How to Remove Text Overrides via the Text Editor Toolbar

Applies to:
AutoCAD and AutoCAD-based verticals 2019 and newer

Issue:
You have Multiline Text (MTEXT) objects that the font, color, height, bold, etc. doesn’t update when trying to alter the properties.

Causes:
This is usually caused by an override to the MTEXT, most often caused by copying and pasting from a non-Autodesk application like Word, Excel, etc. into the MTEXT Entity.  You can see these overrides in the Properties box with you select a MTEXT item:

No overrides:

Overrides: 

If your Contents starts with a “{“ and that is not displayed in the actual MTEXT, there is an override.

Solution:
There are 3rd party routines that can help you strip the overrides from MTEXT, or you can use a built-in function within the MTEXT Editor without worrying about if the 3rd party app is safe / has a cost / etc.

Open the MTEXT item in the text editor, then Right mouse click in the text area and select Select All (or CTRL +A), to select all the text in text editor

Then Right mouse click again in the text area and click on Remove Formatting and select one of the three choices

If you select Character Formatting, it will strip all the extra garbage assigned to the MTEXT element and set your text correctly back to honoring the style, layer, etc. But will leave any paragraph data intact.

If you select Paragraph Formatting, it will only remove the Paragraph formatting, like numbering, bullets, indents, etc. but it will leave any Character formatting overrides.

If you select Remove all Formatting, it will remove both Character and Paragraph formatting.
You will have to do this one MTEXT items at a time, there’s not a global way of doing it using the built-in AutoCAD tools.
 

About the Author

Ryan Wunderlich

Sr. Technical Support Specialist<br><br>An AutoCAD Certified Professional, Ryan is responsible for taking client cases and assisting with issues with the software - everything from regular glitches to software deployments and whatever else goes wrong. He's proficient in AutoCAD (including customization), VBA, LISP, and Civil 3D.

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