AutoCAD® 2009 & AutoCAD LT® 2009 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies®

Chapter 7. Creating Custom Linetypes, Shapes, and Hatch Patterns

AutoCAD gives you the flexibility to define how objects look through the use of properties such as color, lineweight, and linetypes. You can select one of the predefined linetypes that come with AutoCAD, but if it doesn't provide the look you want, create a custom linetype that's made up of dashes and gaps, or that includes a shape or a text string. In this chapter, I also cover how to create shapes that can be used in complex linetypes and even how to create a custom font. Along with linetypes, you can create your own custom hatch patterns to control the linework that is used to fill a closed boundary.

It's All in the Linetype

Linetypes are repeating patterns used to help convey design ideas. Whether the drawings you create are architectural or mechanical, you most likely use more than one linetype in a drawing. Linetypes come in two different classifications: simple and complex. Complex linetypes are the same as simple linetypes with additional support for shapes and text strings.

Linetype files are plain text files that can be edited with a text editor and have the LIN file extension. AutoCAD ships with two linetype files, acad.lin (acadlt.lin) and acadiso.lin (acadltiso.lin). The acad.lin (acadlt.lin) file is used for imperial unit drawings, whereas acadiso.lin (acadltiso.lin) is used for metric-based drawings. A linetype pattern is defined by using two different lines in the LIN files.

The first line of a linetype ...