ACA 2013: Object Display Enhancements Part 3

First Article in the Series (ACA 2013: Object Display Enhancements Part 1)
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Annotative Hatch Display Components
ACA 2013 offers the option of making a Hatch component annotative. This allows you to establish a single scaling (based on the scale you would apply when plotting at full size) and then have ACA adjust the hatch scale by the scale factor of the current annotation scale factor. This might eliminate the need for multiple Display Representations whose sole purpose is to change the scale factor on Hatch components, along with the associated Display Representation Sets and Display Configurations (eg, the out-of-the-box Low Detail, Medium Detail and High Detail Display Configurations). If you use those Display settings for other purposes, you may need to hold on to them, but the annotative Hatch component could simplify your Display Representation settings, once you go through and convert all of your Styles and Material Definitions, of course. (Even with annotative hatching, you may not want to have the same scale factor for all scales.) You can choose not to make Hatch components annotative, if the current setup meets your needs.

As an example, I created a copy of the out-of-the-box CMU-8 Wall Style, called CMU-8 Anno. Since the display of the Hatch component for this style is controlled by the assigned Material Definition, I also made a copy of the Masonry.Unit Masonry.CMU.Stretcher.Running Material Definition, called Masonry.Unit Masonry.CMU.Stretcher.Running.Anno and made the Plan Hatch and Section Hatch components annotative. I chose to match the Spacing as specified for the General Medium Detail Display Representation (meant for 1/8" = 1'-0" drawings) by dividing the out-of-the-box Spacing in the CMU-8 Wall Style by 96 (the scale factor for 1/8" = 1'-0"). So the Plan Hatch Spacing became 8/96" (or 1/12") and the Section Hatch became 12/96" (or 1/8").

You will need to make those changes in all of the Display Representations for which you want the annotative hatching to be in effect. For this example, I wanted to compare the previous system with annotative Hatching, so I made the same edits to the Plan Hatch and Section Hatch components in all of the Display Representations. (General Presentation did not require editing, since it used a solid hatch.)

WARNING: When changing to annotative hatching, check the box in the Annotative column first, and then change the value, if necessary. When you check the Annotative box, ACA will change the Scale/Spacing value by dividing it by the current annotation scale value. If you change the values first, and then check the Annotative column box, the changed values will be divided by the current annotation scale factor, and you will have to reset the values again. Also note that if your current annotation scale happens to be the one for which the non-annotative values were meant, you can keep the resultant values. But if that is not the case, you will need to change the values.

In the image below, the same two Walls are shown in a Layout in multiple viewports at several scales. The CMU-8 Wall uses the out-of-the-box Wall Style of the same name (Imperial), and the out-of-the-box Material Definition and display settings. The CMU-8 Anno Wall is a copy of the CMU-8 style, with a custom material applied. The custom material has had the Plan Hatch component set to be annotative, and the same Spacing value has been applied to all of the Display Representation that are shown here. As you can see, the annotative hatch has the same spacing at all scales. The non-annotative hatch spacing generally varies with the scale, with some variations due to the different spacing values for Medium Detail (1/8" = 1'-0" and 1/4" = 1'-0") and High Detail (1/2" = 1'-0" and 1" = 1'-0").