How to Edit Hatches and Gradient Fills in BricsCAD

Quick answer: Hatches and gradient fills can be edited three ways: directly in the Properties panel, through a dedicated dialog via HATCHEDIT, or using tools in the Quad’s Edit command group once one is selected.

Editing in the Properties Panel

1. Select the hatch or gradient fill; its properties appear in the Properties panel.
2. Select the property you want to change; its field activates.
3. Edit it.
4. Press Esc to stop editing.

With multiple hatches or gradient fills selected, any property whose value differs across the selection shows as “varies”; editing it applies the change to the entire selection at once. Also worth knowing: the Linetype, Linetype scale, and Lineweight properties only apply to User Defined pattern types, they have no effect on Predefined or Custom patterns.

Editing in the Hatch Edit Dialog

Available from the Modify menu, the Modify toolbar, or the Modify ribbon panel.

1. Either run HATCHEDIT and select the entity, or double-click a hatch or gradient fill directly. The Hatch Edit dialog opens.
2. Edit its properties and settings; changes apply in real time as you go.
3. Click OK to accept.

Editing via the Quad

Pause the cursor over the hatch or gradient fill to bring up the Quad, then move to it for these options:

• Add Loop (Edit tab): click inside a closed area, or type S and select entities directly, to add a new loop (island) to the hatch boundary. Right-click or press Enter to finish.
• Remove Loop (Edit tab): the hatch’s boundaries highlight; click the ones you want removed, then right-click or press Enter to finish.
• Send to back (Edit tab): sends every hatch in the entire drawing behind other entities, not just the one you selected.
• Match (Edit tab): select other hatch entities to copy the current one’s properties onto, then right-click or press Enter to finish.
• Generate Boundary (Draw tab): generates the hatch’s boundary as its own entity.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I select several hatches with different colours, what shows in the Properties panel? “Varies,” for any property that differs across the selection. Editing that property applies the new value to every selected hatch at once.

Does Send to back on the Quad only affect the hatch I clicked? No, it sends every hatch in the entire drawing behind other entities, not just the selected one.

Can I change a hatch’s linetype if it uses a Predefined pattern? No, the Linetype, Linetype scale, and Lineweight properties only apply to User Defined pattern types.

How do I copy one hatch’s properties onto several others at once? Use the Match tool in the Quad’s Edit tab, select the target hatches, then right-click or press Enter to finish.