Hatch: Archicad

The story of the ArchiCAD Hatch (known formally as the Fill Tool) is one of evolving from simple 2D drafting lines into an intelligent, 3D-aware component of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Here is the narrative of the ArchiCAD Hatch: 1. The 2D Dawn (Drafting Era)

Draw your desired pattern (e.g., a custom tile) using lines or arcs. Select and copy them (Ctrl + C). archicad hatch

Should You Still Use Fills in 2025?

Yes — but only for drafting and temporary marks. Examples: The story of the ArchiCAD Hatch (known formally

• The Fill Tool: This is the dedicated 2D tool for drawing hatches manually. You use this to patch areas, create details, or denote specific zones on a layout. These are "dumb" 2D elements.
• Building Materials & Surfaces: When you build a wall, you assign it a "Building Material" (e.g., "Concrete"). That material has a "Surface" attribute. The Surface attribute contains the "Vectorial Hatch" definition.

  B. Applying Hatch to Walls (Reference Line Fill)

  Similar to slabs, when a wall is cut on the floor plan, it needs a fill. The Fill Tool: This is the dedicated 2D

  1. Open Fill Manager.
  2. Click the Import button.
  3. Navigate to your .PAT file.
  4. Archicad will list all the hatches inside that file. Select the ones you want and click Import.
  5. Warning: Archicad sometimes scales these incorrectly upon import. Always draw a 1m x 1m square, apply the new hatch, and use the Hatch command in the Fill Settings to adjust the scale.

  Rotated Rectangular: Three clicks to define the angle and width.

  • Use Case: Building sections (concrete sand hatch), wall insulation, roof battens, tile patterns.
  • Pros: They scale perfectly without losing resolution. They print cleanly as vectors. You can control the pen color and line thickness.
  • Cons: They look "drafting-like." They do not look realistic.

  Now every element with that material uses your hatch in 2D views.