Overview

• Selecting a predefined hatch pattern, and applying it to a drawing

• Setting up and applying user-defined hatch patterns

• Modifying the scale and shape of a hatch pattern

• Specifying the origin of a hatch pattern

• Filling an enclosed area with a solid color

• Setting up and using palettes and palette tools

Hatches can be abstract patterns of lines, they can be solid fills, or they can resemble the surfaces of various building materials. To give texture to an AutoCAD drawing, a drafter will hatch in areas or fill them in with a solid color. Solid fills in a drawing can give a shaded effect when printed using a half-screen, resulting in a look quite different from the solid appearance in the AutoCAD drawing on the screen.

In an architectural floor plan, the inside of full-height walls are often hatched or filled to distinguish them from low walls. Wood or tile floors can be hatched to a parquet or tile pattern. In a site plan, hatches are used to distinguish between areas with different ground covers, such as grass, gravel, or concrete. When you're working with elevations, almost any surface can be hatched to show shading and shadows, and realistic hatch patterns can be used to illustrate the surfaces of concrete, stucco, or shingles. Hatches and fills are widely used in mechanical, landscaping, civil, structural, and architectural details as a tool to aid in clear communication.

To learn how to hatch and fill areas, you'll start with some of the...