Can we add custom symbol in drawing annotation

[RP_10384451]

Hi there,

I was creating few annotation in creo drawing, so there i want to add custom symbols in my annotation.

I tried to finding where this symbols are saved but i can find it, i found one way but it was for adding pre defined symbols in note (By &sym(symbol name) but that does not work for annotation.

so my question is, how we can add custom symbols in annotation (i.e. in Prefix/Suffix).

[Van_AG]

The syntax &sym(symbol name) works for drawing annotations.

But you must preload the symbol into the session.

Please see the help page and community answers below

https://support.ptc.com/help/creo/creo_pma/r12/usascii/index.html#page/detail/notes_adding_dsymbols.html

https://community.ptc.com/t5/3D-Part-Assembly-Design/Using-a-Symbol-in-a-drawing-format-table/td-p/377465

The second way to call a custom symbol is to add it to the special.fnt font.

Then you can call the symbol from the text symbol palette.
Look for the pim_install_guide.pdf file in the Creo distribution and the section 'Customising the Text Symbol Palette for Creo Parametric' in the file.

[RP_10384451]

The option you suggest is for inserting symbols in notes, but for my scenario i want to insert custom symbol in annotation so except &sym(symbol name) [which is used for notes] is there any other option we have to insert custom symbol in annotation

[Van_AG]

Another option is to use special.fnt.
See the answer above.

[RP_10384451]

Hi @Van_AG can you share more information about special.fnt option?

[Van_AG]

special.fnt is a OOTB vector font that contains characters that cannot be entered from the keyboard

You can decompile the fnt-font into a src-file and then modify it. Then compile it back into fnt.
See the 'Font Definition' section in the pim_install_guide.pdf file, which I wrote to you about yesterday.

Unfortunately, editing a vector font in a text editor is very inconvenient.
But I remember there was a third-party GUI utility for this purpose. 'FontViewer FNT' or something like that...

[RP_10384451]

Thank you @Van_AG.

Suppose I decompile the special.fnt file — how can I add my custom symbol (saved as a .sym file) into the .src file before compiling it back into a .fnt file?

[Van_AG]

You cannot add an existing sym file to the font.
You should create a new graphic symbol definition in the src file (a new 'letter' in the font). This definition is a sequence of point coordinates and segments as described in the pim_install_guide instructions.

Which symbol would you like to add?
Please share the image.

[RP_10384451]

Hi @Van_AG  thank you for your help so far. The symbol I want to add is a circle split vertically, with the left half filled and the right half empty.

I checked the guide on creating symbols using the 16×16 grid method, but creating symbols this way will be very time-consuming, especially since I have around 30 to 40 symbols. Is there any option to convert my symbol directly into the required ASCII code format?

[Van_AG]

Unfortunately, I don't know how to convert sym into a symbol definition for a vector font.
Maybe your ptc reseller could help you with custom special font...
Usually, this only needs to be done once, but yes, I agree, editing a font is a time-consuming.
And you also need to draw a gif for each character so that it is displayed in the character palette

[RP_10384451]

I will try creating the font and test it on my side. One last request if possible, please share the location where these GIFs are stored and how I can link a specific symbol to its corresponding GIF.

[Van_AG]

In short, the gif file <creo_loadpoint>\Common Files\text\resource\sp_154.gif contains an image of the symbol with ASCII code 154 from the font.
The location of this image in the Creo symbol palette is determined by a text file that is connected by the custom_text_symbol_palette_file config option.

Please refer to the section Customising the Text Symbol Palette for Creo Parametric in the pim_install_guide.pdf file.
This is the best guide for customising Creo fonts. Seriously. I got all the information from it myself when I needed to customise fonts.

[RP_10384451]

Thank you so much @Van_AG for your support. I will try these options and update you accordingly. If you have anything additional to suggest on this topic, please let me know. Otherwise, I can consider this as a solution, although it is slightly inconvenient to implement.😅