-HATCH (Command)

Fills an enclosed area or selected objects with a hatch pattern, solid fill, or gradient fill. Choose from the available hatch patterns, or use the User Defined command option to create custom hatches.

Click HATCH. The following prompts are displayed.

Internal Point (default option)

Determines a boundary from existing objects that form an enclosed area around the specified point.

Properties

Specifies new hatch pattern properties to apply.

?—List Pattern Names Lists and describes the hatch patterns in the drawing. Enter the pattern name. Precede the pattern name with an asterisk (*) to fill the area with individual lines instead of a hatch object.

Solid Specifies a solid fill and redisplays the first HATCH prompt, where you can define a boundary.

User Defined Specifies a user-defined pattern. Enter u, followed by an optional hatch style code. Precede the u with an asterisk (*) to fill the area with individual lines instead of a hatch object.

Draw Boundary

Uses specified points to define the boundary of a hatch or fill.

Remove Boundaries

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

Select Objects Removes objects from the boundary definition.

Add Boundaries Adds objects to the boundary definition.

Advanced

Sets the method used to create the hatch boundary.

Boundary Set Specifies a limited set of objects, called a boundary set, for evaluation by the pick point of the hatch.

New Creates a boundary set from the selected objects.

Everything Creates a boundary set from everything visible in the current viewport. Selecting this option discards any current boundary set and uses everything visible in the drawing or in the current viewport.

Retain Boundary Creates an object that encloses each hatch object.

Island Detection Specifies whether to use objects within the outermost boundary as boundary objects. Specifying no island detection prompts for the ray casting method.

Nearest Runs a line from the point you specify to the nearest object and then traces the boundary in a counterclockwise direction.

Angle Runs a line at the specified angle from the point you specify to the first object encountered and then traces the boundary in a counterclockwise direction.

Style Specifies the method used to hatch or fill objects within the outermost hatch boundary. If you have selected no internal objects, a hatching style has no effect. Because you can define a precise set of boundaries, it's often best to use the Normal style.

Ignore Ignores all internal objects and hatches or fills through them.

Outer (Recommended) Hatches or fills inward from the outer boundary. HATCH turns hatching or filling off if it encounters an internal island. This option hatches or fills only the outermost level of the structure and leaves the internal structure blank.

Normal Hatches or fills inward from the outer boundary. If HATCH encounters an internal island, it turns off hatching or filling until it encounters another island within the island.

Associativity Specifies that the new hatch pattern is updated when its boundaries are modified.

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. Any gaps equal to or smaller than the value you specify in the gap tolerance are ignored, and the boundary is treated as closed.

Separate Hatches Controls whether the command creates a single hatch object or multiple hatch objects when several separate closed boundaries are specified.

Draw Order

Assigns the draw order to a hatch or fill. You can place a hatch or fill behind all other objects, in front of all other objects, behind the hatch boundary, or in front of the hatch boundary.

Origin

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.

Use Current Origin Sets the value of the HPORIGINMODE system variable. The last 5 options listed below correspond to the values 1-5.

Set New Origin Specifies the new hatch origin point directly.

Default to Boundary Extents Calculates a new origin based on the rectangular extents of the hatch. Choices include each of the four corners of the extents and its center.

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.

Hatch Color

Overrides the current color with a specified color for hatch patterns and solid fills.

Layer

Assigns new hatch objects to the specified layer, overriding the current layer. Enter Use Current or “.” to use the current layer.

Transparency

Sets the transparency level for new hatches or fills, overriding the current object transparency. Enter Use Current or “.” to use the current object transparency setting.