How can I create a layer on my xref so it doesn't affect othere sheets referencing my drawing without having to open a couple of hundred draiwngs. I know I can create my layer, freeze it, save my drawing, open all sheets referencing my xref and save them. Better yet, is there a setting I can use that makes my new layer pop up frozen on for all sheets while I work on my xref, on a newly created layer?
I work with bridges and get xrefs from our road designers containing hundreds of layers. I'd like to point at an object in these xrefs and get the layer name. Is there a simple way to do this? The way the LAYFRZ-command works, freezing a single layer, I figure ACAD should be able to just return the layer name instead. Does this functionality exist?
As I recall, in previous versions of AutoCAD, when I am in the Layer Properties Manager and I click on an xref under the Xref heading, the only layers shown were the ones in that xref, not all.
That is what is happening now. I cannot seem to find any setting under the settings for the Layer Properties Manager that would change this.
Why does the layer control toolbar always state the Xref layers by default. Is there a workaround, or a setting so the layers of the current drawing are displayed by default?
We recently upgraded from 2006 to 2013. We had a lisp routine in 06 that would reload all the xref's in a sheet so the layer states would update since simply reloading the xref did not always work. Below is the code we used. Now, in 2013, when we run it, I lose all layer states.
Is it possible to run a lisp which can extract all the xref names, make a layer with that name and then change the xref on the layer? I have got a similar routine from earlier posts but it doesn't work if any xrefs inserted in paper space (works fine on model space). could change this routine allowing to change the layer of xref in paper space too.
(defun dxf (i a) (cdr (assoc i a))) (defun c:lxr ( ) (setq ss (ssget "x" '((0 . "INSERT"))))
Possible to link an xref layer and local layer so they display the same (eg. sync viewport colour, linewieght, line type)?
I insert xref's for my base drawing but legend is on local layers and I would like to be able to ensure that the line colour and linetype always match...
It appears that the Layer Filters functionality is broken again with 2013. Unchecking the "Apply layer filter to layer toolbar" disables the function of layer filters in the tool palette.
For example, I'm making revisions to a plan and drag a block or xref of the floor plan changes where walls/doors/windows have moved. I want to be able to simply pick the underlying linework as opposed to tracing over each line of said xref/block.
We are having an issue with CAD users putting their xrefs on any layer that is current; thus creating some layer control issues. I would like to make it so that when they go to attach an xref the layer is automatically set to the "XREF" layer and then possibly reset to the previous layer.
I have a drawing of a floor plan, and on a separate drawing I have text that I need to add to the floor plan drawing.
I've used the XREF command and positioned it exactly where it needs to go, but I can't edit the text drawing unless I "Open XREF in place"
I got close by going to the XREF dialog and "Binding.." the drawing as an INSERT and now it's one huge block.
I'm trying to insert the drawing with the text on the drawing with the floor plan so it's one drawing and so I can edit the text or move things around if I need to.
I am using Auto Cad 2011 and I always use the option to 'attach' xrefs. what is the difference between attaching and an overlay? Does one use less memory than the other? When would be the best time to use an overlay?
Also when my new version was installed when I bring in an xref the layers show light (I really like this) another girl in our office has the same version but her layers are still saturated. how does she change it to show ghosted layers in the xref?
is there a way to not have the long list of xref layers when I bring them into a drawing?
I want to make a layer from external reference current.
I tried to identify it with its full name, but I got an error: eInvalidInput. So I found out, I have to use only the part behind the pipe.But then there is a problem, because this name is not unique withing the drawing.
Any number of xrefs can have such layer and also the drawing itself can have a layer with the same name. How exactly can I set a layer from xref current?
example:
layer from xref1: Xref1|LayerName1 layer from xref2: Xref2|LayerName1 layer from the drawing: LayerName1
Version: Civil 3D 2012 and use CTBs for our plotstyles.
I'm working on a fairly large project that requires an excessive amount of base drawings. We frequently will be asked to have a drawing made and issued in a morning. To make sure we can constantly throw these drawings together quickly we've setup an xref system of all our base mapping data. (I'm sure this is a common thing but its the first time I've been exposed to it).
A lot of these drawings will have polylines with global widths on them. The problem with this is that global width doesn't always work so well when changing scales (we frequently bounce from 1:100 to 1:20,000) or when you just don't need the line to be so thick.
Two questions:
1) Stop using global widths on lines in the base drawings and switch to a method of setting lineweights of the xref layers when you xref in a drawing.
2) find that it ends up rounding off the end of the lines. Is there a way to prevent this from happening?
My company uses tons of Xrefs - wonderful, however problem comes when having to navigate through 100's of layers to get to the main drawings layers. So I tried using the layer filters to just show my main drawings layers. Here is the problem, I you can select show all layers, not good, can select just the xrefs (show all of them or show just one of them, etc...), or you can show just the used layers - I tried that, but when you create a new layer it is not included in that filter. I tried setting up a custom layer filter, however, I don't know how to right the name or what selection to make that would allow me to exclude a set of layers.
I am trying to rename all the xref's on the drawing with suffix "_renamed" With the code shown below , I am able to do this. But the problem I am facing is once the code renamed and reloaded the xref, the Xref-dependent layer properties are changing to Xref source layer properties.
Also the VISRETAIN variable is 1. Please find the code below.
Is there a way to set up a layer filter to strip off the xref name?
I have standard layers in all my drawings. I want to use a filter to setup the type of drawing.. i.e erosion control.
However, from project to project the xref file name changes so filters don't work with the new name...
Anyway, if there is a way to hide the xref filename from the prefix of the layer.. if so, a standard layer filter would grab all the layers with the same name.
Everytime I attempt to change the color on this one particular layer (that is brough in though an xref), it changes the color of every layer in my drawing. I am using Autocad MEP 2012
My question pertains to layer colors from xrefs that have other xrefs nested inside them.
When I get xrefs from the architects, I get a building layout, RCP, space layout, etc. I tie all these together into a single "architect base" xref so I don't have to attach 4 xrefs to each new file I create. What I would like to be able to do is set all the layer colors in the misc. architect xrefs in my "architect base" file and have those color settings propagate into my drawings as I create them. This comes into play especially if I have to create a new drawing late in the project, and I don't want to have to go set hundreds of layer colors individually. ?
Visretain comes to mind, but visretain (if I'm correct) is really for keeping xref color settings in your current file from session to session, not in a new file that you are creating using an xref.
For the whole project we’ve had this issue, however it’s never effected our drawing until now.
When we receive an background, we use setbylayer to change everything to by layer, then in the layer manager, set the layer colour to 8, so all is grey.
Then we xref that background dwg into our model drawings and doodle all over the thing, pretty standard stuff.
But today, in our model drawing, I’d like to change, well, any of the xref’s layer colours, but I cannot! As soon as I make a change, it reverts back to the original ‘8’ colour. It refuses to change colour.
I’ve changed visretian from 0 to 1, open, closed, changed it again, all combinations but to no avail.
I can freeze, turn off & on layers, just not change the colour (or lineweight).
I have a drawing with an XREF in it and both drawing have items on layer 0. Is there a way of freezing the items in the XREF drawing that are on layer 0 but still layer 0 on in my drawing?
I am having trouble when I import XRef’s and the scaling of lines. When the drawings are importing the hidden lines do not show up as hidden lines. I know this might be a scaling issue but I do not know how to correct this. The XRef drawing is drawn at a scale of 1-1/2”=1’-0” and set to print on a letter size paper but the drawing which it is imported to is set to be printed on a 11x17 but the viewport is still at the 1-1/2” scale and the lines are shown as continuous.
I have a drawing (Drawing A) that contains a PDF (using PDF attach) with text over the PDF. I then have this drawing Xref'd (as overlay and as attachment) into another drawing (Drawing B). When I print this drawing (Drawing B). The text prints but the pdf does not.
In Drawing A the pdf is on the 0 layer. In Drawing B the pdf is on 0 layer. The 0 layer is not frozen and is set to print. The xref in drawing B is set to overlay and relative (I tried absolute). I can see the pdf in drawing B. PDFrame is set to 2 in dwg A and B.
I know DXF files can be saved as DWGs then used as XREFs but that isn't the goal we want to achieve.
We are a big steel fabrication shop and we run a plasma machine that accepts DXF files. What we want to do is be able to draw our parts as a DXF ready for the plasma then XREF them into an overall drawing to assure all of our pieces line up. Each piece will be a separate DXF.
We want them to be XREFs so that if one needs to be manipulated it can be done on the spot without having to reattach a block. The more files you have to open and manipulate the more room for error.
The only way I can come up with is to draw all pieces as individual DWG files, then XREF each one into their own DXF file as well as XREFing them all into an overall file to check that they all line up.
I need to load 11 xref in my project but seems like in autocad 2013 more than 10 xref is not allowed, it keeps on rejecting the 11th reference without prompting any error.
I have tried to save the drawings in lower version and do the same procedure and it works, i therefore conclude that the issue is with 2013 version.
saving in lower version everytime we receive new xref is really time consuming and painful for hundred of drawings.
Is there a way to revert back to the original colors of an xref besides having to reattach the xref and purging the DWG.
I always change the colors of the projects Existing site/utilty XREF to color 252 to shade it back to have the proposed show up darker. But I try to select all layers to change the colors back to what they were before and the box to set color by layer is not available.