How to Create Multileaders in BricsCAD

Quick answer: A multileader combines an arrowhead, one or more straight or curved leader lines, an optional horizontal landing, and content, either multiline text or a block. Create one arrowhead first, landing first, or content first, using the current multileader style.

What a Multileader Consists Of

• An arrowhead.
• One or more leader lines, straight or curved.
• Optionally, a horizontal landing and landing gap.
• Content: either multiline text or a block.

Multileader Styles

Multileaders use the current multileader style. Every drawing includes a Default leader style, which can’t be renamed or deleted, though it can be customized. MLEADER also lets you define temporary overrides on the current style for a specific multileader, without changing the style’s actual definition.

Creating a Multileader

1. Optionally run MLEADERSTYLE first to set the current multileader style.
2. Click Multileader on the Dimensions toolbar or ribbon panel, choose it from the Dimensions menu, or run MLEADER. You’re prompted to specify the leader arrowhead location, or choose leader Landing first, Content first, or Options.
3. Optionally choose a placement order: arrowhead first, landing first, or content first. Whichever you used most recently is repeated as the default.
4. The default sequence, if you don’t change it, is arrowhead, then landing, then content.
5. Optionally choose Options to define overrides on the current style: leader type, landing, content type, max points, first angle, second angle, then choose Exit options to proceed.
6. Specify a point for the leader arrowhead location. You’re prompted for the landing location.
7. Specify a point for the landing location.
8. Depending on the content type: MText launches the MTEXT command, Block inserts a block, and None concludes the command without adding content.

Hold Shift during construction to temporarily enable ORTHOMODE, the same behaviour covered on this hub’s Orthogonal mode page.

Editing Multileaders via the Quad

All four of these use the same access pattern from this hub’s Quad cursor menu page: press F12 to activate the Quad if needed, hover over the relevant entity while holding Ctrl, then expand the Modify tab in the Quad that appears.

Adding a vertex to a leader line: hover the leader line, click Add Vertex, then specify the new vertex’s position.

Removing a vertex from a leader line: hover the leader line, click Remove Vertex to remove it.

Adding a leader line to a multileader: hover the multileader entity itself (not a specific line), click Add Leader, then specify the new line’s origin; specify another origin to keep adding, or right-click/press Enter to stop. If the multileader style’s Maximum leader points property is set higher than 2, right-click to stop adding vertices to that same new leader instead.

Removing a leader line: hover the specific leader line you want gone, click Remove Leader to remove it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does BricsCAD remember which placement order I used last time? Yes, the most recently used placement option (arrowhead first, landing first, or content first) becomes the new default.

Can I define custom settings for just one multileader without changing the style itself? Yes, choose Options during creation to define overrides on the current style, which apply only to that multileader.

How do I add or remove a leader line from an existing multileader? Hover the multileader (or a specific leader line, for removal) while holding Ctrl to bring up the Quad, then use Add Leader or Remove Leader from its Modify tab.

Can a multileader’s content be something other than text? Yes, its content can be either multiline text or an inserted block.