This tip outlines how to create part family table instances with different configurations of a pattern using table-driven patterns and also illustrates several helpful techniques for working with pattern tables. The intended result of this procedure is to have a generic part with a pattern of holes on a flat 100 x 100 plane as shown in Figure 1, and a family table instance with an alternate configuration of holes as shown in Figure 2.

To simplify the entry of values for the locations of the instances in the pattern table, a value-driven pattern will first be created and then converted into a table-driven pattern:

•  Create the pattern leader using Insert > Hole. The HOLE dashboard will appear  
•  Select the top surface for placement, straight hole is the default 
• Type or select 5 for the diameter, drill the hole to intersect all surfaces
• Type or select 10 as the offset from the bottom and left sides of the flat part (Figure 3)
• Create the value-driven pattern by selecting the hole and the Pattern tool icon or, right-click and Pattern. 
• Click Identical from the OPTIONS menu 
• Click Dimensions from the slide up panel, select the dimension for direction one and two, and enter the increment values
• At the bottom, type the number of instances (5, in this example) in both directions for the dashboard layout (Figure 4)
• The completed pattern with 25 total instances should look like Figure 1
• To convert this value-driven pattern to a table-driven pattern select the newly patterned feature, right-click > Edit Definition and select "Table" from the pull down menu
• Use the name of the pattern table (any name can be entered, however, use TABLE1 for consistency in this procedure)
• Apply and save the changes made in the feature and close the tool dashboard 

Now that the table-driven pattern has been created, a second configuration table will be created. First, the member numbers of the holes in the center column and center row need to be determined:

• Click Info > Feature and select the hole on the bottom row in the center column (Figure 5)
• In the information window, pay particular attention to the line indicating the member location, as seen in. The 11 from (11, 1) is the instance member number. Record this number and repeat the procedure for the other eight holes in the center column and center row. The complete list of instance numbers should be as follows: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 3, 8, 18, and 23

Now create the second configuration table for this table-driven pattern:

• Click Edit > Pattern Table, highlight TABLE1, and then click Actions > Write to write the table file "table1.ptb.1" to disk. This is a file which contains the configuration of the pattern table created and named TABLE1
• Click Actions > Read, select "table1.ptb" from the OPEN dialog box. Type TABLE2 as the new name for the pattern 
• TABLE1 and TABLE2 now appear in the TABLES dialog box

Now the TABLE2 table must be edited to reflect the desired configuration: 

• Select TABLE2 from the TABLES dialog box, and then Actions > Edit Pro/TABLE will now appear with a listing of all the pattern instances and their dimensions. The goal of this edit is to delete the center column and center row of holes from the 25 instance pattern
• The member numbers of these holes previously recorded are: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 3, 8, 18, and 23. Because the leader is listed on the first line with no index number (Column 1, Row 9 of the Pro/TABLE window), each index (idx column) number is one off the member number previously recorded 
• Using the "@" symbol, comment out instances 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 2, 7, 17, and 22
• When finished, click Exit from the Pro/TABLE File menu
• To verify the correct edits have been made, select TABLE2 from the TABLES dialog, then Actions > Activate 
• Click OK from the TABLES dialog box and then regenerate the model. The result should look like Figure 2. If it does not, repeat the steps to create the second configuration table for this table-driven pattern and edit the TABLE2 table to reflect the desired configuration 
• Now that TABLE2 has been verified to be correct, use Activate in the TABLES dialog box to reactivate TABLE1. Regenerate the part to see the original hole pattern

Now a Family Table instance will be created with the TABLE2 pattern configuration: 

• Click Tools > Family Table, then Insert > Columns, click Pattern Table and select one of the holes from the pattern. Click OK. This will show the family table editor with a column for the pattern table. Notice the GENERIC instance has a value TABLE1 for the pattern table 
• Pick the icon to add an instance and enter a name for the family table instance (any name will do) 
• Now, click the cell directly under TABLE1 and type "table2" 
• Highlight the instance and select Tools > Preview to see the newly created instance. It should look like the intended result of Figure 2.

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