Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
the online help system's Customization Guide explains how — or you can buy lib-
raries of custom hatch patterns. Any patterns not defined in acad.pat or
acadiso.pat are referred to as custom patterns.
Hatching in AutoCAD has progressed dramatically over the last half-dozen releases.
We've gone from a keyboard-only command, through several different iterations of the
Hatch dialog box, to (what else?) a contextual Ribbon tab for hatching. Among the other
more recent Hatch improvements I describe in this chapter are
Hatch preview: Start the HATCH command and move your mouse pointer over the
drawing. AutoCAD presents a preview of the current hatch pattern as you move
over each closed area.
Hatch properties: Hatches — even solid hatches — can be transparent, and all
hatch objects can have a separate background color.
Send Hatches to Back: This variant of the DRAWORDER command lets you gather
every hatch object in your drawing and send them all behind other drawing ob-
jects.
Mirrored hatches: A new system variable (MIRRHATCH) lets you mirror drawing
geometry that includes hatches without mirroring the hatch angle.
Don't go overboard with hatching. The purpose of hatching is to clarify, not
overwhelm, the other geometry in the drawing. If your plots look like a patchwork
quilt of hatch patterns, it's time to simplify.
Hatching is another kind of annotation of your geometry, similar in purpose
to text and dimensions. As I describe at the beginning of Chapter 13, you'll usually
be more efficient if you save annotation for later in the drafting process. Draw as
much geometry as possible first, and then hatch the parts that require it. In other
words, batch your hatch.
Batten Down the Hatches!
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