Civil designer Sam Lucido talks to us about using the Background feature in AutoCAD hatch objects.

"Did you know that you can mask the background of a hatch pattern? This can help when two areas are similar, but have one small difference that you need to graphically display. Simply select the hatch, double-click to open the Properties pane, and select Background color as shown. Change it to the color of your choice."



Notes from Cadalyst Tip Reviewer Brian Benton: Hatch patterns in AutoCAD can be used to display areas of drawings. The patterns used can indicate material types, or simply display a specific region more clearly. Now that you can add background shading to a pattern, there are many ways to display your areas. Those shaded areas can be any color, and you can even add transparency to them.