Creating a Custom Crosshatch Pattern

Crosshatch patterns can be read in two different formats. The first is the .dat format described below, a format used exclusively  by CADKEY and Kubotek products. The second is the .pat (Pattern) format used widely by a variety of other systems.

You can create your own crosshatching patterns and save them to a .dat or .pat file that can be read into the program. See the information below for an example of the XHATCH.DAT file format.

xhatch.dat entry:

name 

Name of crosshatching pattern

type 

Crosshatching type: Single (0) or Double (1)

ang 

Angle of lines in the hatch pattern

line1 

Line type of first line in pattern; 0 for a blank line

line2-line"x" 

Same as line 1 for each line in the pattern

Steps:

1. Use any text editor to create the .dat file and follow the steps below.

2. Press the spacebar between each entry. Do not press ENTER until you have  typed the last variable.

3. Using a text editor, create a file named <pattern name>.dat. All of your entries should appear as a string of information on one line, with a space between each entry.

4. Type the name of the hatching pattern you want to create. The name cannot contain spaces.

5. Press the spacebar.

6. Enter a number for the type of crosshatching style: 0 for a single style, 1 for a double style.

7. Press the spacebar.

8. Enter the angle, in degrees, for the line slant of the crosshatching.

9. Press the spacebar.

10. Type the line type number for the first line of the pattern:  0 = Blank,  1 = Solid,  2 = Dashed,  3 = Center line,  4 = Phantom line.

11. Press the spacebar.

12. Continue to type the line types for the rest of the lines in the pattern. Make sure that you press the spacebar after every entry.

13. When you finish entering the last variable, press ENTER.

14. Save the file.

15. Select Detail>Crosshatch>Create, and use the Patterns button to load the hatch pattern.