Gradient

One color:

Click the colored tile to choose a different base color.

Press and hold the left mouse button to move the slider:

• Move the slider to the far right to create a 'color to white' gradient fill.

• Move the slider to the far left to create a 'color to black' gradient fill.

Two colors:

Click the colored tiles to choose a different colors.

Gradient fill pattern name:

Click a pattern. The options are:

Linear (1) - Cylindrical 2() - Inverted Cylindrical (3)

Spherical (4) - Hemispherical (5) - Curved (6)

Inverted Spherical (7) - Inverted Hemispherical (8) - Inverted Curved (9)

Orientation:

Centered: The gradient fill is created symmetrical;

Not centered: The gradient fill is built up from the left of the boundary.

Angle: Specifies the angle of the gradient fill, relative to the current UCS.

Boundaries

Pick points in boundaries

Specifies the closed areas (boundaries) in which to place the hatch pattern; temporarily dismisses the dialog box, and then prompts you at the command bar:

Select a point to define a boundary or hatch area - pick a point inside a closed area.

Notice that BricsCAD immediately draws the hatch, allowing you to preview its scale factor, angle, origin, and other parameters.

The prompt repeats, allowing you to choose additional areas to hatch. When done selecting areas, press Enter:

Select a point to define a boundary or hatch area - press Enter to return to the dialog box.

You cannot pick an area that already contains a hatch pattern, or areas that are not closed.

Select boundary entities

Selects the entities that make up a hatch pattern boundary; temporarily dismisses the dialog box, and then prompts you at the command bar:

Select entities - use any selection method to choose one or more entities.

The prompt repeats, allowing you to choose additional entities. When done selecting entities, press Enter:

Select entities - press Enter to return to the dialog box.

This option allows you to hatch closed areas that already contain a hatch; it does not hatch open areas.

Remove boundary entities

Prompts you to remove entities from the detected boundary set.

Boundary Set

Specifies where BricsCAD should search for entities that make up the hatch boundary:

• Current Viewport - searches all entities in the current viewport.

• Existing Set - searches only the current selection set for possible boundaries.

New

Creates a new selection set of entities that make up the pattern boundary; temporarily dismisses the dialog box, and then prompts you at the command bar:

Select entities - use any selection method to choose one or more entities.

The prompt repeats, allowing you to choose additional entities. When done selecting entities, press Enter:

Select entities - press Enter to return to the dialog box.

The next step is to click the Pick Points in Boundaries button to choose the hatch area.

If a selection exists when you launch the Gradient command, and if PICKFIRST is ON, the Hatch and Gradient dialog box immediately reopens when you click the New button.

Boundary Retention

Retain boundaries as

Toggles whether boundaries are retained:

• Yes - keeps the boundary in the drawing after this command is finished.

• No - removes the boundary after the hatch is created.

Polylines

Specifies the entity used for the boundary:

Polylines - makes the boundary from a polyline.

Islands

Nested

When a closed hatch boundary contains other boundaries, BricsCAD hatches alternating areas.

Outer

When a closed hatch boundary contains other boundaries, BricsCAD hatches only the outermost area.

Ignore

When a closed hatch boundary contains other boundaries, BricsCAD hatches all interior areas, as if they were not present.

Boundary Tolerance

Tolerance

Specifies the largest gap BricsCAD ignores when hatching a boundary that is not fully closed.

The gap tolerance is saved in the HPGAPTOL system variable.

Options

Annotative

Sets the Annotative property of the hatches.

Associative

Toggles the associativity of hatch patterns:

• On - associative; when the boundary is changed, the pattern automatically updates itself.

• Off - not associative; when the boundary is changed, the pattern remains as originally placed.

The Associative option is not available for annotative hatches.

Create separate hatches

If checked, creates a separate gradient entity for each boundary in the selection.

If not checked, creates a compound gradient entity.

Draw order

Specifies where the pattern should be placed relative to other entities:

• None - draw order is ignored.

• Send to Back - pattern is behind (underneath) all other entities.

• Send to Front - pattern is in front (on top) of all other entities.

• Send Behind Boundary - pattern is placed behind the boundary.

• Bring in Front of Boundary - pattern is placed in front of the boundary.

Inherit properties

Copies the properties of another, existing gradient entity; temporarily dismisses the dialog box, and then prompts you at the command bar:

Select hatch entity to copy properties from: (Use any selection method to choose a single hatch pattern.)

This button is useful for quickly setting options of a new hatch based on existing hatches.