Text

General

You can reach this mode...
by ["] or
by"Text" in menu "Elements" or
by the tool subsumed under the "pencil" icon (the drawing functions).

What you can do...
Click M1 to where the text later shall appear. Enter the text and its options to the following dialog. Close the dialog with [OK] or [Enter] to place the text.

Leave this mode...
by [ESC] or M1

Elements of the Text dialog

Use "Position" to set the “bottom-left” corner of the first letter of the text. The coordinates displayed are those of your current cursor position.
Under "Content", you can enter a name or several words (one line).
The [multiline] button allows you to enter a longer text. The [Windows] button opens the operating system's window for entering special characters. You can also open this by pressing the [Win] + [.] keys on your keyboard. The [Unicode] button opens a dialog where you can select from thousands of Unicode special characters. See below. Some ASCII special characters can be selected here as well, including the Greek letter Omega for Ohm.
The [A] and [a] buttons let you convert the selected text in the "Content" field to capital letters or lowercase letters. The [A✓] button starts the spelling checker.
After that, you can select a font. You can safely use "Arial" or "Times New Roman." These fonts also display many special characters, which Windows "borrows" from other fonts in the background; "Segoe UI" is excellent for special characters. Always check whether all desired characters are displayed correctly in all output drivers. Also check whether the height and width of the font cause any problems. Additionally, the line fonts "TARGET" and "DIN-ISO-ANSI" are available.

In addition, the line fonts "TARGET" and "DIN-ISO-ANSI" are available in case there are difficulties with the conversion of Windows fonts in subsequent processes. If you select DIN-ISO-ANSI as the font, additional special characters will be available; you can scroll through and view them before inserting them into the text line using the "Up Arrow" button.
If you need to create multilingual documentation, you can also enter text for foreign languages. In the toolbar at the top, you can then click on the flag and change the language for texts in the project.
"Font Height" and "Font Width" define the average letter dimensions. However, Windows fonts may deviate from these defaults. Starting with V34, you can also specify the font size in pt (=Point), as you are accustomed to doing in your word processor. Font height and width are set accordingly.
The "Thickness" is used directly by the "TARGET" and "DIN-ISO-ANSI" fonts. All other fonts switch from normal to bold between 10% and 20%.

Characters can be rotated and mirrored as desired (Rotation and Mirrored). All Texts in TARGET 3001! behave in such a way during later Rotation with [r that they are always readable from the bottom or from the right, in accordance with DIN.
The "Stiff" setting specifies that a signature will simply rotate rigidly along with the object when rotated with [r] later on, contrary to this rule. This allows you to turn text even upside down.
Right-alignedshifts the text's anchor point to the right, and Italic makes the text tilted.

Page determines on which schematic page the text element should be placed (if applicable).
Layer determines on which layout layer the text element should be placed (if applicable).
Aura represents the minimum distance between a conducting element and a potential ground plane. This spacing width can be set here (if applicable).

When zooming out, there comes a point where the font becomes so small that it is no longer displayed and appears only as a "rectangle." You can determine when this point is reached in the "Settings and Options" dialog, by specifying a pixel value in the “Minimum Width” field. The smaller the number, the further you can zoom out while the text remains legible.

"Function" can be "Normal Text", meaning free text elements. Text elements can also be defined variables. The following variable types can be selected:

• Component name for the component reference name (e.g., IC17, R15)
• Component value (e.g., NE555, 4k7)
• Symbol name for the name of a symbol (e.g., IC17c)
• Signal name for the name of a signal (e.g., GND, Sig$13)
• Pin name for the name of a pin (e.g., RES\, Pin8)
• Modification date for the last save date (takes into account the project variable DATE_FORMAT)
• Modification time for the last save time
• Output date for the date of the print or Gerber output (takes into account the project variable DATE_FORMAT if applicable)
• Output time for the time of print or Gerber output
• Output scale for the current scale
• Project name for the name of the project without the file extension
• File name for the name of the project with the file extension
• Page number for the current schematic page number
• Special property for custom properties
• Variant for the variant name
• Component type for the component's search name
• Page name for the name of the current schematic page
• Variant Number for the number of the variant on which a specific text should appear
• Variant Revision for the revision number of the variant on which a specific text should appear
• Signal Pages for the number of schematic pages on which a signal appears
• Component Usage For specifying a specific purpose for the component
• Version For the version of the schematic from the Info dialog
• Comment For comments that should not be included in the output or printout
• Highest Page Number For the number of the last page used in the schematic
  

Changes to component names, component values, and symbol names affect the entire component and are transferred back and forward between the schematic and the PCB. The same applies to signal names and signals.

Unicode special chars and foreign languages

Starting with V34, you can use thousands of special character and foreign language characters in TARGET and output them in all available formats. This means that virtually all language families in the world are represented, as well as many technical and commercial symbols, including emojis:

(Special characters, icons, pictograms, and emoticons)

By clicking the [Unicode] button, you can open the dialog for selecting Unicode characters. At the very top, you can select a range of Unicode characters from the list box. The Arial, Times New Roman, and Segue UI fonts provide a large number of characters for you to choose from. Characters not directly available in the selected font are often automatically replaced by characters found in other fonts through a sophisticated system.

On the right are several buttons with collections of special characters that let you click to directly access interesting Unicode ranges. You can also search for Unicode characters online and enter their code in hexadecimal or decimal format at the top. Clicking the [OK] button inserts the corresponding character into the "Content" field of the text dialog. You can also do a double-click M11 on a character below in the character matrix to insert it directly.

Multilingual text within one project

All documentations and text fragments can be edited in three languages, let's say in English, German and in French. After you have placed a lettering in English language (for example the advice: "Don't solder"). Click in schematic or layout double on this text. The "Change Texts" dialog dialog opens:

In section

tick the boxes for further languages which you'd like to use and write the text into the lines. For demonstrational reasons we have used the words "Ne pas souder" and "Nicht löten". If you enter OK, you first see only the English lettering. This is, because you are in the English language documentation of the project. Please note the English/American flag on screen.

If you click on the flag, the following dialog appears:

Click on a radiobutton to see the letterings in a different language. Viewing the flag, you see which language version you currently work with. Text can be edited in three languages simultaneously. Which kind of language you use don't matter.

Important note: Multilingual text within one project has nothing to do with "variants". It is a separate, independent text function.

Internet links and links to files

Starting with V34, you can also include links to Internet content (URLs) or links to local files on the intranet into texts, which users can then open by double-clicking:

Links to URLs or files

If you insert a link into a text element, you can later double-click the text (M11) and TARGET will open the corresponding resource in Windows. If you want to edit such text, please select it and press the [e] key to edit.

File paths with drive letters are supported, e.g., "Z:\directory\file.xyz," as well as file paths in UNC format: "\\server\directory\file.xyz" or URLs for Internet access via HTTP or HTTPS: "https://domain.de" .The user is then asked whether he wants to execute the link. A warning is also displayed stating that it can be dangerous to execute links from unknown sources.

A URL link is forwarded to Windows, which then opens the default web browser and displays the link. For links to local files, the application associated with that file type is launched.

Adjust the size of all text elements

Highlight the complete layout by the use of a Capture Window. Press keyboard key "[e]" for edit. The dialog : "Edit the selected Elements" opens.

Tick the box "Texts" and press OK. The dialog "Change Texts" opens.

Now do all desired adjustments. If you only want to change (= highlight) certain elements, please use the Selection Assistant in menu "Edit".

Example for the selection of texts of resistors having octagonal pads.

Place a component property as text close to the symbol or package

In schematic and layout all properties a component has can be placed like a text aside of the component. First activate the text mode. Hover the cursor over the handle cross of the desired component. Now press keyboard key ["] for opening the text mode dialog "Text Options". Now choose the text function: "Special property" see image (section in red)

As soon as the special property as a text function is activated, a list opens from which you can select the desired property, e.g. "Last Modified", the date of the latest modification of a part.

Then press [OK] and confirm the dialog of the "Text Option" too. See the new text in the image below on the right hand side, the LAST MODIFIED-Date. You can select this text, place it at your convenience and change the font. Take care to have this text placed to an appropriate layer. In most cases it is layer 21,position top. If such a project variable or a component property is empty, the text <empty> is displayed. If you do not want this, you can enter a special space character in the property: Hold down the [Alt] key and type 0 1 6 0 in the numeric keypad. Then release [Alt] again. This creates this special space character.

Please note, that you eventually have to release this button for touching and selecting only the text. You'll find it in the Sidebar under section Settings.

Write a comment next to a part

Press the keyboard key [Shift]+[2] to open the text dialog. The cursor changes its image, so you are in text mode.

Click M1 where you want the first character (its bottom left) of the text line to begin. The text dialog opens.

Use the Text function "Comment" in order to give your writing this property. Comments are only visible in TARGET when editing. They are suppressed in all outputs (print, PDF, DXF, PostScript, HPGL, Eagle, etc.)

If you want to write more than one line of Text, press the "multiline" button to open a text box.

The result could look like this:

The square boxes of the blank lines indicate that the text is multi line (= quantity text). Double-click the box to enter something. Otherwise just highlight and delete them. You can double-click each line to edit it.

Project Variables

If you want to have project variables shown (e.g. in schematics headers) do the following:

• add text field Function "Special property"
  
• Target will ask you the type. Create a new type, e.g. "document number"
  
• Settings - Project Variables
  
• add a new property type "document number" and give it a value like "T3001".
  
• Now you can add the same text function to multiple sheets and places and to update them easily. This makes updating the headers much more easy. It is suggested adding required headers to a template you use.
  
• Now the most important thing: To keep the content of field empty you need to give it a value ALT+160 (until filling with some other value is needed), like "reviewed" would be.

Text in ground plane

Please have a look here: Groundplane#Text_in_Ground_plane

Font blurred, image unsharp

Starting with V34, TARGET itself can scale all its dialogs. If scaling is enabled in the Windows display settings (e.g., for a monitor with a very high resolution), TARGET automatically displays its interface and dialogs at a larger scale. This makes them easier to handle and the display of the actual circuit remains crystal clear.

Up to V33, this tip may help: If necessary, check the box in the properties of the TARGET exe (TarVxx.exe):

Tick box

Image: Take a look at the properties of TarVxx.exe—check the box “Override high DPI scaling behavior. Scaling performed by -> Application.”

Alias: Screen resolution, DPI, Pixel, Scaling

"Output date" and "Date of change" are displayed cryptically

This refers to the text variables Output date and Date of change, which you can set in the text function area. Probably the date format is not correct. Please open Menu Settings/ Settings (Project)...

Date format

Image: Set the date format according to dd.mm.yyyy, i.e. two digits for the day (day) and the month (month) - four digits for the year (year)