Hatches triangulate when plotting to pdf

[nickLQFNV]

I've come across dozens of threads on this issue from 2005-2018, and it seems like this problem hasn't yet been properly addressed, so I apologize if any of this is redundant but I haven't yet found a satisfying explanation of why this behaviour still exists in AutoCAD after 2 decades.

When I plot to pdf (AutoCAD General Documentation), all of my solid hatches are broken into small triangles. My understanding is that originated as a quirk of printer technology, which could only interpret solid regions as being described by three points. Any more corners or rounded edges, and the solid hatch will be divided into 2 or more triangles. This is of course noticeable as thin white lines when zooming in and out in a pdf reader, but can also make life difficult when using a vector graphics editor to bring a drawing up to a presentation quality. Depending on the conversion process, the lines are visible after converting to raster data.

I've come across a number of threads offering workarounds which include turning solid hatches into gradients with 2 identical colours (which will rasterize the hatch data), adjusting pdf viewer settings (which doesn't help while editing a pdf), and increasing the quality by changing plot settings or selecting a different pdf maker. None of these actually seem to address the core issue which is that AutoCAD seems to be incapable of making pdfs with simple shape fills that other vector graphics software can do without issue. 

Is there a way of getting AutoCAD to properly plot solid hatches to pdf as single objects with multiple vertices? If not, why does it still do this, given that the vast majority of CAD work is done through the pdf format?

Thanks

[pendean]

There is no cure, you have to decide what to live with.

Autodesk says...
https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/PDF-print-generate...).

and

This works for most stuck using only Adobe Acrobat

https://www.landfx.com/kb/autocad-fxcad/plotting-images/5214-pdf-stripes.html

In the meantime... Show us your issue: post a PDF with the problem present and the source DWG the example came from please.

[nickLQFNV]

Thanks for the response, I figured that was the case. I'll likely stick with the transparency settings that cause the hatches to rasterize, since I typically don't need to edit the actual hatch geometry after exporting to pdf. Seems like there's no solution, only workarounds. 

Do you know why this is still the way AutoCAD handles plotting solid hatches? I'm just curious.

The files and issues are identical to the problems that people have been having with this for 20 years, skittering lines appearing across solid hatches. Here's a rectangle and circle that have the same behaviour, I've attached a pdf and the dwg here. The screenshot is from Affinity Designer.

[pendean]

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@nickLQFNV wrote:

...The screenshot is from Affinity Designer.

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this is from FOXIT PDF EDITOR

This if from CHROME (yes, the browser)

From EDGE (yes, the other browser)

Adobe Acrobat (with these display settings)

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@nickLQFNV wrote:

Do you know why this is still the way AutoCAD handles plotting solid hatches? I'm just curious.

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See above FOUR sample, seems challenging to me anyway, you want to take a stab at fixing it for them?

[nickLQFNV]

In FOXIT, can you select the circle as a single object? I'm not concerned with the appearance in software, as there's workarounds for that. I would still like to be able to export a pdf with solid hatches that are a unified single object within their boundary, which would make later edits to the pdf easier. I'd prefer to be able to select one hatch instead of 50 narrow triangles.

[pendean · Accepted solution]

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@nickLQFNV wrote:

In FOXIT, can you select the circle as a single object?..

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No. That's a limitation of your software with output from Autodesk. I suggest you try a different software for the task you want, Adobe Illustrator.

Interesting programming dilemma, huh.

[nickLQFNV]

When you say "limitation of my software," you mean that's an inherent function of AutoCAD?

But yes, if I really need the solid hatches to be single solid vector hatches, I'll draw the outlines (or use HATCHGENERATEBOUNDARY) and swap the fill & strokes in my vector editor. 

[pendean]

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@nickLQFNV wrote:

When you say "limitation of my software," you mean that's an inherent function of AutoCAD?

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Your software (below) and AutoCAD I suspect are not designed by both software vendors to work together to meet your workflow needs

[Simon_Weel · Accepted solution]

If a PDF needs to look 'clean', i.e. the solids have to be, well, solid, we don't use solids. Instead we use a very fine spaced line based hatch angled at 45 degrees. You might have to fiddle the density / scale of the hatch to get the best result.

[nickLQFNV]

The triangulation is noticeable in any program, I've come across it in Illustrator, Acrobat, and even in bringing a pdf back into AutoCAD. It doesn't matter what the vector reader or editor software is when the files in question will always have this behaviour. I do appreciate the responses and expertise, thank you for your time.