Autodesk AUTOSKETCH 8, User Manual

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Chapter 16 Pen & Pattern Properties
AutoSketch allows you to determine how entities are displayed according to
their pen and pattern properties.
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Pen properties (color, style, and width) define the outline of the entity as
it is displayed or printed.
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Pattern properties define if and how an entity is filled. You can fill entities
with solid colors, with repeating line patterns known as hatches, or
bitmap images.
You control pen and pattern properties using the property bar. When you
begin a drawing command, AutoSketch assigns the properties current on the
property bar. Changing a value on the property bar changes the selected
entity or entities, as well as makes that property current—meaning that any
newly drawn entity will display the current property.
Similar in appearance to the pattern properties selected from the property
bar, the boundary fill is a special polygon whose shape conforms to the out-
line of a bounded area or selection set. Since the polygon segments are
hidden, only the hatch, bitmap image, or solid color is displayed. You can
change the pattern type of the polygon, select a solid fill color, or even
reshape the resulting polygon using entity editing. Also, a hatched polygon
can be exploded into component entities.
From the Content Librarian, you can drag-and-drop hatches, bitmap images,
and solid fill color into any enclosed area—including areas not defined by a
single entity. You can, for example, fill the overlapping area of two rectangles
with a fill. For information on applying a fill, see page 203.
Additionally, AutoSketch allows you to manage properties for the drawing
using existing entities. The Property Painter copies the properties of a single
entity to a selection set, while the Dropper allows you to make the properties
of a selected entity current on the property bar. In both cases, you select
which properties you want to copy.
Setting Pen Properties
Pen properties apply to all entities except symbols and groups, which display
the pen properties of the symbol instance or their component entities.
AutoSketch supports three pen properties:
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Color —The color in which the entity is displayed.
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Style —The pattern of lines and dots AutoSketch uses to display and print
the entity.
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Width —The width of the entity.