Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
After you specify the hatch pattern, angle, and scale you want to use, you define the
boundary (or boundaries) into which you want to pour that hatch pattern in one of two
ways:
Picking points within the area(s) you want hatched
Selecting objects that surround those areas
The actual operation involved in using either of these options is confusing to most
people. You'll probably need a little practice before you get used to it.
The idea behind either definition option is simple when applied to simple areas — that
is, closed areas with no additional objects inside them. To define the hatch boundary for
a simple area, do one of these two things:
Click the Add: Pick Points button in the Hatch and Gradient dialog box and then
click a point
inside
the boundary.
Click the Add: Select Objects button and select one or more objects that form a
fully closed boundary.
This simple hatching gets more complicated if you have one closed object inside anoth-
er, as shown in Figure 15-7. The AutoCAD hatch preview and a bit of experimentation will
clarify all these potentially puzzling permutations.
As I warn earlier in this chapter, boundaries must be
completely
closed before
AutoCAD will hatch them. That's one of the reasons you should employ the preci-
sion techniques from this topic whenever you draw or edit objects. If the lines sur-
rounding your boundary don't either meet exactly or cross, AutoCAD scolds you
with an A Closed Boundary Could Not Be Determined error message.
The A Closed Boundary Could Not Be Determined error message means that
you need to repair lines or other objects so they're a fully closed boundary. Some-
times you can use the FILLET command with a zero fillet radius to force two lines
to meet exactly. Another possibility is to use grip editing to align one endpoint
precisely with another. Chapter 10 discusses these two editing techniques.
