Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Becoming attached to your xrefs
Attaching an external reference drawing is similar to inserting a block, and almost as
easy. Just use the following steps:
1. Set an appropriate layer current, as described in Chapter 6.
It's a good idea to insert xrefs on a separate layer from all other objects. Note that if
you freeze the layer an xref is inserted on, the entire xref disappears. (This behavi-
or can be either a handy trick or a nasty surprise.)
2. If the External References palette isn't already open, click its icon (it looks like a
sheaf of papers with a bulldog clip and a silhouetted user) on the Palettes panel of
the View tab to open it.
The toolbar at the top of the palette lets you attach an external DWG file, a DWF un-
derlay, a PDF underlay, a MicroStation DGN drawing file, or a raster image file. I cov-
er attaching images and DWFs or PDFs later in this chapter. If you need to attach
DGN files, visit the online help.
3. Click Attach DWG. (Click the down arrow if the tooltip offers to attach something
else — see Figure 18-8.)
The Select Reference File dialog box appears.
4. Browse to find the file you want to attach, select it, and then click Open.
The Attach External Reference dialog box appears.
5. Specify the parameters for the xref in the dialog box.
Parameters include the insertion point, scaling factors, location based on geograph-
ic data, and rotation angle (I describe geographic location briefly in Chapter 17).
You can set these parameters in the dialog box or specify them on-screen, just as
you can do when inserting a block, as described in Chapter 17.
You can select the Attachment or Overlay radio button to tell AutoCAD
how to handle the xref. The choice matters only if you create a drawing that uses
xrefs, and then your drawing is, in turn, used as an xref. Attachment is the default
choice, and it means that the xrefed file will always be included with your drawing
when someone else uses your drawing as an xref. Overlay, the other choice, means
that you see the xrefed drawing, but someone who xrefs
your
drawing won't see the
overlaid file. By choosing Overlay, you can xref a map, for example, to your drawing
of a house but not have the map show up when someone else xrefs your house
drawing. (That person can xref the map, if need be.) I recommend that you use the
default Attachment reference type unless you have a specific reason to do other-
wise.
