External References Manager

CAD drafting External References Manager 0 Ribbon: Insert – Reference > CAD software External References Manager 1 XREFs (External References)

CAD drawing External References Manager 2 Menu: Insert – CAD drafting External References Manager 3 External References…

CAD software External References Manager 4 Command line: EXTERNALREFERENCES, IMAGES, XR

The command opens the External References dialog box. It displays all external references contained in the document and manages these references.

CAD drawing External References Manager 5

The External references palette allows you to perform the following operations with the referenced drawing files:

· Loading/unloading an external reference in the current drawing.

· Binding an external reference to the current drawing.

· Updating an external reference in order to display in the current drawing the latest changes made to the external reference file (without reloading the current drawing).

· Complete removing an external reference insert from the current drawing with all associated data. It is not sufficient to simply remove a reference from the drawing, since such removal would not lead, for example, to removal of layers associated with the external reference. To remove the external reference completely, use the Remove parameter on the External references palette.

· Changing the name of the reference file and its location (path).

· Changing the file type and the format settings of the file of reference to the raster image.

Xrefs selected in the dialog box are automatically selected and highlighted in the drawing. And vice versa: when xref objects are selected in the drawing, their names will be automatically selected in the External references dialog. The ERHIGHLIGHT system variable is responsible for synchronizing highlighting with objects in the drawing. Single and multiple selection is supported (using CTRL and SHIFT):

CAD drafting External References Manager 6

Tools to control external references

	Attach	Selects xref file to attach to the current drawing.
	Refresh	Updating information in the list. Reloads all external references to display changes in the associated files.
	Change Path Type	A path type can be changed to absolute or relative one. Remove Path – it is expedient to remove a path, if the referenced file is located in the same folder as the current drawing. Select New Path – allows you to set a new path for the missing reference. Find and Replace – allows you to find those among the selected xrefs, which use the specified path and replace all references of these path to a new path. Opens the Find and Replace Selected Paths dialog box.
	Help	Opens help information.
	List View	Displays the palette information as a list.
	Tree View	Displays the palette information as a tree.

Details

The section contains detailed information about the selected xref file.

	Details	Displays information about the selected file.
	Preview	Shows a thumbnail view of the selected file.
		Controls visibility of the Details section.

The options of the External References pane in the Show list:

Name	Displays the name of the external reference file
Status	Displays the status of the external reference file: · Loaded – the referenced file is attached to the current drawing. · Unloaded – the referenced file is marked to be unloaded from the drawing. · Not found – the referenced file no longer exists in the valid search path. · Unresolved – the referenced file cannot be read. · Orphaned – the referenced file is attached to another file that has an Unresolved status.
Size	Displays the size of the attached referenced file.
Type	*.dwg files display the file type of the referenced file: · Attachments · Overlays Raster images display their file format: ·
Date	The date when the referenced file was created or last saved.
Saved Path	Displays the path that is saved with the drawing when the referenced file is attached.

Context menu

The edit commands for a xref selected in the palette list are contained in the context menu and differ for different file types:

DWG	Image	PDF Underlay

Open	Opens the selected xref file in the source application (in which the file was created).
Attach	Opens the external reference dialog box with the selected file name, which allows for changing such settings as scale, insertion point and path type or select another page of an underlay file.
Unload	Unloads the selected reference to file from the drawing.
Reload	Updates the selected reference to the file.
Detach	Deletes the selected reference to the file.
Bind	The reference content is embedded in the drawing, reference to the file is deleted.
Xref type	Change xref type: · Attach · Overlay
Save as…	Changes the selected reference to a raster image. You can change xref file name, file type and file format parameters.