Working with Text

Most of objects in ConceptDraw Project (but for pictures and OLE objects) may contain texts. ConceptDraw Project has various tools for manipulating texts.

In ConceptDraw Project you can assign a text to an object, and also create you own text objects. ConceptDraw Project allows to control a text box to change the position of the text relatively to an object.

Adding Text to an Object

To add a text to an object, select this object and start typing text. Thus, an automatic activation of the text editing mode is made (it is also possible to use the F2 key).

If the font size with which the text is typed is too small, the editing mode zooms in automatically for improving the text visibility. Such behaviour is set by default.

Upon termination of typing click the F2 or Esc keys to exit from the editing mode.

Note: if a text contains a hyperlink (to a web-site or an e-mail), this hyperlink will be automatically assigned to the object. To learn more about this function and about hyperlinks see in the Using Hyperlinks section.

Creating a Text Object

A Text Object is an object which contains the text only and anything more (the text placed separately).

To creating a Text Object:

  1. Select the Edit Text tool or the Text Box tool in the toolbar, or select Edit Text from the Tools/Draw menu.
  2. Now you can type and edit the text.
  3. After finishing text manipulations quit the edit mode: click the Esc key or click outside the object.

A text object can be considered to be a transparent rectangle with hidden lines. It behaves as any other object - you can select it, resize, position, assign its fill and its shadow, attach connectors, etc.

To select a Text object, click on the text.

Frequently it is more convenient to group a Text object with other objects and work with them together.

You can also use a Text object for adding a text to objects to which you cannot assign the text - to pictures, OLE-objects (in Windows). For this purpose you may create a Text Object, type in the required text, and then group with a desirable object(select both of them and use the Figure/Group command).

Manipulating the Text box

You can reposition the text in relation to an object by manipulating its Text Box.

The Text Box for typing some text appears at selected objects when you switch to the Text Mode. Any text is positioned in relation to its Text Box, uses its sizes, position, turning angle.

While zooming an object, the size and the position of its text block also change. For new objects the size of their text boxes coincides with the size of their object boxes.

To select an object Text Box, activate the Text Box Mode (using the toolbar or the Tools/Draw/Text Box menu) and click on the object or its text.

Text Box Repositioning

To reposition the selected text box, grab it by its side, its center or its text with the mouse cursor and drag it to the required location.

You may also use arrow keys for repositioning, then the Text Box will move along the screen with the box advance of a pixel per a keyboard stroke.

Rotating a Text Box

To rotate the selected text box in the rotation mode, drag rotation handles (round control points at corners) with the mouse cursor. The text box will start to rotate around its rotation center (a grey circle with a point inside it).

Resizing a Text Box

You can resize the selected text box, moving its resize handles: these are square points on the sides of the text box that are responsible for its size. The mouse pointer changes its form while dragging.

Note: The Text box is a part of an object, though you can move it independently, it is inseparable from the object. If you select and delete a text box, you will delete the whole object.

For quick deleting some text within a selected object click the F2 key (the click results in selecting this text ) and then delete the text.

Editing Text

ConceptDraw Project enables to edit the text assigned to objects both with the help of tools and the keyboard.

In ConceptDraw Project you can activate Editing Text Mode when you need to edit some text of an object and then return to the previous mode. To work in this mode permanently, switch on the Edit Text tool .

For editing text assigned to an object you need to select it and activate the Editing Text Mode using one of the following ways:

a) to press the F2 key;

b) To use the menu Tools/Draw/Edit Text;

c) To double-click the selected object (if it has no hyperlink).

Then you can type or change the text of the object. If there is a selected text block when you start to type a new text, the old text will be replaced with the new one. To avoid replacing, click the old text or press any arrow key. To finish editing, press the Esc or F2 keys or click the object.

To work permanently in the text editing mode, use the Edit Text tool from the toolbar, or activate this tool in the Tools/Draw/Edit Text menu.

This tool lets you work in the editing mode as long as you need, and it is particularly useful when you need to edit the text in several objects, selecting them one after another. Switch to this tool and simply click the object to start editing its text.

If you click in the text of the object directly, the cursor will be inserted into this position in the text. If you click in the other place of the object, the text becomes selected and you can replace it having started to type a new text.

To quit the Edit Text tool mode , switch to another mode on the toolbar - for instance, to the Select mode .

Note: For objects bearing a hyperlink of any kind (the mouse cursor turns into a pointing hand), a double-click opens that hyperlink but not editing text. Therefore it is necessary to edit the text of such objects using the F2 key or the Edit Text tool .

When editing text you may use standard commands for working with the selected blocks: Cut, Copy and Paste.

For selecting a block use the mouse, or keys with arrows, holding the Shift key.

The Copy command copies the selected text in the clipboard.

The Paste command inserts the text from a clipboard into the cursor position if the text editing mode is on. In other modes the program creates a Text object and inserts the text from a clipboard into it.

The Cut command deletes a selected block of a text and places it in the clipboard.

These commands are also available in the Edit menu or from the keyboard:

 
Ctrl+C, Ctrl+InsCmd+CCopy
Ctrl+V, Shift+InsCmd+VPaste
Ctrl+X, Shift+DelCmd+XCut

A group, unlike other objects, has no independent text. When you choose a group and start to type the text, this text belongs to the uppermost in order object in a group. If you need to modify the text in any object within a group, select the needed object and or press F2 (or switch to the Edit Text tool ).

In the text editing mode you can also select and format the text assigned to this object, using formatting tools or the Text Properties dialog (in the Format/Text menu).

Formatting Text

In ConceptDraw Project you can change text properties using Text Formatting Tools:

and the Text Properties dialog (from the Format/Text menu).

Ctrl+Shift+T Cmd+Shift+T

Changes are applied:

  1. To the selected block if the block of the text is selected.
  2. To the whole text if an object (or objects) is selected.

If you want to change formatting for a text section, you should select this section. Switch on the text editing mode having pressed the F2 key or with the help of the Edit Text tool , then select the required portion using the mouse or keys with arrows together with the pressed Shift key.

You can format the font type and size, text color and background color, text style and alignment by using either formatting tools or the Text Properties dialog. Additional properties, such as margins and indents, are available from the Text Properties dialog only.

Note: Formatting text parameters for new objects are taken from last changes which you have made. This lets you preserve a unified text formatting style in the document.

Only commands Increase Font Size and Decrease Font Size are applied locally to selected objects or blocks of the text without changing global options of formatting.

You can change a font and its size for selected objects or texts portions using the Font tab of the Text Properties dialog (Format/Text) or the toolbar:

To change the font, click to open the Font Name box and then select the needed font in the list.

To change the font size, click the down arrow in the Font Size box and select the needed font size in the list. Another way is just to type a custom size in the Font Size field.

Clicking the Increase Font Size and Decrease Font Size tools you can increase/decrease the size by stepping.

Ctrl+">"Cmd+">"
Ctrl+"<"Cmd+"<"

To change Text Color select the Text Color tool . In the drop-down menu you can click any of 16 colors.

If the required color is not present, select the Color menu item. The Chose Color dialogue appears where 256 colors of the current palette of the document are submitted.

Such attributes of a font as Bold, Italic, Underline or Strikeout can be changed, using a toolbar, or from the keyboard: , , .

 
Ctrl+BCmd(Ctrl)+BBold
Ctrl+ICmd(Ctrl)+IItalic
Ctrl+UCmd(Ctrl)+UUnderline

In Mac OS versions of the program additional styles of the text are also available: Contour (Ctrl+O), Shadow (Ctrl+S) and Compressed (Ctrl+C).

By default, text has no background and text boxes are transparent (except for text boxes of connectors). You can assign the background color for the text in the selected object(s) in two ways:

  1. Use the Text Background tool and select one of the given 16 colors (or Transparent), or click More Colors for extra colors. This will bring up the Choose Color dialog with a color palette where you can choose among its 256 colors.
  2. Call the Text Properties dialog (Format/Text).

In the Text Block bar click the Text Background button and select the required color from the graphic palette. To make the background transparent, click the Transparent checkbox. Click OK to apply changes.

Each text always consists of one or more paragraphs. Paragraphs start with a new line and are separated from each other by the character of line feed (the result of pressing the Enter key). For each paragraph, you may set alignment and indentation.

Horizontal alignment can be used only for paragraphs. The paragraph can be aligned left, right or center of an operating text box. Place the cursor in the text of the paragraph and select one of tools in the toolbar: Align Left , Align Center , Align Right or use the keyboard.

 
Ctrl+LCmd(Ctrl)+LAlign Left
Ctrl+ECmd(Ctrl)+EAlign Center
Ctrl+RCmd(Ctrl)+RAlign Right

Several selected paragraphs can be aligned likewise (select them with the mouse or use Shift + Arrows).

In the Mac OS version of the program, the results of paragraph alignment appear only when you quit the text editing mode.

If no paragraph is active, the alignment will be applied to the whole text of the selected object(s).

Vertical alignment determines the position of the whole text with respect to its Text Box. You can align the text at the top, middle or bottom of the Text Box. Select the object(s) and use the following toolbar buttons: Top Align Text , Middle Align Text or Bottom Align Text .

Note: The text alignment can also be set in the Text Properties dialog (Format/Text): you can specify the horizontal alignment in the Paragraph tab, and the vertical alignment in the Text Block tab.

You can set the margins for the whole text with respect to the Text Box borders. Open the Text Properties dialog (Format/Text). In the Text Block tab, modify the values in the Margins fields: left, right, top and bottom. The values you input are taken either in the current or arbitrary units(if so, specify proper abbreviation after the number (e.g. 2.4 pt, 3.3 in, etc.).

Indents belong to the paragraph properties. For each paragraph, you can set the right, left and first line indents. For this purpose change values in the Indents group of fields (the Text Properties dialog in the Format/Text menu) and use them.

The values you input are to be taken in the current measurement system by default. If you need to use another unit, specify a proper abbreviation after the number (e.g. 2.4 pt, 3.3 in, etc.).

In editing mode changes will affect only the paragraphs in which the cursor or the selected text were.

In the Mac OS version of the program the results of paragraph alignment appear only when you quit the text editing mode.

Note: a common indent for a line is the sum of indents for the text (or its fields) and for a paragraph.