I have searched, but not yet stumbled on the technique to insert special characters in dimension text.

Examples:

1) If I want a #31 drill, I can't get # to print (tried several common escape characters), as # signifies the dimension data

2) If I delete the phi (diameter) symbol in one hole callout, it does not appear in subsequent callouts and I would like to know how to get it back or re-invoke without quitting and restarting(!)

3) Many other symbols are useful in dimensioning: countersink, counterbore, depth, etc. Are these accessible?

Are there escape sequences I should know about or a method to insert special characters in general?

Thanks!
Tom

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the significant clues.

I am fine with the notion of adding the phi (diam) symbol back in the top window when the dimension is active. But by what mechanism do I get a phi to appear? Not on the keyboard. Cut/paste does not appear to work. What actual keystrokes or mouse clicks result in successful insertion of the phi symbol? I tried maybe 5 possible techniques, but stopped after that.

Also, the alt keyboard commands: could you elaborate? If I want to enter the U+2335 symbol, what keystrokes am I using?

Sorry to ask you to spell it out, but I think this is precisely where my trouble is: what magic keyboard sequence (absent apparent documentation) will result in success?

Thanks,
Tom

Hi Jason,

Thanks again for the information and patience. Alas I am using a Mac on a laptop (MacBook Pro 13") without a dedicated number pad. The primary reason I have picked up ViaCAD is its ability to run on native Mac (rare for CAD). If I ran Windows I would likely opt for SolidWorks as I know it relatively well. Parallels/Bootcamp unacceptable.

So I may not be able to insert arbitrary unicode characters, or shop from a character map. Bummer. I did find that alt-o produces something that looks passably like a diameter phi, so chalk up an incremental victory thanks to the alt key...

For amusement, when I type alt-u2330, I get ¨™££º To me, it looks like it's already going off the rails when I hit the u key, as it puts in tiny quotes or umlaut or something and does not appear to be holding off on pringint a character whil it waits for more data. Maybe it would sort itself out, but it seems like a bad start...

Tom

On a mac the diameter sign, ø, is alt-o

if you open the Keyboard Viewer, (System Preferences->Input Sources->Show Input Menu in menu bar) you get a direct indication of what character each key combination will produce.

As far as I know you can't use the ACSII codes (alt-u2330 etc) directly on a mac.

Following the substantial hints along the lines of "cut and paste the appropriate Unicode character," I have two methods that work-ish:

1) In Python interactive window (type python in Terminal window), type, e.g., print unichr(0x2334) to get counterbore. Then you can cut and paste the result into the dimension text entry box.

2) At a website like: http://www.fileformat.in...ode/category/So/list.htm simply find the character you want in the table and cut & paste from there.

They may come out a little small, but I'll be exploring ways around this next (mixed font sizes?).

hi,
in the character viewer of mac there are two alternatives for number sign: small number sign and fullwidth number sign. try to insert one of them instead of standard number sign (double click on sign)

for counterbore and countersink sign you could use a special font, e.g. "osifont" http://code.google.com/p/osifont/downloads/list which is adapted for european cad.
"apple symbols" font has also a counterbore symbol

see pictures

Edited by user Saturday, December 20, 2014 9:50:00 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified