Hatching options

There are many ways to control how hatches appear on a map. The following illustrate some of the ways hatches can be manipulated.

Offset

All hatch definitions in a hatch class can be offset by the same amount. Alternatively, each individual hatch definition can have its own offset.

Alignment

Each hatch definition can be displayed to the left of, centered on, or to the right of a feature. When set to center, hatches will be labeled to the left.

Measure location

Hatching can start at a measure location other than the low measure. Further, hatching can finish at a location other than the high measure.

Multiple parts

In a case where a feature's geometry has multiple parts, it is possible to apply hatches to the feature as a whole or to each part individually.

Default

By default, the placement of hatches is adjusted to the hatch interval. This means that in cases where a line's low measure is not divisible by the interval, the first hatch will be placed at the first measure value that is divisible by the hatch interval. For example, a line whose measures range from 1.1 to 5.2 will have its first hatch placed at 1.25 when the hatch interval is 0.25. This behavior can be turned off. Note that end hatch definitions are not affected by this setting (and are not shown in this example).

Tolerance

In cases where a feature's high measure is not divisible by the hatch interval and an end hatch definition has been defined, it is possible to get two hatches that are very close to or on top of one another. To avoid this, it is possible to specify an end hatch tolerance, which informs the hatching algorithm not to place hatches when they fall within the tolerance of the end hatch. The end hatch tolerance is specified in route measure units, and its value is typically set to a value that is less than the hatch interval.

Perpendicular

Hatches are drawn perpendicular to the feature. It is possible to specify a supplemental angle that is added to the calculated angle.

Flipped text

Hatch text is flipped as the direction of the feature changes. This is to make the text more readable. This can be turned off so that the text is always oriented in the direction of increasing measure.

Route ends

Hatches can be placed only at the route ends. In this case, it is not necessary to specify a hatch interval.