Define boundaries for
hatches and fills from existing objects or from specified boundary
points.
Use one of several methods to specify the 2D
geometric boundaries of a hatch or fill.
- Specify a point in an area that is enclosed
by objects.
- Select objects that enclose an area.
- Specify boundary points using the -HATCH
Draw option.
- Drag a hatch into an enclosed area from
a tool palette or DesignCenter.
NoteEnclosed areas can
be hatched only if they are in a plane parallel to the XY plane
of the current UCS.
Create Associative Hatches
Associative
hatches are automatically updated when their boundary objects are
modified. Minor changes in the boundary of an associative hatch
do not require erasing and re-creating the hatch.
Hatch associativity is
turned on by default and is controlled by the HPASSOC system variable.
You can also control hatch associativity using the following tools
in the user interface:
- Hatch and Gradient dialog box
- Hatch Edit dialog box
- Hatch panel on the ribbon
- Properties palette
Nonassociative hatches are not updated when
their original boundary is changed.
Hatch Enclosed Areas Within
Boundaries
Enclosed areas within hatch boundaries are called islands.
There are four island detection styles available from the user interface:
- Normal Island Detection
- Outer Island Detection (recommended)
- Ignore Island Detection
- No Island Detection (legacy behavior
that is similar to the Ignore style)
Using Normal Island Detection,
if you specify the internal Pick Point shown, islands
remain unhatched and islands within islands are hatched.
Using the same pick point,
the results of the options are compared below.
NoteText objects are
treated as islands. If island detection is turned on, the result
always leaves a rectangular space around the text.
Include Objects in a Boundary
Set
When
hatching a small area in a large, complex drawing, you can save
time by selecting a smaller set of objects in the drawing to be
used in determining the hatch boundary.
Identify Gaps in Hatch
Boundaries
If the specified internal point is not
within a fully enclosed area, red circles are displayed at the unconnected
endpoints of the boundary to identify the gaps.
The red circles remain
displayed after you exit the HATCH command. They are removed when
you specify another internal point for the hatch, or when you use
the REDRAW, REGEN, or REGENALL commands.
To hatch an area whose
boundary is not quite closed, do one of the following:
- Locate the gaps and modify the boundary
objects so they form a closed boundary.
- Set the HPGAPTOL system variable
to a value large enough to bridge the gaps. HPGAPTOL applies only
to gaps between geometric objects that would meet if extended.
NoteBy default, a preview
of the hatch displays as you move the cursor over bounded areas.
To improve the response time in large drawings, turn off the hatch
preview feature with the HPQUICKPREVIEW system variable.
To define a boundary set
in a complex drawing (ribbon turned on)
- Expand the Boundaries panel, and click
the Select New Boundary Set button at the bottom-left of the expanded
panel.
- Select the objects to be considered for
the hatch and press Enter.
Selecting the objects
with a crossing window is often the best
method.
- Specify a point inside each area that
you want hatched.
- Press Enter, or click Close on the ribbon
to apply the hatch and exit the command.
To define a boundary set
in a complex drawing (ribbon turned off)
- In the Hatch and Gradient dialog box,
click the More Options button at the bottom-right.
- Under Boundary Set, click New.
- Select the objects to be considered for
the hatch and press Enter.
Selecting the objects
with a crossing window is often the best
method.
- In the Hatch and Gradient dialog box,
click Add: Pick Points.
- Specify a point inside each area that
you want to hatch.
- Click OK to apply the hatch.
CommandsHATCH
Fills an enclosed area
or selected objects with a hatch pattern, solid fill, or gradient
fill.
HATCHEDIT
Modifies an existing
hatch or fill.
System VariablesHPANG
Sets the angle for new
hatch patterns.
HPASSOC
Controls whether hatches
and fills are associative.
HPBOUND
Controls the object
type created by HATCH and BOUNDARY.
HPBOUNDRETAIN
Controls whether boundary
objects are created for new hatches and fills.
HPGAPTOL
Treats a set of objects
that almost enclose an area as a closed hatch boundary.
HPISLANDDETECTION
Controls how islands
within the hatch boundary are treated.
HPISLANDDETECTIONMODE
Controls whether internal
closed boundaries, called islands, are detected.
HPQUICKPREVIEW
Controls whether to
display a preview when specifying internal points for a hatch.
HPSEPARATE
Controls whether a single
hatch object or separate hatch objects are created when operating
on several closed boundaries.
