AutoCAD 2008 User's
Guide > Share Data Between
Drawings and Applications > Access External
Databases > Use Labels to
Display Database Information in the
Drawing >
Create and Edit Labels and Label Templates
Labels may be freestanding or attached to an object. The label template defines what fields from the database table are displayed in the label.
Links provide a powerful mechanism for associating external data with program graphical objects. By selecting linked objects, you can readily access their associated records in the database table. Links do, however, have some inherent limitations. Suppose, for example, that you wanted to print a drawing and include the external data associated with individual links. Because the links are merely pointers to the external database table, the external data would not appear in your printed drawing. For those occasions when you want a visible representation of external data in a drawing, the program provides labels.
Labels are multiline text objects that display data in a drawing from selected fields stored in an external database table.
The labels that you create in the program can be freestanding, or they can be attached to a graphical object. Freestanding labels exist in the drawing independent of any graphical objects. Labels that are attached to a graphical object are tightly connected with it. If you move the graphical object, the label moves with it. If you copy the object to the Clipboard, the label is also copied. If you delete an object that has an attached label, the label is deleted as well. Labels associated with graphical objects are displayed with a leader.
To work with labels, you must first create a label template that defines what fields from the database table are displayed in the label and how the label text is formatted.
After defining a label template, you might have cause to edit it. For example, you may decide that you want additional database table fields to be displayed in your drawings, or that you want to change the font or size of the label object. You can also specify a number of offset settings that affect the insertion point of labels and, in the case of attached labels, their associated leader objects.
The Label Offset tab of the Label Template dialog box specifies X and Y coordinate offset values for labels and leader objects. The following table summarizes the effect these settings have on both freestanding and attached labels.
|
Label Offset tab options |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Option |
Freestanding labels |
Attached labels |
|
Start |
N/A |
Specifies the start point for the leader object. The point is defined with respect to the extents of the graphical object that the label is attached to. Suppose, for example, that you specify a Start setting of Top Left for a label attached to a rectangle graphical object. The tip of the leader is inserted in the upper left corner of the rectangle. |
|
Leader Offset |
N/A |
Specifies an X and Y offset for the multiline text object with respect to the associated leader object. By default, the X and Y Leader Offset options are set to 1, indicating that the label text is offset 1 unit in the X and Y planes from the tip of the leader object. |
|
Tip Offset |
Specifies an X and Y label offset from the insertion point you specify for the label. For example, X and Y Tip Offset settings of -1 cause the label to be inserted offset 1 negative unit in the X and Y planes from the insertion point you specify in the drawing. |
Specifies an X and Y offset for the tip of the leader object from the value specified with the Start option. Suppose, for example, that you specify a Start setting of Top Left for a label attached to a rectangle graphical object. You also specify X and Y Tip Offset values of 1. The tip of the leader is inserted offset 1 positive unit in the X and Y planes from the upper left corner of the rectangle. |
Once you have created labels, you can edit and manipulate them in a variety of ways. Labels and their leaders can be moved and resized using standard commands such as COPY, MOVE, and SCALE. It is important to note that changes made to individual label instances do not affect or redefine the label template.
