Hatch
Purpose
Fills a closed area with a pattern. The boundary is searched automatically around the clicked point; islands are left clear. Background and connections: Hatching.
How to start
- Ribbon: group Annotate, button Hatch. If the window is narrow the group is collapsed — the arrow below the group icon (1) opens the list with Hatch (2).
- Classic toolbar: button Hatch (1); the gear on the right (2) opens the list with Hatch settings (settings).
- Command search : type Hatch.
left half
right halfStarting the tool opens the Hatch Settings dialog as a floating window next to the drawing; it stays open while the tool is active and closes when you switch to another tool. The snap mode is left unchanged when the tool starts.
Procedure
- Start the command. The instruction field shows Click inside a closed area → automatic hatch, the pointer bubble Hatch: click inside a closed area.
- If needed, set pattern, angle, spacing and further values in the dialog — changes apply immediately, without OK.
- Click inside the area to fill. During the search Hatch: searching for the boundary … appears, then the hatch is created and the status bar reports pattern and number of islands.
- Click further areas. Each area gets its own hatch with the current settings.
- Esc or another tool ends the command.
If no closed area is found, a message with cause and remedy appears — see Messages.
Options
All options are in the Hatch Settings dialog and are explained there field by field. The most important ones:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Area definition: Automatic | The program searches the boundary around the click point (factory setting). |
| Area definition: Manual | You click the boundary elements one by one and create the hatch with Enter — see Manual area definition. |
| Exclude islands | Closed shapes inside the boundary stay clear. |
| Visible area only (faster) | Boundary search only within the view; the whole area must be visible. |
| Only solid lines as boundary | Dashed, dotted and dash-dot lines do not bound. |
Keys
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| Enter | In Manual mode: create the hatch from the chosen elements |
| Esc | Discard the manual selection or end the command |
| Ctrl while dropping the seed point | Copy of the hatch at the drop point instead of moving it |
| PgUp, PgDn | Change the Z level of the selected hatch |
| Del | Delete the selected hatch |
| J | Pick up: adopt pattern, layer and opacity of a hatch as default |
The command itself has no shortcut key.
Related commands
- Hatch settings — dialog with all defaults
- Select — select a hatch, move the seed point, change properties in the panel
- Print — line width of hatches when printing