Michael’s Corner

Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.

Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.

This month…

From the Vault

Originally published August 2010

A2011 Hatch Tricks: Set a New Origin & Spin it

AutoCAD 2011's revamped Hatch routine has a couple really productive features that are driven from the hatch origin. When you hover on the round grip of the A2011 hatch, you get a shortcut menu. The options for Origin Point and Hatch Angle are each very intuitive and get the job done much more quickly than in previous versions.

The following exercise uses (my favorite), db_samp.dwg, located in the ..\Sample\Database Connectivity folder of A2010 and A2011, or the ..\Sample folder of every other version that has a pulse.

How to Set a New Hatch Origin

1. Create a layer for the hatch, then launch the Hatch command and configure the parameters as shown in this figure.

   

   Note: For a review of the A2011 hatch command, take a look at Michael's Corner from April 2010. You will also find an extensive review of the AutoCAD 2011 Hatch command beginning on page 39 of The AutoCAD Workbench.

2. After configuring the hatch, click in the space where you want to add the hatch, then press [Enter] to complete the command.

3. To reposition the hatch by specifying a different origin point, click on the hatch to display the round grip in the geometric center.

4. Hover in the grip (don't click, just stay on it), and you see the shortcut menu shown in the opening figure, above.

5. Click Origin Point, then use an object snap - Endpoint in this example - and specify the point you want to use as the new hatch origin. How easy is that!?

To modify the angle of the hatch, there are actually two methods. One approach would be to adjust the Angle from the context tab when you have clicked on the hatch. The other way would be to use the Hatch Angle option of the shortcut menu… both of which are equally entertaining.

How to Rotate the Hatch: Two Methods

1. Click on the hatch to display the Hatch Editor context tab.

2. On the Properties panel, use the Angle slider to dynamically ‘rotate’ the hatch around the origin point.

3. To rotate the hatch with the shortcut menu, hover in the dot grip, the click Hatch Angle.

4. If Ortho is off, you can free-wheel the hatch around the origin. Turn on Ortho (when you're done playing with it), then click to complete the command.

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