Other External Reference Options

Other External Reference Options
Many other features are unique to external reference files. Let’s briefly look at some of the other
options in the External References palette.
Options in the External References Palette
Several options are available when you right-click an external reference name listed in the External
References palette, shown in Figure 7.13 earlier in this chapter. You saw the Reload option in an earlier
exercise. The following other options are available:
Attach Opens the Select Reference dialog box, in which you can select a file to attach and set
the parameters for the attachment.
Detach Detaches an Xref from the current file. The file is then completely disassociated from
the current file.
Reload Restores an unloaded Xref.
Unload Similar to Detach but maintains a link to the Xref file so that it can be quickly reattached.
This has an effect similar to freezing a layer and can reduce redraw, regeneration, and
file-loading times.
Bind Converts an Xref into a block. Bind offers two options: Bind (again) and Insert. Bind’s Bind
option maintains the Xref’s named elements (layers, linetypes, and text and dimension styles) by creating
new layers in the current file with the Xref’s filename prefix (see Chapter 15). The Insert option
doesn’t attempt to maintain the Xref’s named elements but merges them with named elements of the
same name in the current file. For example, if both the Xref and the current file have layers of the
same name, the objects in the Xref are placed in the layers of the same name in the current file.
Open Lets you open an Xref. Select the Xref from the list, and then click Open. The Xref opens
in a new window when you close the External References palette. This option isn’t available in
AutoCAD LT.
Details A panel at the bottom of the External References palette. It’s similar to the Properties
palette in that it displays the properties of a selected external reference and also allows you to
modify some of those properties. For example, the Reference Name option in the Details panel
lets you give the external reference a name that is different from the Xref filename. Table 7.1
gives you a rundown of the options in the Details panel.