FILES
M1 - Q: How can I open old .DC3 files that are dated 1987?
M1 - A: The answer
comes from Paul Nida, of Dallas, Texas:
When Microtecture
(a previous owner of the DataCAD program) came out with version 3.5 they
changed the drawing database from and you were required to convert older
files. Version 3.5b update shipped with a file called "CONVERT.EXE" to
convert those files. The command was "convert filename.dc3". You
could also convert multiple files using "convert *.dc3". If you still
have a copy of this file, you could try it to see if this works. But it
might be best to try it on a copy just in case.
N. MISCELLANEOUS STUFF
N1 - Q: How do I find out what layer something is on, what linetype an entity is made of, what it's z-height is, or any other information about a specific entity?
N1 - A: Use the Identify command. Either select Edit/Identify, or select the letter "I" in the little gray square at the bottom of your menus. Pick the entity you want to identify. DataCAD will display most of the information about the entity in the side menu. Further information is displayed in the message window at the bottom of your screen..
N2 - Q: How do I get a bitmap or scanned image into DataCAD?
N2 - A: With DataCAD 10, use Insert/Bitmap. With prior versions there is no direct way to do this.
N3 - Q: After having used CADD for awhile now, how come I don't feel like I'm drawing any faster or better than I did with a pencil and paper?
N3 - A:
N4 - Q: How do I track the time I spend on a drawing file?
N4 - A:
N5 - Q: How do I increase or decrease the time between Auto Saves?
N5 - A: Go to Utility/Settings/SaveDlay, and set the number of minutes between saves.
N6 - Q: What is the difference between "vector" and "raster" files? Which of the two does DataCAD create?
N6 - A: Len
Nasman replies to the question:
Basically vector files store mathematical
rules for creating stuff while raster files store all of the dots required
to make a display. Vector graphics are used mostly for line drawings, while
raster (or bit mapped) graphics are used for shaded images. (OK, that might
be too simple. It is possible to make a mathematical rule for saving gradient
fills [smoothly changing colors] or pattern fills, and it is possible to
save compressed bit mapped graphics by having the system look ahead a pixel
and only save when there is a color change (resulting in not having to
save every dot on the display.)
One big difference between the two types is noticed when you enlarge a graphic. In the case of a vector graphic, the mathematical rules are used to generate a new image that will have a resolution that is as good as your output device (display screen or plotter). In the case of a bit mapped graphic, the dots (or pixels) making the image get enlarged, resulting in a jagged or blocky appearance to lines or the edges of stuff in images.
DataCAD and other CAD and drawing software typically store drawing files as vector images. So, your plotted or printed drawings will be as good as the resolution of your plotter or printer, not your computer display. Computer paint programs typically store bit mapped images. If you want to save a DataCAD quick shader image, you will have to save the display as a bit mapped graphic. If you want to use this image in a large printed display (like a poster or bill board) you should set your computer display to the largest resolution possible with your system before capturing the screen. With the new "o2c" rendering in DataCAD 10 it is now possible to create bit mapped image files that have a higher resolution than the computer display. The problem with high resolution bit mapped images is that they get very large (frequently too big for a floppy disk). If you are capturing shaded images for documents that are 8 1/2 by 11 in the US (or A4 elsewhere) you will probably find that an 800 by 600 display resolution will be adequate.
A: Mike Smith also replies:
With DataCAD 10 you can now place bitmap
images into your drawing file. So the answer to the second half of
the question is that DataCAD saves both vector and raster images (in reality
DCAD only displays the bitmap in the drawing file, but does not save the
image there. Instead the graphic remains outside of the .DC5 drawing
file and is "referenced" into the drawing file. This is basically
transparent to the user, and serves to keep the file size down, since bitmaps
can easily be many mega bytes in size).
N7 - Q: Is there a cheap and easy way to capture a Quick Shader image and add it to a word processing document?
N7 - A: Len
Nasman replies to the question:
Yes, use the following procedure:
1. With the quick shader image on the
display, press the Print Screen key on the keyboard once.
2. Make the DataCAD window small, then
Open the Windows Paint program [Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint.]
3. From the Paint program menu bar, select
Edit, Paste [or press Ctrl+V].
4. Use the Paint program Select tool to
capture the part of the quick shader image you want to use.
5. From the Paint program menu bar, select
Edit, Copy [or press Ctrl+C].
6. Open your word processing document
(Windows Word Pad will work) and position the cursor at the desired image
location. Then from the word processing program menu bar select Edit, Paste
[or press Ctrl+V].
That's it. Easy, and no extra software
required. You can also use the Paint program File, Save As option to save
a file copy of your image in any of several file formats. BTW, you can
quickly switch between DataCAD, Paint, Word Pad, and other open Windows
programs by holding the Alt key down and, while holding the Alt key down,
press the tab key until the desired program icon is highlighted, then release
the Alt key.
P. WHEN THINGS DON'T ACT LIKE THEY SHOULD
P1 - Q: When I type in the coordinates for entities they instead seem to be drawing themselves in random locations around the screen. What's going on?!
P1 - A: More than likely you accidently pressed the Insert key on the keyboard. This will change the "Current input mode" (Relative Polar, Absolute Polar, Relative Cartesian, or Absolute Cartesian; see the DataCAD manual for an explanation of each of these). Since there are only 4 options, press the Insert key until you get back to the input method you want to draw with (we use Relative Polar, but some people swear by Relative Cartesian).
P2 - Q: A little box suddenly appeared around the intersection of my drawing cursor. What is it and how do I get rid of it?
P2 - A: The box represents the "miss distance"...
P3 - Q: My drawing files are getting bigger and slower. How do I fix that?
P3 - A: Use the "LyrUtil" (Layer Utility) macro in the Toolbox. The DataCAD manual or the Help file will tell you all the steps, but here is the gist of it. CAD files are like a "scroll", in that you can add more and more information to the database, which is added sequentially, making the scroll longer and longer. But when you delete information from the scroll, you are only erasing them from wherever they were on the scroll. The scroll still remains the same length. So to tighten up the database (your scroll) to make your drawing smaller, you need to use the LyrSave option in the LyrUtil macro to save all the layers in your current drawing file. Once you have done that, create a new, completely blank DataCAD drawing file. While in this new file run LyrUtil again, using the LoadLyr option this time. Pick the .LYR file that you just saved, and all the data will be imported into the file. But now the data has been reassembled into a much tighter package.
P4 - Q: My drawing keeps crashing. What do I do?
P4 - A: Use the "LyrUtil" (Layer Utility) macro in the Toolbox. Follow the directions above in P3. Running your file through Layer Utility will usually fix any nagging corruptions.
P5 - Q: A few times every hour DataCAD seems to lock up and won't let me do anything for a few seconds. What's going on?
P5 - A: It's the AutoSave (automatic backup) function. On faster computers or smaller files you may not even notice this. But if you have a slower computer or a large drawing file, the automatic backup may take a few seconds to save the drawing information, disrupting your workflow during that time. See N5, above, if you want to increase the time between autosaves.
P6 - Q: Why can't I access my Toolbox Macros, either through the menu, by keyboard shortcuts, or through my icon toolbar?
P6 - A: Check to make sure the active layer is not "locked". The Toolbox cannot be accessed if the active layer is locked. Either unlock the layer, or switch the active layer to one that is not locked.
P7 - Q: My quick shader images come out with multiple, evenly spaced, horizontal lines through the image. How do I get rid of them?
P7 - A: The answer comes from the "ReadMe.win"
file in your DataCAD directory:
"Known problems at the time of release:
With some graphics cards, the Quick Shader
will display a grid over the shaded image when Windows is set to use large
fonts. To correct this, right-click on your Windows 95/98/NT desktop and
choose Properties. Choose the Settings tab and change from Large Fonts
to Small Fonts."
Ian Johnson RAIA, adds the following:
For the record, this solution works on
most machines, but we have a few machines here (running on small fonts)
where we have tried large and small but still we get the horizontal lines.
P8 - Q: When we type in text, it comes in reversed; like we're seeing it in a mirror. How can I get rid of this?
P8 - A:
The answer comes from Bill D'Amico:
Your text Aspect
is set to a negative instead of a positive number. Change it to a
positive number and your text will be entered normally.
Q: 3D-STUFF
Q1 - Q: How do I create 3D text to put in my 3D models?
Q1 - A: The most
important step is to set your z-base and z-height for the text BEFORE you
make the text 3D, by either:
- Set Z-Base & Z-Height as required, then create text, or
- Use Change/Z-Base, Z-Hgt to change the text
At least 2 methods for making the text 3D:
1. Select DCAD_3D/Explode/ToPgons. This method has yielded the best results
for me.
2. Select DCAD_3D/Explode/ToSlab. This method sometimes drops slab faces
of some letters.