Non-printing font character

[wazzu83]

I use TechnicLite as my dimension and note font. Works well, but apparently the Alibre generated "°" degree symbol is a non-printing character. As a result, a rectangular block is displayed/printed instead. I have found that I can insert the symbol as a suffix using the "edit dimension" dialog (character displays and prints correctly), but that trick also requires that I "override" the dimension in order to delete the rectangular character. That creates another problem ... the 2 digit decimal portion of the angle dimension turns into a fraction as soon as the funky character is deleted. Argh!

So, I end up actually overriding the dimension entirely to get the proper angle format that I desire. As long as I'm at it, I can just add character "Alt + 0176" (ASCII degrees symbol) to the dimension override.

One obvious solution is to use a different font. I really would rather not.

If the symbol will print when typed directly, why does Alibre generate an non-printing character? :?

As long as I'm at it ....

Is there a way to force the Ø and R dimension symbols to be suffixes rather than prefixes?

Are either of these issues something that the Alibre programmers would consider bugs or oversights that could be included with future updates?

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[Ralf]

Hi Bryan,

The "rectangular character" means: notdef, (undefined)
(The Font was created 1992 - 1996)
My English skills are not sufficient to describe it properly.
I will send a PM, please try... :wink:
.

 

[Ralf]

Is there a way to force the Ø and R dimension symbols to be suffixes rather than prefixes?

Normally, the the Ø and R symbols / characters are used as a prefix, at least in technical drawings. (IMHO)

I would not recommend to change this rule / norm / standard.

It is possible, however, in exceptional cases.
.

 

[Ralf]

Hi Bryan,

I found a newer version of TechnicLite.
This font works without my "manipulation".
.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Bryan,

The postfix ø and R symbols were removed from ANSI specifications at the 1984 revision to bring them into line with ISO specifications by making them prefix identifiers. I would argue that Alibre needs to establish its default settings in accordance with the current standards and specifications. Ralf (who probably knows more details of the various Alibre settings than anyone else) has shown you how to return to the pre-1984 format, but I would think carefully before implementing it...

 

[wazzu83]

I have encountered the same non-printing character with my current and other versions of "Technic".

Does anyone (Ralf) have a TTF version of Technic with a printable "°" (degree symbol)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Wazzu,

The thing to check is to see if your font uses the older (ANSI/IBM) standard wherein the degree symbol and the diameter symbol are located and non-new-standard positions. If you use the Character Map program, you can see what those positions are in the "Technic" font. You can then look for an updated font. ???

 

[wazzu83]

The non-printing character, in this case, (may not be the only one) is the degree symbol. Alibre properly displays the Ø symbol, but displays a squarish symbol for degrees. This is troublesome on shop drawings.

Charmap correctly displays both symbols Ø = hD8 = Alt+0216 and ° = hB0 = Alt+0176. This is consistent across many, if not all, of my installed fonts.