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LT On-line: Lesson 10
1 Dec, 2000 By: Mark MiddlebrookManaging xrefs
Page
1: Introduction to Xrefs
My previous LT Online tutorial covered the basics of using xrefs-what
they are, how to attach them, how AutoCAD handles layers and other named
objects in xrefs, and how to avoid problems with xref paths and lost xref
DWG files. This lesson covers additional ways to manage your xrefs using
options in the Xref Manager dialog box.
The procedures described as show here in Figure 1 work with AutoCAD LT 2000 and 98 and AutoCAD 2000 and Release 14.
 Figure 1. |
Xref Manager dialog box options
In the previous lesson, you used the Attach button in the Xref Manager
dialog box to attach a separate DWG file as an xref. The other buttons
on the dialog box are:
List View / Tree View
buttons. You can change between a List and a tree view of your drawing's
external references by clicking the appropriate button at the upper left
of the dialog box. (The figure 1 above shows list view, and figure
2 shows tree view.)
Figure 2.
You also can resize the list view columns by dragging
the column dividers and resort the list by clicking the column header
names, just as in other Windows dialog boxes.
Detach. Completely
removes the reference to the external file(s) from your drawing.
Reload. Causes AutoCAD to reread the xrefed DWG file from the disk and
update your drawing with its latest contents. This feature is handy when
you share xrefs on a network and someone has just made changes to a drawing
that you've Xrefed.
Unload. Makes the
xref disappear from the on-screen display of your drawing and from any
plots you do of it, but retains the pointer and attachment information.
Use the Reload button to redisplay an unloaded xref.
Bind. Converts the
xref into a block, thus removing the link to the external DWG file.
Browse. Lets you hunt
for an xref that was moved from the folder where it was originally attached.
Save Path. Saves the path in the Xref Found At edit box. You use this button after you've changed the path in the Xref Found At box.
AutoCAD (but not AutoCAD
LT) includes an additional xref feature called xref clipping. The AutoCAD
Xclip command enables users to "clip" an externally referenced
file so that only part of it appears in the parent drawing. AutoCAD LT
doesn't include the Xclip command, but if you open a drawing that contains
an xref that was clipped in AutoCAD, the clipped view is preserved. AutoCAD (but not AutoCAD LT) includes another xref-like feature-the
ability to attach raster, or bit-mapped, images to drawings. This feature
is useful for adding a raster logo to a drawing title block or placing
a photographed map or scene behind a drawing. AutoCAD LT can open, view,
and plot drawings that contain raster images that an AutoCAD user has
attached, but LT can't do the attaching. So if you need a raster image
in your drawing, ask an AutoCAD user to place it there for you.
Next time: Change xref layer properties
I had planned to cover the mysterious VISRETAIN system variable and its
affect on changes to xref layer properties this time, but you should have
enough to chew on for one lesson. In the third and final xref lesson,
I'll discuss how to control xref layers and a few additional xref minutiae
that might come in handy in your office or at the next cocktail party
full of CAD nerds!
Managing xrefs
Page 1: Xref Manager dialog box options
Page 2: Getting rid an xref temporarily and permanently
Page 3: Binding xrefs
Page 4: What you can't do with xrefs in LT
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