TEXTBLOCK, which must be used with RICHTEXT/RICHTEXT2, and is made very powerful by, but doesn't require, PARAGRAPH, allows you to control the width, character spacing, and width factor of text.
This new element provides several of the new attributes of the improved AC9 text element, and the PARAGRAPH command provides the rest, ie, the ability to switch styles in midstream. PARAGRAPH also allows you to concatenate strings greater than 255 characters into one element, maybe it would help with your other string question?
RICHTEXT/2 places the text. TEXTBLOCK defines the text "shape" (position, spacing, angle, width), and content. The content can be a regular string, like with TEXT2, or it can be a previously defined PARAGRAPH. TEXTBLOCK doesn't place text on its own.
The PARAGRAPH can contain an arbitrary number of strings, switching pens and styles willy-nilly along the way.
It seems to me like a lot of commands to deploy the new attributes, but what do I know. The width control is most welcome.
Here's some script:
The 2D view is attached.
This new element provides several of the new attributes of the improved AC9 text element, and the PARAGRAPH command provides the rest, ie, the ability to switch styles in midstream. PARAGRAPH also allows you to concatenate strings greater than 255 characters into one element, maybe it would help with your other string question?
RICHTEXT/2 places the text. TEXTBLOCK defines the text "shape" (position, spacing, angle, width), and content. The content can be a regular string, like with TEXT2, or it can be a previously defined PARAGRAPH. TEXTBLOCK doesn't place text on its own.
The PARAGRAPH can contain an arbitrary number of strings, switching pens and styles willy-nilly along the way.
It seems to me like a lot of commands to deploy the new attributes, but what do I know. The width control is most welcome.
Here's some script:
! 2D SCRIPT txtsz=txtpt/2.8346 !Points to mm DEFINE STYLE 'sty1' 'Arial',txtsz,5,0 DEFINE STYLE 'sty2' 'Times',txtsz*0.8,5,2 DEFINE STYLE 'sty3' 'Times',txtsz*1.1,5,3 PARAGRAPH "par1" 1, 0, 0, 0, 1.0, 1.0 PEN 52 SET STYLE "sty1" "At last, passage paid, and luggage safe, we stood on board the schooner. " "Hoisting sail, it glided down the Acushnet river. " PEN 42 SET STYLE "sty2" "On one side, New Bedford rose in terraces of streets, their ice- covered trees all glittering in the clear, cold air. " PEN 32 "Huge hills and mountains of casks on casks were piled upon her wharves, " "and side by side the world-wandering whale ships lay silent and safely moored at last; " "while from others came a sound of carpenters and coopers, " "with blended noises of fires and forges to melt the pitch, " "all betokening that new cruises were on the start; " "that one most perilous and long voyage ended, only begins a second; " "and a second ended, only begins a third, and so on, for ever and for aye. " SET STYLE "sty3" "Such is the endlessness, yea, the intolerableness of all earthly effort." ENDPARAGRAPH TEXTBLOCK "block1" 100, 1, 0, 1.0, 1.0, 1, "par1" RICHTEXT2 0,0, "block1"Mind the quote marks.
The 2D view is attached.
STYLE{2} is the key. Thanks for the clue. I wouldn't call it a workaround; it's just what you have to do! 
The manual says its 'recommended' for use with PARAGRAPH. I would amend that to 'required'. And you can't use the same style def for plain TEXT2s, because of the anchor argument. It seems we will need redundant style definitions in some cases. I won't complain, if I can get PARAGRAPH to give me complex, plain language, multiline, correctly aligned labels. Back to work...
The manual says its 'recommended' for use with PARAGRAPH. I would amend that to 'required'. And you can't use the same style def for plain TEXT2s, because of the anchor argument. It seems we will need redundant style definitions in some cases. I won't complain, if I can get PARAGRAPH to give me complex, plain language, multiline, correctly aligned labels. Back to work...
