Hatch scale/angles different per computer

[tracy.findlater]

This has always bugged me so I thought I'd finally get round to asking about it!

The guy sitting next to me (for example) does a bit of text at a certain angle and scale. I then work on this same drawing and want to replicate this hatching. I cannot match properties as the same scale and angle appears vastly different on my machine - why?!?

Can we stop this as its very annoying?

thanks!

[jaberwok]

Hi Tracy, welcome to AUGI.

I had a theory about hatch scale - but I've just (partially) disproved it.
It was like this -
Create a hatch at a scale of 1. Use the Scale command to make it twice as big. Create a new hatch using a different pattern at any scale. Now use Match Properties to make the second hatch the same as the first. The second hatch will not match the first hatch. It will match the first hatch as it was before the Scale command - that is, it matches the original definition. I know this is sometimes true.

Rotation could be because hatching is applied relative to the current UCS so, if your UCS is rotated, the hatch will be rotated too.
Your base angle, set through the Units command, will have the same effect.

Text will be altered if you both use the same style name but with different settings; imported text will take on the characteristics of the style already defined in the host drawing.

[ccowgill]

it could also have to do with the differences between acad.pat and acadiso.pat, if the patterns are loaded from one or the other, the scale would be different

[tracy.findlater]

Hi Tracy, welcome to AUGI.

I had a theory about hatch scale - but I've just (partially) disproved it.
It was like this -
Create a hatch at a scale of 1. Use the Scale command to make it twice as big. Create a new hatch using a different pattern at any scale. Now use Match Properties to make the second hatch the same as the first. The second hatch will not match the first hatch. It will match the first hatch as it was before the Scale command - that is, it matches the original definition. I know this is sometimes true.

Rotation could be because hatching is applied relative to the current UCS so, if your UCS is rotated, the hatch will be rotated too.
Your base angle, set through the Units command, will have the same effect.

Text will be altered if you both use the same style name but with different settings; imported text will take on the characteristics of the style already defined in the host drawing.

Hi there,
thanks for the welcome!

If one of my guys does a bit of hatching here at say scale 1, then I open the drawing on my machine and try to hatch another area at scale one, the 2 hatches will appear different. This has generally always been the case for as long as I can remember with autocad. Maybe this is to do with the acad.pat or acadiso.pat thing, as ccowgill suggested?
I forbid UCS rotation here so its not anything to do with that either?! hmm maybe the properties of the hatch as they were originally applied are the ones that are listed ... instead of the ones applied after a hatch edit? perhaps ? did that even make any sense? lol well it did in *my* head!

so cowgirl, how do I determine which .pat file is being used and that we are all using the same one?

Thank you!

[scott.wilcox]

Type MEASUREMENT. 0 means acad.pat file is used, 1 means acadiso.pat (25.4 scaling) is used. Also look at the MEASUREINIT variable.

[tracy.findlater]

Type MEASUREMENT. 0 means acad.pat file is used, 1 means acadiso.pat (25.4 scaling) is used. Also look at the MEASUREINIT variable.

Thanks Scott, I have got everyone to change their settings to those so we'll see how that goes!

[rpitts]

Having the same basic problems between two computers. The system variables listed above are the same on both machines. The machine I'm on is running 2008 (hatch scale seems larger) and the other machine is running 2007 (hatch scale seems smaller). If either one of us applies a hatch to a drawing when the other of us tries to use match properties the new pattern is a different size. Both computers show the hatch scale to be identicle but they are definately way off.
Example: I assign hatch pattern ansi31 to an area at hatch scale of 1.0000 and then the other user applies the match properties command from the hatch I created to one they put on the drawing, the new hatch scale shows to be 1.0000 but appears to be 0.2500 or smaller. The reverse is true from their computer to mine.
Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help.

[irneb]

Welcome to AUGI & congrats on your 1st post. The 1.0 to 0.25 sounds exactly as per the MEASUREMENT sysvar. The factor between ACAD.PAT and ACADISO.PAT is 1"=25.4mm.

If MEASUREMENT is the same on both PC's (which BTW shouldn't cause problems as it's saved in the DWG not on the PC) then the same file should be used on both. What may have caused problems is if someone's modified the ACAD.PAT / ACADISO.PAT files (as these are specific to each PC). Usually someone adds to these to create "custom" hatches which show in the normal Hatch dialog. Officially it's not a good idea as the ACAD*.PAT files may be overwritten on an update.

Check the values inside these files comparing between the 2 PC's. The ACADISO.PAT should have values 25.4 times that of the ACAD.PAT file.

If you want to add custom hatches to ACad rather have a PAT file for each saved in one of your support paths and leave the standard ACad hatch patterns alone.

[rpitts]

Thanks for the help. The ACAD.PAT file had not been modified but I did find how to correct the problem, just don't understand why it occured. The problem was with where in the list of support files that the custom hatch pattern directory was located. If the path was listed first the scale used was the larger scale, if the path was listed last the scale used is the proper scale.
So I fixed the problem, just don't know why it fixed it.

thanks again for the help,
Confused but no longer extreamly frustrated.

[irneb]

Sounds like a custom hatch.PAT file is "redefining" a standard hatch but using the definition from the ACADISO.PAT file. Not sure how ACad loads these, if as per the norm the first Hatch pattern it finds is the one used then this scenario should be happening.

If it "overwrites" the hatch definition with the last PAT file found then the custom PAT may be using the ACAD.PAT file's def.

Check for a file called ANSI31.PAT in the folder where the custom hatches are stored. Move it to somewhere not on the support paths (or delete if you're sure). That should solve the problem of a different hatch loading due to which order in support paths.