How does xrf work in autocad

In this scenario, the planting plan is Xrefed into the irrigation plan, which is in turn Xrefed into the engineering base, and so on. Using Attachments and Overlays strategically can keep your working document uncluttered.

If in doubt, just bring in each Xref as an Overlay and include any nested Xrefs in your main drawing — also as Overlays.

The Attach External Reference dialog box includes an option to Specify on-screen. Our recommendation for this setting depends on whether the Xref is already scaled. If you need to bring in a DWG, or an image such as a site plan that already has a scale, you'll need to:.

To account for this scale, we've unchecked the Specify on-screen option and entered a scale factor of The scale factor you enter will depend entirely on the existing scale of the Xref and the scale of the drawing that is receiving the Xref. If you're Xrefing in an image that has no existing scale, we recommend checking the Specify on-screen option.

You can add a fade to your Xrefs using the Layer Properties Manager. You have two options in controlling the fade of the layers:. Filter the layers by Name , which will group all the Xref letters together. Locate and highlight all the Xref layers. You can highlight multiple layers at once by holding down the Shift key while clicking. In this example, we'll select all the layers in an Xref named Example.

Scroll over to the Transparency column, and click to edit any one of the highlighted layers. In the Layer Transparency dialog box, enter a new transparency value for your Xref layers between 0 and 90 example: The transparency of all selected layers — that is, all layers in your Xref — will change to the new value. Run a plot preview, and check the results. Repeat the steps above until your Xref has your desired level of transparency.

Keep in mind that the method described below will only only affect the Viewport in which you perform the steps. You can repeat these steps for each additional viewport where you want to fade an Xref. Scroll over to the VP Transparency column, and click to edit any one of the highlighted layers.

In the Layer Transparency dialog box, enter a new transparency value for your Xref layers for the selected viewport between 0 and 90 example: The transparency of all selected layers — that is, all layers in your Xref — will change to the new value for the selected viewport.

Repeat the steps above until your Xref has your desired level of transparency in the viewport you selected. If an Xref doesn't detach, it might be locked, nested within another Xref within the drawing.

Our software now recognizes Work Areas in your Xrefs. A Work Area, like a drawing within a drawing, allows you to divide your site design into distinct regions. This in turn allows you to:. When you select this option, the schedule will calculate and list any pertinent objects that have been placed in one of the Xrefs. Option to Include Xrefs , Plant Schedule dialog box. Keep in mind that this feature will only recognize plants or Xrefs that have been placed in drawing files that have been directly Xrefed into the main drawing.

It won't recognize objects that are in an Xref within an Xref known as a "nested Xref". If you notice that your schedule is not counting some of the objects within your Xrefs, the problematic objects are likely within a nested Xref.

If so, please follow our instructions to correct this issue. The Xref Manager includes a few options for how you view and preview your Xrefs. For detailed information, see our Configuring the Xref Manager documentation page.

To revert to the classic version pictured to the right , type ClassicXref in the Command line and press Enter. Here's how:. To label project plants or concept plants in your Xrefs, use any of our plant labeling tools in your Xrefs in conjunction with our Edit Reference In-Place tool.

You can easily call out RefNotes in your Xrefs while still working inside your main drawing, without having to use our Edit Reference In-Place tool.

Then label your RefNotes as you would normally. Issue: You are unable to attach Xrefs, or Xrefs are detaching. Issue: Xrefs are missing when you open your drawing.

Issue: Xrefs are not coming in at 0,0. If you exceed that number, your XRef will not load. If a file is moved from a location that AutoCAD expects to find it, you can browse for a new path, without having to re-attach the XRef.

Recent versions have added more functionality to XRefs. You can edit them in the drawing as opposed to having to open the original file. To do this, just select the XRef in the drawing and right-click. One problem in the past was the if a co-worker changed an XRef that was attached to your drawing, you didn't know and could keep working on the wrong information. To check this out, make some changes to the furniture in the room drawing and SAVE the file.

Open up or switch to the Motel-Floor-Plan drawing and you'll the message appear in the bottom right corner. Click on the blue link to reload, or use the XRef palette right-click on the file name and choose reload. Practice working with them by attaching some of your previous drawings.

Return to top of the lesson Return to the table of contents. Get Started! You Scored:. Return to top of the lesson Return to the table of contents Continue to the next lesson: You may need to edit the xref using the edit in place option. Kumari — are you sure that the object is an xref? It might be an minsert multiple insert object, which creates what looks like a block that is not easily broken. I have in the past used such objects as xrefs into a new drawing, where the xref edit in place command would allow me to break open the object and grab the elements.

Off topic — Minsert objects are also created by the dynamic array tool, which is why those arrays need to be exploded before the individual objects can be edited. I would suggest using the group command to make a group of objects that will then be duplicated with the array or minsert command. After the array is exploded, the group can still be turned on and off to allow easier manipulation of large sections of drawing. Kapila December 15, at pm can we take part of another drawing as external ref.?

I have a drawing that is x. For some reason, it is showing lighter colors. And it cannot be exploded. I have checked the layer in which the file is, there seems no problem with the layer. What can I do to get the file in normal colors?

You can use these HTML tags. Name required. Email will not be published required. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. Comments Posts. AutoCAD tutorial: Attach an xref. Why use xrefs? Xrefs keep your drawing smaller. Each time you open a drawing, AutoCAD loads a current copy of the xref, so that you always have the most updated version. You can attach and detach xrefs easily. You can also load and unloaded them to display or hide them, without losing the connection.

If not, click the list and choose it. Navigate to the drawing you want to attach, choose it and click Open. The Attach External Reference dialog box appears. Set the Reference Type to Attachment the default. If you want, you can specify the scale, insertion point, and rotation in the dialog box. Click OK. Click to place the xref. In the Scale section, you can check the Uniform Scale checkbox to ensure that the Y and Z values are always the same as the X value.

Ellen Finkelstein. Latest posts by Ellen Finkelstein see all. July 31st, Tags: external reference , xref Category: Drawing. Joseph Troiano. August 4, at pm. Mike Freeman. August 8, at am.