Quick links to procedures on this page:

Drawing callouts

You can draw callouts, which are lines with text that point to and identify objects in a drawing. You can choose from a variety of line ends, including arrowheads and other styles. Callouts can have one, two, or three line segments, or “legs,” between the line end and the text.

You can use different shapes for the callout text within a drawing.

Callout shape	Example
None
Box
Line (side bar)
Box and line
Circle
Square
Circle and square
Triangle

You can enhance callouts in several ways. For instance, you can change the line width and color, and you can adjust the gap between the line and the text.

In addition to typing text, you can insert text from the Clipboard or from object properties, or you can add a value and increase it in increments as you add more callouts. For more information about object properties, see Working with object data.

You can link a callout to its source object by snapping the callout arrowhead to a snap point. Linked callouts, also known as “sticky callouts,” are attached to the source objects similarly to connector lines. When you move the source object, the linked callout moves with it. You can specify how linked callouts move with the object. One option is to adjust the length of the leader line, leaving the callout text in place. The other option is to move both the leader line and callout text, preserving the appearance of the callout group. You can break the link between a callout and its source object at any time.

You can also add a halo behind the callout. A halo is a mask behind the leader line and text that makes the callout easier to see when it is on top of another object. Usually, the halo is the same color as the page, although you can choose any color you like.

White halos are applied to the callouts to make them stand out against the underlying objects.

Callouts are added as linked groups. You can break the callout apart if necessary.

You can change the default properties of callouts, such as callout style, callout gap, and halo justification, from the Object styles docker (Window Object styles). For more information, see To edit default object properties.

To draw a callout

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1-leg callout

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2-leg callout

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3-leg callout

To add text to a callout

1.

Click the Callout tools button, and click the Text source button .

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Interactive — lets you type the text at the end of the callout line

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Clipboard — pastes text from the Clipboard to the callout

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Object property — adds an object property that you choose, such as the object name, to the callout. For more information, see To draw a callout that shows object properties.

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Increment — adds a numeric value to the callout. The value is increased in increments as you continue to add callouts, and you can specify the start value and the increment amount. The increment values that you set apply only to the active drawing.

If properties are associated with an object, you can show them in callouts.

To draw a linked callout

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1-leg callout

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2-leg callout

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3-leg callout

2.

Click the Link callout button on the property bar, and choose one of the following options:

To break the link between the callout and the object, click the Link callout button on the property bar, and choose Break callout link. You can also right-click the callout and choose Break callout link from the context menu.

To draw a callout that shows object properties

1.

Click the Callout tools button, and click the Text source tool .

You can change how object data is displayed in a callout by clicking the Callout object data button on the property bar and modifying the settings you want.

To add a halo to a callout

2.

Click the Halo properties button on the property bar.

To break a callout apart

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