This feature is not available in GuideSIGN SIGMA.

Allows you to create a custom text string.

The Highway Text - Advanced dialog box displays when you click Advanced in the Place Highway Text and Edit Highway Text dialog boxes. The Highway Text - Advanced functionality is intended for creating new arrangements of string components not provided for in the standard text styles. It is not intended for continuously overriding text heights or fonts (letter series).

If no existing panel style has the desired text heights or fonts (letter series), create a new panel style with the desired text characteristics (see Panel Styles' Create New Panel Style). Then, when text is placed in a panel created with the new or modified style, the correct text heights and fonts (letter series) will be set automatically, allowing you to avoid unnecessary use of the Advanced option.

Highway Text - Advanced Dialog Box

Component

Displays the text string components. To modify a text string, type the desired text in the Component boxes.

Note: If you want to be able to adjust the space between the words in a text string that has more than one word, use an individual string component for each word.

Height

Specify the height of the text for each string component.

Space

Specify the spaces between string components.

Note:

• If you want to place compressed text, you can use relatively small Space values. However, Space values must be greater than zero.
• If you select Gap for a string component (see Gap below), the corresponding Space check box will be unavailable. The Space value will be calculated automatically based on the String length value.

Font

In the list, click the desired font for each string component.

Note:

• GuideSIGN Plus does not associate the FHWA TrueType fonts with the M.U.T.C.D. setting of the panel style - they are treated as regular TrueType fonts in the software. Therefore, it is possible to mismatch the panel's M.U.T.C.D. Edition setting with different M.U.T.C.D. Editions of the FHWA TrueType fonts on a sign. Please ensure that your TrueType font choices match the M.U.T.C.D. Edition setting of the sign.

• TrueType fonts have their own letter spacing values that GuideSIGN Plus cannot modify.

Vertical Alignment

In the list, click the desired vertical alignment for each string component.

Gap

Note: The Gap button is only available if you select the Fix length by check box and then click Adjusting word gap (see String length, Fix length by, Spacing letters, Adjusting word gap, and Even letter spaces below).

To specify the location of the gap between two string components, click the Gap button. The length of the gap between this component and the next one will be adjusted to achieve the String length value.

Accent

To place accents on the text in a string component, click the corresponding Set button, and then specify accents in the Specify Accent dialog box that displays (for more information, see Specify Accent).

Single/Multi-character fraction

• If you want the software to use single-character fractions (e.g. ½), click Single-character Fraction (½).
• If you want the software to use multi-character fractions (e.g. 1/2), click Multi-character Fraction (1/2).

Color

In the list, click the desired color for the text string.

Horizontal alignment

In the list, click the desired horizontal alignment for the text string.

Letter spacing

Note: The Letter spacing box is only available if you select the Fix length by check box and then click Spacing letters (see String length, Fix length by, Spacing letters, Adjusting word gap, and Even letter spaces below).

To have the space between the letters calculated as a factor multiplied by the standard spacing, type the desired factor value in the Letter spacing box. The String length value will be calcualted automatically.

String length, Fix length by, Spacing letters, Adjusting word gap, and Even letter spaces

To specify the length of the string, select the Fix length by check box.

The text string length can be forced by using one of the following methods.

• Clicking Spacing leters will modify the letter and word spacing (i.e. in this case, the width of the space character).
• Clicking Adjusting word gap will add a gap after any of the text string components. Any excess string length over the length of the string components will be equally divided by the available spaces.
• Clicking Even letter spaces will override the default letter spacing values and make the spaces between letters equal.

Note:

• If you specify a value that is less than the minimum value allowed in the String length box, the software will replace the specified value with the minimum one.
• Some TrueType fonts may not support the adjustment of the space between letters in an equal manner.

Example of Custom Text Style with Advanced Parameters

The following example shows how to create a complex text string containing a number of different text heights, fonts (letter series), and vertical alignments.

The string incorporates a top aligned street number ordinal ending component with smaller letters, a number with a fraction, and a space automatically calculated by the software after the place name to force the overall string length to the value of 150 inches. This length could be determined from the longest place name/distance string in the sign.

The Fix length by check box is selected, '150.0' is specified in the String length box, and the gap displays after the word 'Street'.

Below is the resulting text string placed in the sign panel: