Customizing Standards for Line Thickness

Line thickness is a property which can be applied to elements such as lines, curves, dimension lines, etc. but not to fonts and points. Default definitions are grouped together in the CATStdLineThickness.xml file. As an administrator, you can easily customize the values set in the samples provided to address your needs.

The defined thicknesses can then be applied to any element which supports line thickness, either using the Edit > Properties or the Graphic Properties toolbar.

Before you begin:
  • Prior to modifying standards, you need to set the CATCollectionStandard environment variable to identify the location where your customized standards will be saved. For more information about setting environment variables, see Installation and Deployment Guide: Common Installation and Administration Tools: Managing Environments: Customizing Your Environment.
  • You must run V6 in administration mode.
  • Regarding drawing representations, specific files are provided in the Drafting category.

  1. Select Tools > Standards....

  2. In the Standard Definition dialog box, check that the General category is selected then from the file list, select the CATStdLineThickness.xml file.



  3. Click the plus sign next to the CATStdLineThickness node.

    A list of 55 line thickness definition is displayed.




    • Line thickness definitions ranging from 1 to 8 are pre-defined with different parameters for each, and available (i.e. the Availability box displays "1").
    • Line thickness definitions ranging from 9 to 55 are pre-defined with the same parameters for all, and unavailable (i.e. the Availability box displays "0").

    Now let's suppose you want to add a new line thickness.

  4. Select the CATStdLineThickness node from the tree structure then click Add instance to the right.

    A new instance is created in the tree structure. The number of the new line thickness is incremented by one and therefore, its number will be "56".

  5. Select the created instance, i.e. "56" then define the thickness parameters either by entering the values directly in the boxes or using arrows:




    • Availability: indicates whether the line thickness definition is available in the thickness list for users to choose from, when creating or editing elements.
      • 0 means that the definition is unavailable
      • 1 means that the definition is available

    You can only assign "available" line thickness definitions to elements. However, existing element properties in drawings will not be affected: if an existing element is assigned a line thickness which is flagged as "unavailable" in the Standard Definition editor, then this line thickness will be used for this element but it will not be available in the thickness list, so that users cannot apply it to other elements.


    • Pixel: sets the size in pixels. This value reflects the result displayed on screen
    • mm: sets the line thickness in millimeters (mm). This value corresponds to the printed version.

    Note: You can modify any value anytime simply by selecting the desired line number then entering the new values in the corresponding boxes.

  6. Optional: In case you are not satisfied with a line thickness, select the CATStdLineThickness node then click Remove instance.

  7. Optional: In the InstanceList dialog box, select the instance to be deleted then click OK to validate.

  8. When finished, you can:


    • Click OK to save the modifications in the CATStdLineThickness.xml file. A pop-up message informs you that the modified standard file has been saved in the directory specified when setting the CATCollectionStandard variable.
    • Click Save As New to save the modifications in a new .xml file. Clicking this button opens the Save As dialog box which places you in the directory you specified when setting the CATCollectionStandard variable. This new file will then be accessible from the File list.
    Warning: You cannot change the default name of standard files included in the General category. For these files, Save As New can only be used to generate a new file in another directory but still with the same name.