Hatch Editor Ribbon Contextual Tab

Modifies hatch-specific properties, such as pattern, scale and angle for an existing hatch or fill.

List of Options

The following panels and options are displayed.

Boundaries Panel

Pick Points

Determines a hatch boundary by selecting a point within an enclosed area formed by one or more objects.

Select

Adds hatch areas to the selected hatch by determining a boundary based on selected objects.

When you use this option, interior objects are not detected automatically. You must select the objects within the selected boundary to hatch or fill those objects according to the current island detection style.

In order to create an unhatched space around text, include the text in the selection set.

While selecting objects, you can right-click at any time in the drawing area to display a shortcut menu. You can undo the last selection or all selections, change the selection method, change the island detection style, or preview the hatch or gradient fill.

Remove

Removes from the boundary definition any of the objects that were added previously.

Recreate

Creates a polyline or region around the selected hatch or fill, and optionally associates the hatch object with it.

Display Boundary Objects

Displays boundary grip controls that you can use to grip-edit both the boundary and the selected hatch object.

When you select a non-associative hatch, the hatch boundary grips are displayed automatically. When you select an associative hatch, a single hatch grip point is displayed unless you select the Display Boundary Objects option. You can only edit an associative hatch by grip-editing the associated boundary objects.

Retain Boundary Objects

Specifies how to handle hatch boundary objects. Options include

• Don't Retain Boundaries. (Available only during hatch creation) Does not create a separate hatch boundary object.
• Retain Boundaries - Polyline. (Available only during hatch creation) Creates a polyline that encloses the hatch object.
• Retain Boundaries - Region. (Available only during hatch creation) Creates a region object that encloses the hatch object.
• Select New Boundary Set. Specifies a limited set of objects, called a boundary set, for evaluation by the pick point when creating the hatch.

Use Current Viewport

(Available only during hatch creaton) Defines the boundary set from all objects within the extents of the current viewport.

Specify Boundary Set

(Available only during hatch creation) Defines the boundary set from the objects that you selected with Define Boundary Set.

Pattern Panel

Displays preview images for all predefined and custom patterns.

You can find the custom patterns at the bottom of the pattern gallery on the Pattern tab.

Properties Panel

Hatch Type

Specifies whether to use a solid, a gradient, pattern, or user-defined fill.

The program provides the following predefined patterns:

• AutoCAD: acad.pat or acadiso.pat
• AutoCAD LT: acadlt.pat or acadltiso.pat

User-defined patterns are based on the current linetype in your drawing. A custom pattern is a pattern that is defined in any custom PAT files that you have added to the search path.

Hatch Color or Gradient Color 1

Overrides the current color for solid fills and hatch patterns, or specifies the first of two gradient colors (HPCOLOR or GFCLR1).

Background Color or Gradient Color 2

Specifies the color for hatch pattern backgrounds, or the second gradient color. When Hatch Type is set to Solid, Gradient Color 2 is not available. (HPBACKGROUNDCOLOR or GFCLR2).

Hatch Transparency

Sets the level of transparency for new hatch objects, overriding the default object transparency.

Use the drop-down list to specify whether transparency is set to ByLayer, ByBlock, or by object (Transparency Value).

Hatch Angle

Specifies an angle for Gradient and Pattern hatch objects relative to the X axis of the current UCS. Set a hatch angle between 0 to 359 degrees using the slider (HPANG).

Hatch Pattern Scale

(Available only when Type is set to Pattern) Expands or contracts a predefined or custom hatch pattern (HPSCALE).

Hatch Spacing

(Available only when Hatch Type is set to User Defined) Specifies the spacing of lines in a user-defined pattern (HPSPACE).

Gradient Tint and Shade

(Available only when Hatch Type is set to Gradient) When Hatch Type is set to Gradient, this option specifies the tint (the selected color mixed with white) or the shade (the selected color mixed with black) used for a one-color gradient fill (GFCLRLUM).

Layer Name

Assigns new hatch objects to the specified layer, overriding the current layer. Select Use Current to use the current layer (HPLAYER).

Relative to Paper Space

(Available only in a layout) Scales the hatch pattern relative to paper space units. Using this option, you can easily display hatch patterns at a scale that is appropriate for your layout.

Double

(Available only when Hatch Type is set to User Defined) Draws a second set of lines at 90 degrees to the original lines, creating a crosshatch (HPDOUBLE).

ISO Pen Width

(Available only for predefined ISO patterns) Scales an ISO pattern based on the selected pen width.

Origin Panel

Controls the starting location of hatch pattern generation. Some hatches, such as brick patterns, are meant to be aligned with a point on the hatch boundary. By default, all hatch origins correspond to the current UCS origin.

Set Origin

Specifies the new hatch origin point directly.

Bottom Left

Sets the hatch origin at the bottom-left corner of the rectangular extents of the hatch boundary.

Bottom Right

Sets the hatch origin at the bottom-right corner of the rectangular extents of the hatch boundary.

Top Left

Sets the hatch origin at the top-left corner of the rectangular extents of the hatch boundary.

Top Right

Sets the hatch origin at the top-right corner of the rectangular extents of the hatch boundary.

Center

Sets the hatch origin at the center of the rectangular extents of the hatch boundary.

Use Current Origin

Sets the hatch origin to the default location stored in the HPORIGIN system variable.

Store as Default Origin

Stores the value of the new hatch origin in the HPORIGIN system variable.

Options Panel

Controls several commonly used hatch or fill options.

Associative

Specifies that the hatch or fill is associative. A hatch or fill that is associative is updated when you modify its boundary objects (HPASSOC).

Annotative

Specifies that the hatch is annotative. This property automates the process of scaling annotations so that they plot or display at the correct size on the paper (HPANNOTATIVE).

Match Properties

• Use Current Origin. Sets the properties of a hatch with a selected hatch object, except the hatch origin.
• Use Source Hatch Origin. Sets the properties of a hatch with a selected hatch object, including the hatch origin.

Gap Tolerance

Sets the maximum size of gaps that can be ignored when objects are used as a hatch boundary. The default value, 0, specifies that the objects must enclose the area with no gaps.

Move the slider or enter a value, in drawing units, from 0 to 5000 to set the maximum size of gaps that can be ignored when the objects serve as a hatch boundary. Any gaps equal to or smaller than the value you specify are ignored, and the boundary is treated as closed (HPGAPTOL).

Separate Existing Hatches

Explodes a single hatch object that was created within several closed boundaries into separate objects. This option is available only when several hatches are selected.

Island Detection

• Normal Island Detection. Hatches or fills inward from the outer boundary. If an internal island is encountered, hatching or filling is turned off until another island within the island is encountered (HPISLANDDETECTION) .
• Outer Island Detection. Hatches or fills inward from the outer boundary. This option hatches or fills only the specified area and leaves the internal islands unaffected (HPISLANDDETECTION).
• Ignore Island Detection. Ignores all internal objects and hatches or fills through them (HPISLANDDETECTION).

Draw Order

Assigns a draw order to a hatch or fill (HPDRAWORDER). Options include

• Do Not Change
• Send to Back
• Bring to Front
• Send Behind Boundary
• Bring in Front of Boundary

Close Panel

Close Hatch Editor

Exits the Hatch Editor and closes the contextual tab.

You can also press Enter or Esc to exit.