Applying Colors and Patterns to Closed Boundaries - SmartSketch - Help

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SmartSketch Version
9.0(2015)

You can fill a boundary with a pattern or a solid color using Fill. Depending on the application, Fill displays on the Label , Draw, or Text toolbar. A fill is like other elements in that you can format it and move it around, but the fill is always associated with a boundary. The boundary can be made up of more than one element, but it must be closed on all sides. The following figure shows a pattern fill and solid fill.

The software provides styles for fills for various engineering standards, such as ANSI, ISO, and AIA.

Modifying Fills

A fill is associative, which means it maintains its original orientation to an element regardless of the way you manipulate the element. For example, if you move the boundary, the fill moves with it. If you change the boundary, the fill changes to conform to the new boundary area.

A fill can exist only inside a closed boundary. If you drag a fill to another region, the fill assumes the shape of the region where you dragged it. If you open a closed boundary, the fill changes color to indicate that it is disabled. If you close the boundary again, the fill changes color to show that it is now active.

Formatting Fills in SmartSketch

Formatting a fill is similar to applying formats to an element. You can apply unique formats to fills using Properties on the Edit menu or by setting options on the ribbon. To make several fills look the same, you can apply a fill style by selecting the style on the ribbon.

The blank color on the Fill ribbon takes on the background color of the document. This is useful for creating symbols that can cover an element on which the symbol is placed. Incorporating a fill with blank color into the symbol allows the symbol, when placed, to mask out elements such as lines or connectors that intersect the symbol.

You cannot modify an existing fill style, but you can create a new fill style by typing a new name in the Style box on the Fill ribbon. The new style uses the settings on the ribbon as the formats for the style.

If you want to copy a fill style from one document to another, just create a fill, apply a style, and then copy the fill to a new document. The fill style appears in a drop-down list on the Fill ribbon in the new document.

Masking Objects

You can mask out underlying graphics without deleting or trimming. The software provides a lot of flexibility for creating a mask, such as shape, line style, with or without a label or border. The following illustrations show examples of masks placed in a drawing. The first example shows a rectangular mask, border shown with dashed line style, with a caption.

The second example shows a polygonal mask, border shown in green and no label.