Most of the time you deal with a block in TPC, you are actually dealing with a block reference. You are telling TPC how big to draw the block and what color to use. This dialog helps you use the block in the way you want to.
This dialog is also used to write or store a block. When writing a block, the size options affect how the block will eventually appear when it is reused as a block reference.
The block name. This name will show up if the block is displayed in the pull down list like the point symbol list. It is also used as the block name if the block is written to a DXF file for another CAD program. If the block name is written in a DXF file, TPC replaces any spaces with the underscore character (_) to make the block name compatible with AutoCAD.
Displays the filename where the block definition is stored. This is always a DXF file.
Displays the file save/open dialog to help you select a block filename to open or save.
Apply the color in this dialog box to each object that makes up the group. If this option is not turned on, each object in the block is drawn with its own color.
Make this block a paper space object.
Turn on this option to rotate the symbol by the same amount as the drawing. You will want to turn this on for you North Arrow symbol. Any rotation you specify here in the dialog is added or subtracted from the drawing rotation when the symbol is plotted.
There are several size options that affect how the block is drawn or stored. The Scale and Height options are mutually exclusive. If you specify a scale, the block is multiplied by the scale and you get whatever the resulting height is. If you specify the height, TPC automatically scales the block so that it is drawn at the requested height.
Scales the block. A scale of 2 will redraw the block twice as big.
When creating a block, the block is multiplied by the scale before the block is saved.
Automatically scales the block so that when drawn, it is the requested height. This setting takes precedence over the Apply Drawing Scale option.
This option ties the block size to the drawing scale. Many CAD programs use a special block in which the block is scaled so that neither the height nor the width of the block exceeds one unit. Some CAD programs refer to this as a 1X1 block. When the block is referenced, it is then multiplied by the drawing scale to reproduce a block of the desired size. The result is that the block comes into a drawing at a certain size and remains that size, even if the drawing is rescaled.
Here is an example. If you create a north arrow block and apply the drawing scale, the north arrow will always be the same height, regardless of the drawing scale. If you do not apply the drawing scale, the north arrow size will change with the scale (if it is 1" high at 100 ft/in it will be 2" high at 50 ft/in).
If you save a block with the height specified and the Apply Drawing Scale toggle set, TPC will create a 1X1 block, but when you recall the block, TPC will scale it to be the specified height.
For more information on saving blocks, see Creating Blocks.
Specifies the rotation angle of the block. When you exit this dialog, TPC will redraw the block using the rotation angle. If you turn on the Apply User Rotation option, the drawing rotation is added to rotation angle automatically.