Enter special characters

In addition to letters and numbers, the text fonts also include some special characters . Because these special characters do not usually have their own keys on the keyboard, you have to enter them using their ASCII codes. Usually you can enter two % characters before the ASCII code, such as %%176 for the degree sign. You can also enter these characters by holding down Alt and entering the ASCII code using the numeric keyboard on the right side of the keyboard.

Some fonts in the program do not include all the special characters. If the font that you are using does not have the character that you are entering, the program shows the character as a question mark. Some Windows fonts, such as Arial and Times New Roman, include a lot of special characters.

You can enter some of the most commonly used special characters with these codes:

The text to enter	The character shown in a drawing
%%D	° (degree)
%%C	Diameter character
%%P	± (plus-minus character)

You can also enter information that updates automatically. You can use these codes to enter the file name and folder and the date and time.

In addition you can enter special codes that show information that updates automatically. You can use these codes for example in drawing labels to show for example the date or the file name.

These codes are automatically converted to normal text when saving in AutoCAD file formats. Then they will not be automatically updated anymore.

The text to enter	The text shown in the drawing
%%[path]	The folder where the file is saved in
%%[name]	The file name
%%[date]	Date in d.m.yyyy format
%%[time]	Time in hh:mm:ss format

Common special characters

The text to enter	The character shown in a drawing
%%126	~
%%169	©
%%174	®
%%176	°
%%177	±
%%178	²
%%179	³
%%181	µ
%%188	¼
%%189	½
%%190	¾