Autocad external references is a very useful tool if we have a basic drawing that we need to add a lot of other elements to. For example, when you have a floor plan of a house . This program will serve as the basis for drawing electrical, plumbing, heating or furniture installations in 3D.
This tool allows us to make all kinds of industrial, engineering or architectural plans in 2D and 3D. For this reason, if you are a designer, you might also be interested in downloading classic Paint on your PC. Below we explain all the options that this great tool has.
Index( )
- What are the External References or XREF of Autocad?
- Advantages of XREFs when designing
- How to create use an External References in Autocad?
- When should I use an Autocad external references?
What are the External References or XREF of Autocad?
It is a CAD design program that works to create a ‘drawing within a drawing’. In other words, xrefs exist as a link on the drawing you are working on. Of course, it will also allow you to see the content of the sketch, but you won’t be able to modify it, unless you want to.
The use of external references in Autocad is a good way to get layers of information in a drawing without having to include the various graphic entities that make it up. So, depending on the ultimate design goal you’re working on, you should be able to generate the reference information with this XREF tool.
So it works like a block or layer in another drawing without having to include all the information it needs. These references work through a master file, from which you work on another independent document. This means that if you modify a graphic in the original file, the reference you are working on in the other document is automatically updated.
Advantages of XREFs when designing
One of the great benefits is that xRefs enables efficient management by sharing and controlling information by creating dynamic links between project plans. These arranged connections ensure that everyone on the design team can see the latest version of the plan at all times. Therefore, if there are changes, everyone in the project is notified.
Another benefit of using xRefs is to reduce size. The only external reference file stored in the sketch is the link that specifies the name and path of that record. In this way, the information of each drawing is saved and maintained in the original file , being able to attach as many documents as you wish.
The reference and file size increase will be minimal. Also, since each graphics report is unique, you can even maintain repertoire properties (class name, dimension style, text, and other item names on the sketch plane).
Another advantage of using external references in Autocad is that it allows you to work with large files without having to fully ‘load’ them. You can use tools like Crop to select only a visible part of the document that is referenced in the drawing. Therefore, they will look like simple links in your sketch. Since the size of the file that you use for external reference in Autocad will be smaller than the measurements that contain all the objects of the information layers in the graphic.
How to create use an External References in Autocad?
We will see an example of equipment drawing application in a file that contains the architectural layout of a small room. We will then start with a new sketch document in which we will draw the pipes and places of the sanitary evacuation facility of the model. You can download the App from the website .
- Produce a new layer (Layer) to contain the reference outside of AutoCAD. The practice of creating slices that house and manipulate the information in our graphs has been discussed. However, in this case, we choose to create a new layer to hold our reference to the architectural plan and call it XREF_Plant:
- Create a reference file with the architectural brochure. If you go to the ‘Insert’ tab, you will see the ‘References’ table, which contains all the functions for working with external reports in AutoCAD.
- Create a hint, that is, in order to establish a ‘link’to the drawing document, click on the button of the same name.
- The ‘Select Reference File’ dialog will be displayed, from which we will choose the type of sketch: graphic (*.dwg) as well as the record that we will use for the base.
- Note that in the ‘File Type:’ menu, you have the ability to create external references. This is not only to Autocad drawingdocuments , but also to images and PDFs among other things.
- Pressing the Open button will take you to the xref configuration dialog. That is, the conversation where you will specify the insertion point, scale, rotation, and other parameters.
- For our example, we will keep the options shown in the following figure:
When should I use an Autocad external references?
It may be that you are responsible for drawing the plumbing fixtures for the building, as you are the designer, architect or the like. In this task, you should have a guide sketch drawing on which the utilities will be installed (architectural floor plan) . You can also create a grid sheet in Paint.
Since the scope of your work is limited to the design of piping and special parts, you do not need to do any editing or revision on the architectural drawing. So why include the graphic entities that make up this field in the drawing file ?
You can simply create an xref to include the building floor plan as a kind of ‘AutoCAD block’ in your drawings and thus create the respective facilities in 3D. Note that with this option the person responsible for making the architectural sketches can make changes without having to send you a new drawing file because it is the reference in your drawing. In addition, it allows you to update the options automatically each time they work.
