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Text
Most of shapes in ConceptDraw can contain text. ConceptDraw offers you extensive formatting capabilities, and various tools for working with text.
Adding Text to a Shape
To add text to a shape, just select this shape and start typing text in it. The text editing mode turns on immediately to let you enter and edit the text. (You can also use the F2 key to activate the text editing mode.)
If the text appears too small, the view will zoom in automatically for better visibility.
Such behavior is set by default. You can customize it in the Preferences dialog (Edit / Preferences), on the View tab. Here you can set the minimal font size in points for the visible text. For smaller values, autozooming will be activated when you edit text. This tab also lets you disable autozooming if necessary.
When you finish editing, press Esc or F2, or just click outside the text box to quit the text editing mode.
When in the text editing mode, you can use the Text toolbar to change font, font size, font attributes (bold, italic, underlined), and other properties. You may turn on the Text Auto-Expand mode to make shapes grow after their text.
Note: If a hyperlink (an Internet or e-mail address) is found in the text, it will be automatically assigned to the shape when you finish editing.
Editing Text
To edit a shape's text, you need to switch to the text editing mode. Select the shape and press the F2 key. If the shape has no hyperlink and its double-click behavior wasn't altered, you may also double-click the shape to start editing text. The text editing mode will turn on, where you can type or delete text, change its formatting. To leave the text editing mode, press F2 or ESC. You may also click out of the shape.
Searching and Replacing Text
In ConceptDraw you can search for words or phrases in a document and replace them with required text. On the Edit menu, click Find/Replace. In the Find/Replace dialog enter the string you wish to find, and (if needed) - the string you want to replace it with. Click Find Next. If a match is found, the program will make this text selected and you can replace it if you wish.
Using Spell Check
Since ConceptDraw works with text it has a Spell Check tool. On the Tools menu click Spell Check...
Using the Spell Check function you can quickly and easy scan your texts for mistakes and automatically correct them using internal dictionaries. Also you can add your own words, such as names and surnames to custom dictionaries for further use.
Formatting Text
You can change text properties using the text formatting tools on the Text toolbar.
You can also use the Text Properties dialog (menu Format / Text).
Also you can use the hotkey Ctrl + Shift + T.
The changes apply:
- If a text block is selected - to the selected text block;
- If one or more shape is selected - to all selected shapes text.
To change formatting for a portion of text, select it.
Enter the text editing mode (by pressing F2 or choosing the Text tool), then select the needed text area using the mouse or Arrow keys with Shift held down.
You can change font and font size, font and background color, text alignment and style either with the text formatting tools or in the Text Properties dialog. Some parameters, such as indents and margins, can only be set in the Text Properties dialog.
Note: New shape adopt the most recent formatting settings. This helps to maintain consistent look throughout the document.
The Increase Font Size  and Decrease Font Size  apply to selected shapes or text blocks only, and don't affect global formatting settings.
To change font for selected shapes or text blocks, use the Font tab of the Text Properties dialog (menu Format / Text), or the toolbar:
Select a new font from the drop-down list on the Text toolbar  .
 To change the font size, choose one from the font size list, or type the desired size in the box.
To increase/decrease the font size by one point, use the Increase Font Size and Decrease Font Size buttons.
Also you can use the hotkeys: Ctrl + ">", Ctrl + "<"
To change text color, use the Text Color tool  .
Such font attributes as Bold, Italic or Underline can be set by clicking the corresponding buttons on formatting toolbar: 
or by using the keyboard: Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I, Ctrl + U.
By default, text has no background and text boxes are transparent (except for the text boxes of connectors).
You can assign the background color for the text in the selected shape(s) in two ways:
- Use the Text Background tool
- Call the Text Properties dialog (menu Format / Text)
On the Text Block tab click the Text Background button and choose a color from the palette.
To remove the text background color, check the Transparent option.
Click OK to apply the changes.
Each shape's text consists of one or more paragraphs. Each paragraph begins with a new line. To start a new paragraph, press the Enter key. For each paragraph, you may set alignment and indentation.
You can align selected paragraph(s) on the left or right side, or on the center of the Text Box.
To align a paragraph, click somewhere within its bounds and click on one of the alignment tools on the toolbar:
Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right or use the keyboard: Ctrl + L, Ctrl + E, Ctrl + R.
Several selected paragraphs can be aligned likewise (select them with the mouse or use Shift + Arrows).
If no paragraph is active, the alignment will be applied to the whole text of the selected shape(s).
Vertical alignment determines the position of the whole text with respect to its Text Box. You can align the text at the top, middle or bottom of the Text Box.
Select the shape(s) and use the following toolbar buttons: Align Top, Align Middle or Align Bottom.
Note: The text alignment can also be set in the Text Properties dialog (Format / Text):
you can specify the horizontal alignment on the Paragraph tab, and the vertical alignment on the Text Block tab.
Repositioning Text
You can reposition the text with respect to the shape by manipulating its Text Box. This can be done with the Text Box tool  . You can select it on the Drawing Tools toolbar or from the Insert / Text Box menu.
This tool lets you select, resize, rotate and move a shape's Text Box, changing its appearance and position independently of the shape to which the text belongs.
Select the Text Box tool and click on a shape with text. The text's alignment box will appear, allowing you reposition, rotate or resize the text box by dragging the handles.
This tool is especially useful for working with Direct Connectors.
Note: The Text Box tool can be used to draw Text shapes (shapes, that contain only text). To draw a Text shape, switch to the Text Box tool and drag it to draw a rectangular area, and on releasing the mouse button start typing.
Adjusting a Shape's Size to Fit Its Text
Sometimes you may need to make a shape the same size as the text inside it. You can do this in the following way:
Select the shape, then select Fit to Text from the Shape menu. The shape will be enlarged or shrunk to match the size of its text (its text box).
You can also use the Fit To Text  tool on the Arrange & Make Same toolbar.
Text Auto-Expand Mode
You can use the Text Auto-Expand  mode if you want the shape to grow automatically when you add text to it.
When this mode is on, the shape grows in width to fit the longest line of the text, and in height according to the number of lines in the text. Resizing only takes place when you edit the text.
Once activated, this mode works for all the open documents during the entire work session. It is reset when you quit ConceptDraw.
Note: If the Text Box does not coincide with the shape's alignment box, only the text box is resized. For 1D shapes, it is only the text box that is resized. The actual shape won't change its size.
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