Managing XREFs in AutoCAD can often be challenging, and renaming or repositioning data files can sometimes lead to the original file names still being referenced. This article provides a detailed walkthrough on how to correctly detach and reattach XREFs to avoid this issue.
Key Insights
- The process begins with selecting the specific layer of the AutoCAD file, navigating to the XREF Manager, and detaching the existing XREF. This will completely remove the XREF from the file.
- The next step is to reattach the new XREF by going to Insert, Reference Attach. The new file is then dragged into the correct position, and the layer names are refreshed accordingly.
- The last part of the process involves managing the layers to ensure the correct ones are visible or hidden. The final file is then saved, leaving a properly repathed file with correctly referenced XREFs.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
In the last two videos, we reconstructed our AS100 sheet and remapped the XREFs to newly named and newly positioned data files. But one of the issues is that when we go into the Layer Properties dialog, we see that it's still referencing the original name of the files. So what I'd like to do is to go through the process again, but to detach the XREFs and pop new ones in.
So one of the first things we're going to work on will be this Site Key Plan. So I'm going to go to Layers, and you can see that we have a file here called CAD302 Keynotes Site Plan, and here are the name of their layers. And we also have layer visibility conditions.
So I'm going to go into the XREF Manager. I'm going to go to the Keynotes Site Plan. I've highlighted it.
I will choose the right button on the mouse, and I will detach it. Detach fully removes an XREF from a file. So I'm going to detach the XREF.
When I close the interface, you can see that the Keynotes is no longer there. I want to bring the new Keynotes in, but look up here. Do you see what the current layer name is? I'm going to go and make 0 my current layer.
Learn AutoCAD
- Nationally accredited
- Create your own portfolio
- Free student software
- Learn at your convenience
- Authorized Autodesk training center
Now I can go up to Insert, Reference Attach. I'm in my CAD304. I go down to VDCI.
I will go into my XREFs. I will get my Site Plan Keynotes, and I'm going to say specify the insertion point on screen. Remember the full path, and I'm going to go OK.
You can see it's dragging it in, and I will put it at the end point up there. If I go into Layers, you can see that now our layer names are no longer what we had, but instead, it's now saying VDCI, so on and so forth. I'm going to take the No Plot layer and turn that off and freeze it.
And so now I have an appropriately repathed file. I'll go back to the XREF Manager. I'm going to go to the title block, Right Button, Detach.
You can see it went away. I can go to Reference Attach. Now, that was in our corporate library, so I will go up to CAD 304 to our corporate VDCI title block.
OK. Now, I know that this is going to go in at 0,0 because we already created our title block to be based out of 0,0 for the layout space. And boom, there that is.
I'm going to save the file. If I go into Layers, you can see that all that's left from a layer management scheme are the blocks we have not modified yet, the floor plan and the meets and bounds. And you can see that we have our title block and our keynotes.
I'm going to take the No Plot on the XREF title block, turn them off, and freeze them. I now need to bring in the property and the house. I'm going to go to Model Space.
Let's start with the property first. I'm going to list the property. When I list the property, you can see that here's the block name.
It's an XREF, but that's a block name. There's the XREF. It has the scale factor of 12.
And you can see where it's been brought in. And it has a rotation angle of 51 degrees, so on and so on and so forth. Again, this rotation was where we brought the property meets and bounds in, and we rotated the site to look proper on the screen.
So what I'm going to do, again, I'm checking to make sure my layer is zero. I'm going to draw a line from the insertion point. I'm going to pick on the property, which would be right here.
And I'm just going to draw the line up to the end over there. So this should be the insertion base point for the XREF. So I'm going to go to Insert, Reference Attach.
Well, I'm going to first detach. External References, Meets and Bounds, Right Button, Detach. I have this guideline, though, that will show me where I'm popping it in.
And it will show me how I have to do a reference rotation to make the orientation appropriate once it's brought in. So Reference Attach. I'm going to go back to CAD304, to VDCI.
It's in my XREFs folder. And I'm going to bring in my Meets and Bounds drawing. I'm going to bring it in at a scale factor of 12.
So I'm going to have a uniform scale factor of 12. And I'm going to say Show the Insertion Point on Screen. And I'm going to keep the rotation angle at 0 for right now.
So I'm going to go OK, pop it in at the end of that line. And so you can see that right now, we've brought it in at the appropriate base point, but it's not rotated correctly. If you remember, when we drew the diagonal line, we drew the diagonal line from this point to this point up here.
So I'm just going to type in RO for Rotate. I will pick on the property. I'm going to go from the end of this line here, R Enter for Reference.
My reference angle goes from the end that we just picked up to the end of here. And I want it to rotate to the end of that guideline that we had right there. Now I have the same rotation angle I had presented before.
I can erase out my guideline. I can go into Layers. And within this XREF, the Meets and Bounds, I can turn off and freeze the No Plot and the Civil No Plot.
Now my site looks more like it did before. I'm going to save the file, go back to the Layout Environment, save the file again. And I now have it.
I type LA for Layers. And again, you can see that everything is looking good. So what I'd like you to do is get to this point and then we will continue on.
