Pattern Area

Used to pattern an area by tiling the active pattern cell or AutoCAD pattern. Elements used to define the area to be patterned can be in the active file, or in references. Where associative patterning is used, any modification to elements defining the patterned area results in an equivalent update to the patterning.

You can access this tool from the following:
  • Ribbon: Drawing > Annotate > Patterns
  • Toolbox: Patterning

Icons in the tool settings let you select the method for defining the area to be patterned.

To be patterned, an element's Area attribute must be Solid. An element's Area attribute is changed with the Change Element to Active Area tool in the Change Attributes toolbox.



Setting Description
Element icon


The interior of a shape, ellipse, or closed B-spline curve; or between components of a multi-line.
Flood icon


The (minimum) area enclosed by a set of elements (something like the flood fill tool common in painting programs). With method set to Flood, a Show Extended Information icon appears in the lower right corner of the tool settings window. Clicking this icon expands the tool settings to display further controls.
Union icon


Edges bound the union of two or more closed, planar elements.

Where more than two elements are involved, use Ctrl+data point to select the extra elements.

Intersection icon


Edges bound the intersection of two or more closed, planar elements.

Where more than two elements are involved, use Ctrl+data point to select the extra elements.

Difference icon


Edges bound the difference of two or more closed, planar elements.

Where more than two elements are involved, use Ctrl+data point to select the extra elements.

Points icon


An area defined by a series of data points, each of which defines a vertex.
Fence icon


The area inside the fence.
Pattern Definition Lets you select the active cell pattern or the active pattern from an AutoCAD file.
  • From Cell ? Lets you type the name of the cell that is tiled to create the pattern. Optionally, you can click the Browse Cells button to the right of the input field, which opens the Cell Library dialog to let you browse the cells in the attached library. You can also attach a cell library. The active Pattern Cell also can be set with the Set Active Pattern Cell icon in the Cell Library dialog.
  • From File ? Lets you select a pattern from an AutoCAD pattern file. To select the pattern file, click the Browse button.
Pattern Displays the name of the current pattern cell, or file.
Browse Cell(s) When Pattern Definition is set to From Cell, opens the Cell Library dialog, which lets you choose a cell for the pattern.

When Pattern Definition is set to From File, opens the Select AutoCAD Pattern File dialog.

Scale Sets the factor by which the active pattern cell or active pattern is scaled.

If between 0?1 (for example, 0.25), size is decreased. If 1, size is unchanged from cell definition. If greater than 1, size is increased.

Annotation Scale Lock icon


Sets the Annotation Scale Lock. When this lock is on, the annotation scale is applied to the pattern.

By default, the annotation scale is taken from the model's Annotation Scale setting. You can change it only in the model's properties in the Properties dialog. The exception is when the model's Propagate Annotation Scale property is off. In that case, the annotation scale can be controlled independently for each element via its properties.

Row Spacing (Pattern Definition set to From Cell only) Sets the interval between rows for the tiling of the pattern.

If the Row Spacing or Column Spacing is zero, the instances of the active pattern cell are placed contiguous to one another.

Column Spacing (Pattern Definition set to From Cell only) Sets the interval between columns for the tiling of the pattern.
Angle The angle at which instances of the active pattern cell or pattern are placed. By default, the angle is relative to the view being used. Where AccuDraw is active, however, the angle is relative to the AccuDraw drawing plane.
Drop Pattern If on, patterning is not associated with the patterned geometry. Static pattern class elements are created and put into a graphic group. If you modify the patterned element, the patterning does not change. The default is off.
Associative Boundary (Available only when Drop Pattern is off) If on, creates an independent “Associative Region” element that is associated to the patterned element. Depending on the status of the Drop Pattern and Associative Boundary setting, you get following outputs:
Drop Pattern Associative Boundary Result
On (NA) Creates static pattern class elements that are part of the same graphic group.
Off Off Adds a displayable attribute to a closed element (similar to Fill). Methods other than Element create a new closed element.
Off On Creates an independent associative region element that can have its own level and reacts to changes to the original boundary elements.
Snappable If on, the pattern cells or pattern can be snapped to. If off, the pattern cells or patterns do not interfere with snapping to other elements.
True Scale (Pattern Definition set to From Cell only) If on, the active pattern cell is scaled to adjust it to the units of the active model. The scaling occurs only if the cell is shared and the units of the model in which the cell was created differ from those of the active model.
Ignore Interior Shapes icon


(Flood method only) If on, all closed elements (regardless of their Area attributes) inside the selected area are ignored when the area is patterned.
Locate Interior Shapes icon


(Flood method only) If on, all closed elements (regardless of their Area attributes) inside the selected area are avoided when the area is patterned.
Identify Alternating Interior Shapes icon


(Flood method only) If on, alternating areas are patterned where shapes are nested inside one another.
Locate Interior Text icon


(Flood method only) If on, any text or dimension text inside or overlapping the selected area is avoided when the area is patterned.
Dynamic Area Locate icon


(Flood method only) If on, the area to be patterned displays dynamically as you move the screen pointer over the shapes.
Maximum Gap (Flood method only) The maximum distance, in working units, between the endpoints of enclosing elements.
Text Margin (Flood method only) Sets the size of the margin between pattern elements and existing text elements in the area to pattern.
Search For Holes When creating a non-associative pattern, you can ignore hole elements or search for hole elements on the same level as the element to pattern, or on all levels displayed in the view.
Use Element Symbology If on, a pattern is created using the active color, line weight, and line style of the element being patterned.
Fill Type (Points method only) Sets the active fill type for the closed shape defined by the points ? None (no fill), Opaque (filled with the active color), or Outlined.
Fill Color (Points method only) Sets the color and optional gradient with which the elements are filled.
  • If Fill Type is Opaque, the element(s) are filled with the active color, which is also the color of the element's outline.
  • If Fill Type is Outlined, the element(s) can be filled with a color that is different from the active color.
Key-in: PATTERN AREA [ DIFFERENCE | ELEMENT | FENCE | FLOOD | INTERSECTION | POINTS | UNION ]