XRef Manager

View and manage external drawing references in the drawing.

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Command

Shortcut Key

Toolbar

MANAGEXREFS

 

Tools

An external drawing reference is a reference to a drawing file that is displayed in the current drawing, but does not form part of it.

It is similar to inserting another drawing into the current drawing but the inserted drawing remains in a separate file, hence the name "external drawing reference".

This function is used to manage (add, remove, unload, load all or unload all) the external drawing files.

Procedure

To manage (add, remove, unload, load all or unload all) XRefs in a drawing:

  1. Select Tools ► XRef Manager. The External Drawing References manager displays.

  1. Click Add. The file browser displays and you can now browse for a DR4, DWG or DXF file. Select a drawing file and click Open.

  1.  The XRef displays in the list of XRefs in the External Drawing References Manager.

Remove an XRef

  1. Select the file you want to remove.

  2. Click Remove and the file is deleted.

Unload an XRef

  1. Select the file you want to unload.

  2. Click Unload and the file will be shown in red text.

Note that the Unload button changes to a Load button.

Load All and Unload All

  1. Click Load All to load all the unloaded files.

  2. Click Unload All to unload all the unloaded files.

XRef Needs Reload Marker

  1. When an XRef is out of date, i.e. the XRef drawing file has been updated since it was last loaded in the current drawing, the XRef name will be drawn in an orange colour and the XRef needs reload icon will appear to the left of it. This indicates that the XRef as it appears in your current drawing may not be an accurate (up to date) representation of the XRef drawing file.

  1. Load the current version of the XRef, unload the XRef and then load it again.