Hatch pattern settings (.htc) for automatic drawing hatches

Tekla Structures
2018
Tekla Structures

Hatch pattern settings (.htc) for automatic drawing hatches

The hatch patterns for material types and names in drawings are defined in a hatch schema file .htc. Different drawing types (general arrangement, assembly, single-part, and cast unit drawings) have their own schema files.

The hatch patterns defined in schema files are used when you set Type to Automatic on the Fill page in the part or shape properties.

Hatch schema file name and location

The name of the schema file Tekla Structures uses for each drawing type is defined in the Hatching category of the Advanced options dialog box:

  • XS_DRAWING_GA_HATCH_SCHEMA=general.htc

  • XS_DRAWING_ASSEMBLY_HATCH_SCHEMA=assembly.htc

  • XS_DRAWING_SINGLE_PART_HATCH_SCHEMA=single.htc

  • XS_DRAWING_CAST_UNIT_HATCH_SCHEMA=cast_unit.htc

The default schema files are located in the ..\Tekla Structures\<version>\environments\common\system folder. The environment-specific schema files are located under the environments, for example:

..Tekla Structures\<version>\Environments\<environment>\system\steel\general.htc (also assembly.htc, single.htc)

..Tekla Structures\<version>\Environments\<environment>\system\concrete\precast\cast_unit.htc

Schema file syntax

Material type, Cast unit type, Material name, Hatch name, Scale, Color, Automatic scaling and rotation

Examples:

CONCRETE,,hardware_SOLID,,120 (gray shade)

CONCRETE,Precast,C25/30,CONC,0.3,1 ("traditional" concrete Precast)

CONCRETE,CIP,C25/30,CONCRE,0.3,1 ("traditional" concrete CIP)

CONCRETE,,CROSS,2,1 (small crosses)

MISCELLANEOUS,Insulation,HARD_INS1,1,,1 (straight lines)

MISCELLANEOUS,Insulation,SOFT_INS,1,,1 (rounded lines)

MISCELLANEOUS,Insulation,SOFT_INS2,1,,1 (completely round)

To see an example of the cast_unit.htc file, click the following link: cast_unit.htc

Option

Description

Material type

STEEL, CONCRETE, TIMBER, MISCELLANEOUS (case sensitive)

Cast unit type

Precast or CIP. You also need to define the cast unit type for concrete parts in part properties.

Material name

The material name defined for the part in part properties in the model.

Hatch name

To check the hatch pattern names and related hatch patterns go to the Fill tab in Part properties, select a hatch pattern from the Type list and click the ... button next to the list. Then click a pattern to see its name in the Type list. The selected hatch pattern is marked with a red frame. Hatch names are case sensitive.

If you do not want to use any hatch pattern for a material, leave the hatch name field blank in the schema file.

Color

BLACK: 0 (default)

WHITE: 1

RED: 2

GREEN: 3

BLUE: 4

CYAN: 5

YELLOW: 6

MAGENTA: 7

Special: 120 (use this color for gray shade)

GRAYSCALE 1: 130

GRAYSCALE 2: 131

GRAYSCALE 3: 132

GRAYSCALE 4: 133

The hatch color defines the line width for the printer. If you do not define a color for a hatch in the schema file, Tekla Structures uses the default color black (0). To use the special color that is printed as color or grayscale, depending on the selected printer settings, set the color number in the .htc file to 120.

To adjust the gray shade for Special color 120, use the following advanced options:

XS_HATCH_SPECIAL_COLOR_R

XS_HATCH_SPECIAL_COLOR_G

XS_HATCH_SPECIAL_COLOR_B

Scale

Scale is a numeric value that Tekla Structures uses to scale hatches.

Automatic scaling and rotation

Automatic scaling and rotation defines whether you want to use automatic scaling and rotation.

TRUE: 1

FALSE: 0 (default)

Automatic scaling and rotation requires additional processing, so use it only when necessary.

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