custom hatch pattern??

can someone explain how to create a simple hatch pattern & save it as a user
defined pattern?
the help files leave much to be desired. )

TIA
Rob

 

It *can* be done. I created a number of hatch patterns with just the
information in the R13 Customization Guide, which is essentially the same
information contained in the current HELP system. I do agree, however, that
the information is not well organized, and it took a lot of trial and error
before I achieved my first *successful* pattern.

Fortunately, there are some third party tools available that make the job
easier. We use an old utility called BoobyHatch, which hasn't been updated
recently. And a search on Google ("autocad hatch generator") will give you a
number of more recent options.
__

 

thanks for the quick response.. I did a search found a few... any of them
free? or offer a free trial?

in a nutshell , how'd you create your own, w/out the program? I was thinking
I could export a drawing out into a block with a *.pat extension & then
assign the x/y unit spacing... but everything I try ends up back at the
standard hatch menu. I dunno???

 

In a nutshell, I opened NotePad and started typing stuff in a format that
looked like some of the other stuff in ACAD.PAT, then played around and
adjusted my code until it looked the way I wanted it to when used with the
HATCH command. I created several patterns in this way, and each one was a
bit easier than the previous one. I discovered BoobyHatch sometime in the
mid '90's, and haven't manually written a hatch pattern since; I'm not even
sure I could do it again without a lot of practice.

BoobyHatch was/is free, and you may still be able to find it around
somewhere. Sorry, I don't have the original distribution files.

The ultimate goal is a plain ASCII text file containing the pattern
definition. It must be written in the format specified in the HELP system.
What those third-party utilities is to extract the information on the
AutoCAD graphics screen and translate it to the proper ASCII text format.
If you already happen to have a drawing with a hatch pattern you like, but
no accompanying *.pat file, you can "steal" the pattern with GETPAT.LSP from
http://www.turvill.com/t2/free_stuff


____

 

.... forgot to add: The tool that seems to be the most popular these days is
Hatchkit. It's available in demo form from several sites.

 

2 tips from experience on top of what Paul said...

Have a session of acad open while you do what Paul said.
Have a rectangle with the lower left corner at 0,0 to hatch
with the pattern you're working on. Save the pattern
periodically and hatch the rectangle. Look at the result.
Measure the misplacements, if any. Look at your code.
Hatch patterns are generated relative to the UCS.

Second, the X-displacement number comes before the
Y-displacement in the code instructions, but in the case of
lines at 90 degrees at least, the first number in the code will yield
the >>> Y <<< displacement and the second the >>>> X <<<<.
The code below gives you a 3-tab shingle pattern made of two lines:

*fool, fooling around
90, 12,0, 4.5,6.5, 4,-5
0, 0,0, 6.5,4.5, 12,-1

The first @ 90 will repeat @ 4.5 in the Y, and 6.5 in the X.
The second @ 0 will repeat the same but the displacement coordinates
are in reverse order. The two lines will always meet the same way, making
"L"s . Maybe someone can explain why this SHOULD be so,
but it strikes me as a mistake. The help as I read it says that the order
for the line @ 0 should work for both, but it doesn't.