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New Hatch Features in Version 5

Hatches now have an alignment option (sometimes referred to as an origin) and the ability to offset a hatch incrementally along both the x and y axis.

Every hatch pattern has a starting point determined by its definition in the hatches.hat custom file. When placing or editing a hatch, this starting point may be set to any of 4 different locations:

Center - the pattern begins at the center of the bounding rectangle of the hatch boundary. This is the only option in all Visual CADD versions prior to v5.
Origin - the pattern begins at the absolute origin (0, 0) of the drawing.
LL Corner (Lower-Left) - the pattern begins at the lower-left of the bounding rectangle of the hatch boundary.
First Point - the pattern begins at the first point of the hatch boundary. This point depends on the order you place the boundary points and/or the tool used to place the boundary. Object Info (OI) is a convenient way to find this first point.

The following illustrates the differences using the Herringbone hatch inserted into a series of 2-point rectangles using the Hatch Boundary tool. The Points are used here for reference to show the alignment point.

Hatches also have a new offset feature that lets you "bump" a hatch pattern incrementally in either direction onscreen. It is very useful for aligning two or more separate hatches of the same pattern.

Although you can set an offset on the Hatch/Fill Tab or the Hatch Settings speedbar, you will probably use it more often to edit misaligned hatches already in the drawing.

An example would be hatching used as horizontal siding on a building elevation that has a pair of vertical columns supporting a porch roof. Because the columns break up the elevation into at least 3 sections, multiple hatch placements are required. If the hatches do not align after placement, select a hatch and open Hatch Change and input a value in either the X Offset or Y Offset edit boxes and click the [Apply] button. By dragging the dialog to a side or corner of the screen so that the hatches are visible, you can try different values and by using the [Apply] button can keep the dialog open. When you are satisfied with the results, click the [OK] button to finish.

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