AutoCAD 2006 - Hatching ( in more detail)

As I sit here at my computer I know I need to go work out (especially after a wine-filled weekend in Napa with my family)...but it's raining outside...yet again(but then this IS California) and it's nice and cozy in my house!  So let's say we just procrastinate on the gym and take a look at the new hatching features in more detail!

Have you ever wished you could recreate the boundary of an existing hatch?  Perhaps you're working on a drawing where someone thought it wise to remove the boundary for some reason...and you need it back!  The new HATCHEDIT command has a recreate boundary option that is fantastic!

  You'll also see that you can add or remove boundaries to/from your existing hatches.  These new options should save you many steps (no need to erase the original hatch and start again - now you can truly edit it to get the results you want!)

Have you ever tried to hatch a boundary that wasn't completely visible on the screen? Forget it!  You would have to exit the BHATCH command, zoom out and try again (possibly after entering an expletive)...well those days are gone because now you can hatch a boundary even if it isn't completely within your current display (hoorah!).

When you create several hatches within the same BHATCH command, they are all tied together.  You erase one, they all erase.  AutoCAD 2006 now allows you to create separate hatches within the same BHATCH command.

And my favorite new change - you can specify the origin of your crosshatching.  No more finagling around with snap, or origin - now it's just a simple click.  You can manually select the origin, or you can ask AutoCAD to find one of the four corners of the boundary for you.  You can also have it centered.

 

Even though in most cases you can use the LIST command to find the area of a hatch pattern, now you can find the area of multiple hatches.  Simply select the hatches and enter the Properties command.  here you'll find a "cumulative area" option.

Well it's still raining...but it's off to the gym for me anyway!  (besides...it's getting close to swimsuit season...)  Will the rain ever stop???