----E----E--- and ----W----W--- are how services drawings have marked their runs since drawings were drawn by hand. Here you get them by typing exactly that.
A dash is a dash, a gap is a space, a dot is a dot, and anything else is text. Wrap text in square brackets when it contains a dash, a dot or a space. The editor draws the real thing at its real size while you type.
----W----Cold water--G--G--Gas-·-·-Centre line--[No. 1]--Text with a dot and a space in itThe pattern bends round every corner of a polyline and wraps a rectangle, an ellipse or a polygon. Letters turn to face the way the line runs and are never upside down. Arrow heads and measurement ticks are left alone, and whole repeats are fitted so a run starts and ends on a complete pattern.
CornersRound every vertex of a polylineShapesRectangles, ellipses and polygonsFitWhole repeats, never half a letterA pattern is either fixed on the paper, in points, plotting the same however the sheet was scaled; or it follows the drawing scale, so a 0.5 m dash and 300 mm lettering stay 0.5 m and 300 mm at 1:50 or 1:500. Switching converts the numbers rather than resizing behind your back.
| Service | Typical pattern | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical | ----E----E--- | Power runs and submains |
| Communications | ----C----C--- | Data and telecoms |
| Gas | ----G----G--- | Gas reticulation |
| Water | ----W----W--- | Cold water |
| Sewer and stormwater | ----S----S--- | Drainage |
| Fire main | ----F----F--- | Hydrant and sprinkler mains |
| Fence, centre line, boundary | -x-x- -·-·- -··-··- | Site and setting out |
Type the pattern: a dash is -, a gap is a space, a dot is ., and anything else is text laid along the line. Wrap text in [ ] when it holds a dash, dot or space, as in --[No. 1]--. The editor previews it at its real size as you type.
Choose. Fixed on the paper keeps its lengths in points; following the drawing scale keeps them in the page's own units, so 300 mm lettering stays 300 mm at 1:50 or 1:500.
Yes. The letters land in the flattened PDF as real, selectable, searchable text rather than a picture of text.
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