Hatch can be used for fills and gradients, changing a hatch without using the Hatch command.
Gradients are like hatches in that they fill an enclosed area with a smooth transition between colors or from a color to a tint of itself. A lot of what we talked about in part one of this article also applies to patterned hatches also applies to fills and gradients.
Selecting the pattern sets the type of gradient. This includes linear (transitioning along a straight line) and radial (transitioning outward from a center point).
You then adjust the colors, direction and intensity.
Show the gradient as a smooth transition between two colors or use the tint to blend between the selected color and the color mixed with white or black.
Why use gradients? They are useful for their visual appeal or when you want to emphasise an area or distinguish it from another.
Fill and gradient properties
As you can with patterned hatches, you can adjust the properties of a gradient or a fill by having it copy the properties of another.
When the area is to be filled with a solid shade or a gradient, you can uses the active layer’s color (BYLAYER) by default or select another color.
With solid fills, you can use Transparency to make the hatch translucent. In addition to the hatch color, you can set a background color. This applies a solid fill behind the selected pattern.
Draw hatch
What can you do when there is no bounding geometry? The Draw option (introduced in AutoCAD 2025) allows you to create hatch without a preexisting boundary. The Hatch command has three methods for this: you can select an existing boundary, an internal point of an existing boundary or create the boundary on the fly.
Everything related to Draw is only accessible via the right-click menu or command line. The Draw command and its options do not appear in the ribbon.
Draw comes with two modes.
With Area, you pick points to build the boundary. This boundary is then filled with a hatch. Define this area by picking a rectangle, a circle or points to create a polygonal shape.
Use Path to draw the boundary by picking an open or closed path. AutoCAD offsets the path by the set width to build the boundary. Use the Alignment option to set the direction of the offset.
Path simplifies the process in many instances. For example, here I use it to add a concrete pattern to the outside of a building.
Properties (and match properties)
Not all the methods to modify a hatch are in the Hatch command. The Properties palette is another means of adjusting a hatch, including the type, angle and scale origin and associativity of the hatch.
To make hatch the same, use Match Properties. This applies the properties of the selected source to the other hatch objects you select.
When creating hatch use Match Properties to copy the properties from an existing hatch and apply those properties to the new hatches.
Tool palettes
From a tool palette (or the Design Center), drag a hatch pattern into an enclosed area to create hatch. Use the tool palettes to build libraries of pre-configured hatches.
To add hatch to a palette first create it in a drawing with the desired properties. Then drag-and-drop it onto the palette. Unlike blocks AutoCAD does not link the hatch to a specific drawing, it is just capturing the settings, which it stores in the palette.
Super hatch
If the Express Tools are installed, you have access to Super Hatch (a great command name!).
SuperHatch allows you to create custom patterns on the fly using a selected image, block or xref. The result is a pattern of the object fitting within the boundary.
From the dialog, pick Select Existing when wanting to use an existing object. This uses the object at its current size and rotation.
With Image, AutoCAD prompts you to select an image (1). You then insert the image, setting its scale, rotation and insertion point (2). Then you can pick the boundary. AutoCAD deletes the inserted image as it creates the hatch (3).
Blocks and Xrefs are similar. After selecting the block, set the parameters in the dialog or onscreen. Where you insert it does not matter, as it will be deleted after creating the hatch. It is inserted only to get the desired size and orientation. You can then pick the boundaries for the new hatch.
The result is not hatch. Instead, it creates a block or image reference mimicking a hatch pattern. The result consists of multiple copies of the selected image or block arranged in a pattern to fill the specified area.
So, it looks like a hatch, but it does not behave like a hatch. You cannot edit the result as you can with standard hatch objects. The results are not associative and will not update with changes to the boundary. On top of this, SuperHatch is not the most performant.
However, even with these limitations, SuperHatch is useful for quickly creating custom fills.
Making your own hatch patterns
Another method of creating custom patterns is via text files. You can append to AutoCAD’s included acad.pat and acadiso.pat files or create your own pattern files (.pat). Each pattern file can hold multiple hatch definitions. As a text file edit pattern files with any text editor, like Notepad.
If you save the PAT files into one of the Support folders (as defined in the Options) the added hatches will list under the User Defined or Custom hatch menu within AutoCAD.
Start the definition with the header line. This line starts with an asterisk (*) and has the pattern name and optional description. You must have a comma between the name and description. The name can be no longer than 31 characters.
*<pattern name>, description
Next add the descriptor lines in the format angle, x-origin,y-origin, delta-x,delta-y,dash-1,dash-2
For example, the standard ANSI31 is set as 45, 0,0, 0,.125 meaning the first line of the pattern is at 45-degrees passing through the origin (0,0). The spacing between subsequent lines is 0.125.
Note you can add comments by preceding the line with two semicolons (;;). You do not need line spaces pattern definitions except you must leave a blank line at the end of the file. If not, the last hatch pattern definition will remain unavailable.
