Drawing Files (MKD File Format) Changed in Version 2024.0

A file containing a drawing starts with the section =DRAWING=, followed by several sections containing settings, block definitions and drawing data.

Each section starts and ends with a unique keyword. A keyword is a word delimited by the character = (Ansi 61). The word itself may be up to 31 characters long and may neither contain the character = (Ansi 61) nor a line feed. Each keyword is followed immediately by a semicolon. All sections are terminated by the keyword =END=.

Not every of the sections listed below has to exist in a drawing file. If it does exist, it should follow the order of the sections below (although this order is not definite). Section marked with a * have to exist in any drawing file at the given position!

The file header consists of a special character sequence, which has to have exactly the form described below. The character sequence has to start at the first byte of the file, as this character sequence is checked by directly reading the first 22 bytes of the file and comparing them with the expected identification! As a result, this identification may not be enclosed in quotes, and it must be handled case sensitive!

If the file contains UTF-8 characters, this header should be preceded by the standard 3 byte UTF-8 BOM of 0xef 0xbb 0xbf.

Drawing Sections

Section =DRAWING= (Drawing Information)*

See MKI_FILE_HEADER

Section =PREVIEW= (Preview Bitmap)

See Section =PREVIEW=. If this optional section exists, it MUST be the first section after the header to allow for a fast preview reading! The application will only read the header and check if the next section is =PREVIEW=. If not, it stops searching.

Section =INFO= (Miscellaneous Information)

See Section =INFO=

Section =DEFAULT= (Defaults)

See MKI_DEFAULTDEF

Section =PROFILE= (User Settings)

See Section =PROFILE=

Section =ATTRIB= (Standard Attributes) New in Version 2021.1

See Section =ATTRIB=

Section =MODULE= (Plug-In Settings)

The content of the section =MODULE= should be ignored. When creating a new drawing file this section should not exist.

Section =PAGE= (Page Format)

See Section =PAGE=

Section =COLOR= (Color Definitions)

See MKI_COLORDEF

Section =LINE= (Line Types) New order in Version 2013.0

See MKI_LINEDEF

Section =HATCH= (Hatching Types)

See MKI_HATCHDEF

Section =SYSTEM= (Coordinate Systems)

See MKI_SYSTEMDEF

Section =PEN= (Pens)

See MKI_PENDEF

Section =LAYER= (Layers)

See MKI_LAYERDEF

Section =WINDOW= (Window Settings)

See Section =WINDOW=

Section =BITMAP= (Embedded Bitmaps)

See Section =BITMAP=

Section =DATABASE= (Internal Database) New in Version 6.60

See Section =DATABASE=

Section =VARIABLE= (Variables)

See MKI_VARIABLEDEF

Section =TEXTSTYLE= (Text Styles) New in Version 2013.2

See MKI_TEXTSTLYEDEF

Section =SCENARIO= (Tasks) New in Version 2014.0

See MKI_TASKDEF

Section =ITEM= (Collection Items) New in Version 2020.1

See Section =ITEM=

Section =BLOCK= (Block Definitions)

See Section =BLOCK=

Section =OBJECT= (Objects)

See Section =OBJECT=

Section =EXIT= (End of File)*

See Section =EXIT=

The smallest valid MKD drawing file has the following form:

MKD Syntax

Malz++Kassner MKD 6240;

=DRAWING=;

DrawingTitle;

=END=;

=EXIT=;

;

=END=;