Installing versions
Make sure you have the following before commencing with any installation...
- Hatch user account
- Installation software
- Connection to internet
- When you install the software, you will be prompted to reboot your PC to complete the installation. Make sure that you save any files and close all applications beforehand.
See the Installation & security page for details. Also, check that your PC meets the system requirements.
Custom assets
Hatch Embroidery Software allows you to create files or 'assets' of various kinds during normal use. The most important of these are of course actual embroidery designs. There are other assets you may create, such as design templates, custom motifs and borders. These assets are preserved from installation to installation, whether installing a new version of Hatch or an update patch.
If you want to move your Hatch Embroidery Software to another PC, then you will need to manually transfer any custom assets you have created or received from third parties. For information about where your Hatch assets are stored, see Personal data.
Move pre-Hatch 2.1 assets to new PC
In order to install the latest version of Hatch onto a clean PC with all your custom files intact, you will need to do the following:
- On the PC on which Hatch is currently installed
- Go to C:\Program Files(x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 'x' and pick the latest (could be 1 or 2 depending on the version currently installed).
- Copy the entire folder to a removable drive or shared network location.
- On the new PC, sign in as an 'admin user'.
- Go to C:\Progam Files(x86).
- Create the folder 'Wilcom'.
- Copy the contents of the removable drive or shared drive to this folder.
- On the new PC
- Install the latest Hatch software.
The new installation will move your custom assets to the new folder structure.
If you have already installed the latest version on a new PC, you will need to manually move any custom assets from the old (pre-v2.1) locations to the new folder locations. Refer to the tables below.
Custom asset locations (pre-v2.1)
If you are updating from Hatch 1 or Hatch 2.0 to Hatch 2.1 and want to move your custom assets to a new computer, you can find them at the locations indicated in the tables below.
| Custom assets | File types | Location (Hatch v1) | Location (Hatch v2.0) | Location (Hatch v2.1 and above) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto fabrics | userdefined.autost | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\RES | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\RES | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\AUTOFABRIC |
| Hoops | USRHOOPS.DSC | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\RES | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\RES | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\Hoops |
| Thread charts | *.TCH | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\RES | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\RES | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\ThreadCharts |
| Machines | UserMachineModels.txt | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\RES | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\Machines | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\Machines |
| Motifs | *.ESA | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\USERLETW | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\USERLETW | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\MOTIFS |
| Templates | *.JMT | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\TEMPLATE | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\TEMPLATE | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\TEMPLATE |
| Carving stamps | *.ESA | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\USERLETW | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\USERLETW | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\STAMPS |
| Borders | *.ESA | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\USERLETW | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\USERLETW | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\BORDERS |
| 3rd Party fonts | *.ESA | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery Software V1\USERLETW | C:\Program Files (x86)\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery 2\USERLETW | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\FONTS |
| Articles | *.PNG | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch 1 Pictures\Articles | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch Pictures\Articles | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch Pictures\Articles |
| Fabrics | *.JPG, *.BMP | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch 1 Pictures\Fabrics | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch Pictures\Fabrics | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch Pictures\Fabrics |
Custom asset locations (V2.1 and higher)
User data – including custom fabrics, templates, motifs, borders, and fonts – is stored in dedicated folders. Familiarize yourself with them so you know where all your custom assets are located.
| Custom assets | Location (Hatch v2.1 and above) | File types |
|---|---|---|
| Auto fabrics | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\AUTOFABRIC | userdefined.autost |
| Hoops | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\Hoops | USRHOOPS.DSC |
| Thread charts | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\ThreadCharts | *.TCH |
| Machines | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\RES\Machines | UserMachineModels.txt |
| Motifs | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\MOTIFS | *.ESA |
| Templates | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\TEMPLATE | *.JMT |
| Carving stamps | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\STAMPS | *.ESA |
| Borders | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\BORDERS | *.ESA |
| 3rd Party fonts | C:\ProgramData\Wilcom\Hatch Embroidery\FONTS | *.ESA |
| Articles | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch Pictures\Articles | *.PNG |
| Fabrics | C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Hatch Pictures\Fabrics | *.JPG, *.BMP |
Some data folders will only be created when the software is opened for the first time after restarting your system.
Show hidden folders
If you need to manually copy the contents of your asset folders to a new location, you may find that the C:\ProgramData folder is hidden on your PC, depending on the permissions of the login you are using. To be able to view the folder structure, open the 'Folder Options' dialog in Windows Explorer as shown. On the View tab, tick the 'Show hidden files' option and click OK. This will reveal the 'ProgramData' folder and all its contents.
If you are running a more recent version of Windows Explorer, you can access the same option as shown...
Related video
For lots of videos, projects and ideas for using your Hatch software, visit our online Hatch Academy. (Right-click to open in a new tab.)
