Topics covered in this Lesson: Xrefs An X-ref is an external reference' to another AutoCAD drawing file.

One file can reference many other files and display them as if they were one. These are used in larger pro ects for many reasons! They "eep the file si#es down. They allow many users to wor" on indi$idual components of a pro ect. %$ery time an X-ref is loaded& it is the most recent $ersion of the drawing. X-ref's can 'e updated& added& or unattached from the main drawing at any time. (ou can X-ref drawings that they themsel$es X-ref other drawings )nesting*.

+n these days of networ"s and the +nternet& many pro ects are produced this way. ,eople from anywhere in the world can colla'orate on a pro ect in real time.

The first thing to do is to ATTACHthe X-ref. This means that you are lin"ing another drawing to your current one. Do this 'y starting theXFEF )XR* command. -hen you start the command& you will see the palette shown on the left. To attach an Xref&clic" on the .Attach D-/. 'utton on the top left. )0ote that you can also Xref +mage files and D-1's*

The .2elect 3eference 1ile. window will open! select a file and press Open. -hen you do this& you will see another dialog 'ox appear.

Once you find the file& decide whether you want it to 'e an attachment or an o$erlay. An o$erlay will not include any of the nested Xref's that the file may contain. 4elow that section are the insertion parameters. (ou ha$e a choice of either defining them on-screen& or using standard defaults in the dialog 'ox. Once you ma"e you decisions& press O5. 1inish the Attachment 'y following the prompts on the command. (ou'll see that it is similar to inserting a 'loc".

After inserting the Xref& you will see that the Xref ,alette is updated with the new Xref. 0ow that you ha$e an X-ref& there are more options for you if you right-clic" the filename of the Xref. ATTACH 6 Attaches another X-ref. DETATCH 6 Detaches the selected X-ref. RELOAD 6 7pdates the selected X-ref - use this if the Xref was changed. UNLOAD 6 3emo$es the X-ref& 'ut retains the reference for future use. BIND 6 ,ermanently attaches a loaded X-ref& so that it is part of the drawing. -or"ing with X-ref's is usually 8uite straightforward& 'ut there are some things to "eep in mind. The insertion point is $ery important. %$eryone on a pro ect must 'e wor"ing on the same set of coordinates and insert points..

-hen you attach and X-ref& you insert that file's layers and 'loc"s. AutoCAD creates new layer names 'ased on the filename and layer name of the X-ref. +n AutoCAD 39:& you ha$e a limit of ;9 characters for these names. +f you exceed that num'er& your X-ref will not load. -hen you print& AutoCAD will automatically reload the attached X-refs. +f a file is mo$ed from a location that AutoCAD expects to find it& you can 'rowse for a new path& without ha$ing to re-attach the X-ref. 3ecent $ersions ha$e added more functionality to Xrefs. (ou can edit them in the drawing )as opposed to ha$ing to open the original file*. To do this& ust select the Xref in the drawing and right-clic".

As you can see& there are other options to Open the Xref& Clip it )crop it down* or open the Xref <anager. One pro'lem in the past was the if a co-wor"er changed an Xref that was attached to your drawing& you didn't "now and could "eep wor"ing on the wrong information. =ater $ersions of AutoCAD alert you when an Xref in your drawing has 'een modified 'y someone else.

5eep in mind that Xrefs are important and used in any ma or pro ect. ,ractice wor"ing with them 'y attaching some of your pre$ious

drawings.