How to Edit Text in BricsCAD

Quick answer: Text entities can be deleted, moved, rotated, and scaled like any other entity, and their properties are editable in the Properties panel. TEXTED controls how single-line text edits, MTEXTED lets you use an external editor for Mtext, and MTEXTFIXED controls whether the view moves to fit the Mtext you’re editing.

The Text Editing System Variables

TEXTED controls how single-line text entities behave when edited: 0 uses an in-place editor, 1 opens a pop-up dialog, and 2 uses the in-place editor with repeated input.

MTEXTED lets you assign an external text editor for editing Mtext entities instead of the built-in one. MTEXTFIXED controls whether the view zooms, rotates, and/or pans to fit the Mtext currently being edited.

Editing a Text Entity

1. Double-click the text entity.
2. Depending on TEXTED, either the Edit Text dialog appears, or the text becomes editable in place.
3. Edit the text and press Enter.
4. Either click another text entity to keep editing, or press Enter to stop.

Editing an Mtext Entity

1. Double-click the Mtext entity.
2. The Text Formatting toolbar appears.
3. Edit the text, then click OK or click outside the text block.
4. Either click another Mtext entity to keep editing, or press Enter to stop.

Editing a Selection of Mtext Entities

1. Select the Mtext entities you want to edit.
2. In the Properties panel, select Contents.
3. Click the Browse button on the right of the Contents field.
4. The Text Formatting toolbar opens for the first Mtext entity in your selection.
5. Edit it.
6. Click OK or click outside the text block; the next Mtext entity in the selection becomes editable.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you’ve worked through the last one.

Selecting an External Text Editor

1. Run SETTINGS to open the Settings dialog.
2. Navigate to Drawing > Drafting > Entity Creation > Texts > Multiline Text, and select MTEXTED.
3. Type the external editor’s full file path at the Command line and press Enter, for example, C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\Wordpad.EXE.

To restore the built-in editor, delete the content of MTEXTED.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I edit several Mtext entities one after another without reselecting each time? Select them all first, then click Browse next to Contents in the Properties panel; BricsCAD walks you through editing each one in sequence.

What’s the difference between TEXTED values 0 and 2? Both use an in-place editor, but value 2 specifically allows repeated input, letting you continue editing without the process resetting each time.

Can I use a program like Notepad or Wordpad to edit Mtext instead of the built-in editor? Yes, set MTEXTED to that program’s full file path in the Settings dialog.

Does BricsCAD automatically move my view to show the Mtext I’m editing? That depends on MTEXTFIXED, which controls whether the view zooms, rotates, and pans to fit the Mtext being edited.