Hatch - Archicad

In Archicad, "Stories" and "Hatches" (known as Fills) are the backbone of project organization and documentation. While Stories define the vertical levels of your building, Fills provide the graphical representation of materials and surfaces across those levels. 🏗️ Managing Story Settings

Stories act as vertical slices of your 3D model. Setting them up correctly ensures that elements like walls and columns are linked to the right floor heights.

Accessing Settings: Right-click any story in the Navigator or go to Design > Story Settings.

Adding/Deleting: Use "Insert Above" or "Insert Below" to add levels; use "Delete Story" to remove them (be careful, this is permanent!).

Vertical Linking: You can link wall heights to specific story levels. If you change a story height, linked walls will automatically adjust. archicad hatch

Markers in Sections: Story levels automatically generate markers in sections and elevations. You can customize their look, font, and units (e.g., changing from feet to feet-and-inches) in the Level Dimensions preferences . 🎨 Working with Hatches (Fills)

In Archicad, hatches are officially called Fill Types. They are used for 2D drafting, surface textures, and section cuts. Four Types of Fills: Solid: Single color with adjustable opacity. Vector: Preset line patterns (cannot be easily edited).

Symbol: Custom patterns you create by copying and pasting lines/arcs into the Fill dialog.

Image: Uses JPG or PNG files for realistic textures (like grass or stone). In Archicad, "Stories" and "Hatches" (known as Fills

Availability: You can set a fill to be available only for specific uses, such as Drafting Fills (2D only), Cover Fills (visible on top of objects in plan), or Cut Fills (visible in sections).

Hatch Origin: If patterns aren't lining up, check the "Hatch Origin" setting. You can set it to align with the element or the project's zero point. 🛠️ Displaying Elements Across Stories

A common challenge is showing an element (like a roof or stairs) on multiple stories. Hatch patterns for "earth" and 'story setting displays'??

Here’s a structured, SEO-friendly blog post draft for “Archicad Hatch” — optimized for readability and practical value. Step 4: Assign to a Material Once your

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Step 4: Assign to a Material

Once your hatch exists: Options > Element Attributes > Materials → pick your material → Surface tab → choose your custom hatch.

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

Core Features

2. The "Fill" Tool vs. "Surface" Material

It is important to understand where hatches live in the program:

• 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.
  • Workflow: When Archicad cuts a Section through that wall, it looks at the Surface attribute to decide which hatch pattern to display.

5. Advanced Techniques

The Two Types: Surfacing vs. Cut Fills

First, a critical distinction. ArchiCAD doesn't treat all patterns equally. You need to know the difference between Surfaces and Building Material Hatches:

1. Surfaces (Texture): These are for 3D views and renderings. Think of a wood grain texture on a table or the rough pattern of siding. They are visual, not technical.
2. Building Material Hatches (Cut Fill): This is what prints on your sections and floor plans. When you cut a wall (Section/Elevation), the black or gray pattern you see is the Cut Fill Hatch assigned to that Building Material.

Pro Tip: Don't confuse the two. A beautiful 3D texture does not guarantee a correct-looking construction document. You must assign a specific "Cut Fill" Hatch to every Building Material.

Part 8: Performance Optimization

If your project file is running slowly, your hatches might be the culprit.

• Vectorial Fills are very light. You can use thousands of them.
• Image Fills are heavy. Do not use a high-resolution 4K image for a tiny bathroom floor tile.
• Complex Imported .PAT files from AutoCAD sometimes have thousands of definition lines. If a custom hatch makes Archicad lag, go to Fill Manager > Edit and simplify the pattern (reduce the number of lines).