Day 10
Fill
60 XP

HATCH

Fill closed areas with patterns.

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Learning objective

By the end of this lesson you can fill an enclosed region with a pattern and adjust its angle and scale.

What HATCH is

HATCH fills a closed boundary with a repeating pattern — used for materials (concrete, brick), section views and visual emphasis.

Why and when you use it

Hatching communicates what something is made of or shows that it has been cut through. Indispensable in architectural and mechanical drawings.

Where to find it in the AutoCAD interface

Ribbon
Home tab → Draw panel → Hatch button.
Menu
Draw menu → Hatch.
Command line
Type HATCH and press Enter.
Alias / shortcut
H (then Enter).

Key vocabulary

Pattern
The repeating motif used to fill the region — e.g. ANSI31 diagonal lines.
Boundary
The closed loop that defines what to fill.
Scale
How big the pattern motif is in drawing units.
Angle
How the pattern is rotated from horizontal.
Associative hatch
A hatch that updates automatically when its boundary changes.

Before you start

  • Draw a fully closed shape — every endpoint must touch.
  • Turn OSNAP on so any joining lines actually meet.
  • Set a sensible current layer (e.g. Hatch).

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1
    Start the HATCH command
  2. 2
    Pick a pattern
  3. 3
    Set scale and angle
  4. 4
    Click inside the closed region
  5. 5
    Finish the command

Common mistakes & fixes

  • HATCH says 'Valid boundary not found'.
    Fix: Zoom in and close any gaps in the outline — every endpoint must meet exactly.
  • Pattern looks like a solid block.
    Fix: Scale is too small. Increase it by a factor of 10 and retry.
  • Pattern looks blank.
    Fix: Scale is too large. Decrease it by a factor of 10.

Troubleshooting

Boundary not detected.Show
Cause: An apparent corner has a tiny gap.
Fix: Use OSNAP to redraw the edge, or close the loop with PEDIT (Join).
Hatch overflows the region.Show
Cause: Two boundaries overlap.
Fix: Trim or close each region separately, then re-hatch.

Practice exercise

Hatch a rectangle with ANSI31 at 45°
  1. Draw a 200×100 rectangle with REC.
  2. Type H, Enter.
  3. Pick ANSI31, set Angle 45, Scale 1.
  4. Click inside the rectangle and press Enter.
Success looks like: The rectangle is filled with diagonal lines rotated 45° from horizontal.

Pro tips & related commands

Pro tips
  • Use SOLID pattern for full-fill regions.
  • Type HATCHEDIT (or double-click a hatch) to edit pattern, scale or angle later.
  • Keep hatches on their own Hatch layer so you can freeze them when plotting clean line drawings.
Related commands
  • HATCHEDIT
    Edit an existing hatch's pattern, scale or angle.
  • BOUNDARY(BO)
    Create a closed polyline from a hatchable region.
  • GRADIENT
    Fill a region with a smooth colour gradient instead of a pattern.
Lesson quiz
0/2 correct

Score at least 2/2 to unlock lesson completion.

1. HATCH requires the target region to be…
2. Where do you click after picking a pattern?

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Dimensions + TextBLOCKS

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