The hatch scale usually should be a pattern-specific multiplier times the drawing scale factor, as described in Chapter 3. For example, the EARTH pattern (in the Other Predefined tab of the Hatch Pattern Palette; refer to Figure 11-3) looks pretty good in a full scale (1=1) drawing with a hatch scale of 0.75. If you’re adding EARTH pattern hatching to a 1”=1’–0” detail (drawing scale factor equals 12), try using a hatch scale of 0.75?12, or 9.0. This pattern-specific multiplier and drawing-scale-factor approach ensures that hatching looks consistent (that the spaces between the lines are the same) at all scales when you plot.
Assuming that you know your drawing’s scale factor, the only complication is figuring out what the pattern- specific multiplier should be for a particular hatch pattern. In a more rational world, the pattern-specific multiplier would always be something sensible, like 1.0. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for all hatch pattern definitions. Even worse, there’s no way to predict before you use a hatch pattern for the first time what an appropriate pattern-specific multiplier might be. (Autodesk created the hatch patterns whose names begins with AR- — that is, the ones intended for architectural drawings — with a final hatch scale of 1.0 in mind, but in some cases you’ll have to adjust up or down in order to achieve a suitable scale.) You have to use trial and error the first time, and then make a note of the hatch pattern and multiplier for future use.
The first time you use a hatch pattern definition, try 1.0 as the multiplier. Don’t forget to multiply by the drawing scale factor. Preview the hatch and then adjust the hatch scale iteratively; preview after each change. After you settle upon a scale for the current drawing, calculate the corresponding multiplier (for future use); divide the hatch scale by the current drawing’s scale factor.
User-defined patterns require that you enter an angle and spacing, not angle and scale. Spacing is expressed in the current drawing units.
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 Pick Points button in the Boundary Hatch and Fill dialog box and then click a point
? Click the 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 another, as in Figure 11-4. The AutoCAD hatch preview and a bit of experimentation will clarify all these potentially puzzling permutations.
Figure 11-4: Get picky about your hatching (“X” indicates a pick point).
As I warn earlier in this chapter, boundaries must be Valid hatch boundary not found error message.
The Valid hatch boundary not found error message means you need to “repair” lines or other objects so they are a fully closed boundary. Sometimes 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 6 discusses these two editing techniques.
If you don’t want to go to the trouble of repairing your drawing in this way, you can use AutoCAD 2005’s new Gap Tolerance setting, located on the Advanced tab of the Boundary Hatch and Fill dialog box, to tell AutoCAD to overlook small gaps when dealing with hatch boundaries.
In AutoCAD 2005, the Boundary Hatch and Fill dialog box includes a new Draw Order setting that controls where AutoCAD places the hatching with respect to the boundary in terms of object selection. (Refer to Figure 11-2.) The default setting, Send behind boundary, puts the hatching “underneath” its boundary for object selection purposes, and that’s usually exactly what you want.
With Tool Palettes, described in Chapter 2, you can create click-and-drag hatch palettes. With a hatch palette, you click a tool (a swatch) and drag into an enclosed boundary to hatch the area. If your hatching needs are simple, you can create a Tool Palette for the patterns and scales you often use. See “hatches, adding to tool palettes” in AutoCAD’s online help for more information.
Editing Hatch Objects
Editing an existing hatch pattern is simple after you’re familiar with the Boundary Hatch and Fill dialog box. Follow these steps:
1. Select the hatch object.
2. Right-click anywhere in the drawing area and choose Hatch Edit from the cursor menu.
AutoCAD opens the Hatch Edit dialog box and displays the hatch object’s current settings.
3. Make any desired changes, use the Preview button to look them over, and click OK to keep the changes.
Alternatively, you can use the Properties palette (described in Chapter 6) to make most existing hatch pattern changes. The Properties palette is especially good for changing several hatches at once.
To make one hatch look like another, use the Match Properties button on the Standard toolbar.
The TRim command (described in Chapter 6) is now capable of trimming hatch patterns in most cases — although it removes associativity of the hatch pattern with the boundary.
Chapter 12
The Plot Thickens
? Configuring printers and plotters
? Plotting model space
? Plotting to scale
? Plotting paper space layouts
? Plotting lineweights and colors
? Controlling plotting with plot styles
? Using page setups
? Troubleshooting plotting
Despite the increasing number of offices with a computer (or two) on every desk, many people still need to
