Composite Captions

In some cases, you may want a caption to contain dynamic text—text that you do not type, but that Sketchpad provides automatically. A composite caption combines several different text elements into a single caption. The elements you can incorporate into composite captions include:

· other captions: The caption is incorporated as plain text.

· measurements and calculations: The current value of the measurement is incorporated, without the name or label.

· labeled objects: The label of the object is incorporated.

Using these elements, you could compose a single caption, such as “A 3 cm by 2 cm rectangle has an area of 6 cm²,” from several other captions and measurements. As you alter your measured geometry, the composite caption dynamically updates to reflect the changed values in your sketch.

Creating a Composite Caption

To create a composite caption, select the objects you want to incorporate. At least one of the objects must be a caption, and each object must either be displayed as text or have a label. Then choose Merge Text from the Edit menu to create the caption.

Editing a Composite Caption

To edit a composite caption, separate the composite object into its parts using Split Text, make your changes to the parts, then recombine them using Merge Text.