Leader

The leader command draws a multileader annotation in four steps: an arrowhead that touches a feature, a leader line that bends at a dogleg, a text anchor, and a typed label. Of all annotation commands, Leader is the only one that includes an interactive text-input phase with a blinking cursor preview.

Anatomy of a multileader

  ◄── arrowhead tip  (step 2 — touches the feature)
      \
       \  leader line
        \
         ●──── dogleg (step 3) ──── text anchor (step 4)
                                    Label text  (step 5)

• Arrowhead tip — the pointed end placed at the feature being annotated.
• Dogleg — the elbow where the leader line bends toward the text.
• Text anchor — where the label is positioned. Text aligns left or right automatically.

Drawing a leader

1. Type leader in the terminal or click the Leader toolbar button.
2. Click the arrowhead tip, or type X,Y and press Enter for an exact coordinate.
3. Click the dogleg — the bend in the leader. Angle locks to 45° increments; type a length and press Enter for precise placement. Or type X,Y to enter an absolute coordinate.
4. Click the text position — where the label anchors. Same options apply: click, angle-lock + length, or X,Y.
5. Type the label text — the canvas preview updates live with a blinking cursor. Press Enter to place.

Coordinate entry (all point phases)

At any point-picking step (tip, dogleg, text position) you can type an exact coordinate instead of clicking:

1. Type the X value (digits, ., or -).
2. Press , — the terminal shows [X], [Y{cursor}] confirming X is locked.
3. Type the Y value.
4. Press Enter to place the point.

Angle locking (steps 3 and 4)

After each placed point, the command snaps to 45° axes when the cursor is far enough away. While locked:

• The preview snaps to the axis.
• Type a length and press Enter to place the next point at that exact distance.

Angle locking and coordinate entry are mutually exclusive — once you type a digit without a prior ,, the command interprets it as a distance (angle lock must be active). To enter an absolute coordinate instead, start with the X number followed by a comma.

Text label editing

While typing the label in step 5, you can navigate and edit the text before placing:

Key	Action
Any printable character	Insert at the cursor position
← / →	Move the cursor left or right
Backspace	Delete the character to the left of the cursor
Delete	Delete the character to the right of the cursor
Enter	Place the leader

Automatic text direction

The text alignment adjusts to the cursor position relative to the dogleg:

Cursor position	Text direction
To the right of the dogleg	Left-to-right from the text anchor
To the left of the dogleg	Right-to-left (anchored on the right side)

No manual adjustment needed — move the cursor to the side where you want the label and it aligns correctly.

Keyboard reference

Point phases (tip, dogleg, text position)

Key	Action
0–9, ., -	Start typing X coordinate (then , to lock X and enter Y)
,	Confirm X and move to Y entry
0–9, ., -	Build up distance when angle-locked
Backspace	Delete last typed character
Enter	Confirm typed coordinate or distance

Text input phase

Key	Action
Printable character	Insert at cursor
← / →	Move cursor
Backspace	Delete left
Delete	Delete right
Enter	Place the leader

Key	Action
Escape	Cancel and reset to step 2

Adding and removing arms

• To add an extra arrowhead arm to an existing leader: Leader+
• To remove an arm from a leader that has two or more: Leader−

DXF — import only

Leaders are import-only. MLEADER entities from DXF files are read and displayed correctly, but leaders drawn in the editor are not written when saving a DXF file. Use leaders for visual annotation; avoid relying on them for round-trip workflows.