Use tool palettes to save and place user-defined hatch patterns

If you create user-defined hatches, which means that you specify the angle and spacing, you may want to save them for future use. You can easily do this using a tool palette.

First, create the user-defined hatch. In the Hatch and Gradient dialog box (or on the Hatch Creation tab in AutoCAD 2011), choose User-Defined as the type. Use the tools to specify the angle and spacing.

This hatch has an angle of 30° and a spacing of 0.25 units.

A user-defined hatch pattern in AutoCAD

Open the Tool Palettes window. (View> Palettes> Tool Palettes, or the TOOLPALETTES command)

Click the Hatches and Fills tab.

Drag-and-drop cursor--for a hatch pattern

Select the hatch. Then click and hold until you see the drag-and-drop arrow, as you see here.

Then simply drag the hatch to the tool palette. Here you see the new hatch on the palette.

A user-defined hatch pattern on a tool palette

You can now drag this hatch into any closed area in your drawing.

Even better, because you have that hatch pattern saved in a tool palette, you can use it in any other drawing.

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Related tips:

Create custom hatch patterns

Add commands to tool palettes from the CUI dialog box