How to Manage Xrefs in BricsCAD

Quick answer: EXPXREFS opens the External References section of the Drawing Explorer, and XREF opens the Attachments panel, both for managing external references attached to your drawing.

The External References Dialog’s Capabilities

From the Drawing Explorer’s External References section, you can:

• Attach a drawing as an external reference.
• Detach an external reference.
• Reload an external reference.
• Unload an external reference.
• Bind an external reference (this binds the whole Xref, distinct from binding individual definitions like layers or linetypes, covered elsewhere in this hub).
• Insert an external reference.
• Modify the attachment type, Attach or Overlay, the same distinction covered when opening and saving drawings elsewhere in this hub.
• Modify an Xref’s Saved Path.
• Modify an overlay’s Found Path.

Detaching Xrefs

1. Select the Xref(s) you want to detach; hold Ctrl to select several, or to deselect one already selected.
2. Click the Detach Xref tool button on the Details toolbar. The selected Xref(s) detach immediately, with no confirmation prompt beforehand.

Unloading Xrefs

Either click the Loaded column of a loaded Xref directly, or select one or more Xrefs and click the Unload Xref tool button on the Details toolbar, or click the Loaded column of one of the selected Xrefs.

Reloading Xrefs

Either click the Loaded column of an unloaded Xref directly, or select one or more Xrefs and click the Reload Xref tool button on the Details toolbar, or click the Loaded column of one of the selected Xrefs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will BricsCAD ask me to confirm before detaching an Xref? No, detaching happens immediately once you click the Detach Xref tool button, with no confirmation prompt.

What’s the difference between binding an Xref here and binding individual definitions elsewhere in the Drawing Explorer? This binds the entire external reference at once. Binding individual definitions, like a single layer or linetype from within an Xref, is a separate, more targeted workflow.

How do I quickly unload or reload just one Xref without selecting a tool? Click directly in that Xref’s Loaded column; it toggles between loaded and unloaded.

Where do Attach and Overlay come up again outside this dialog? The same distinction applies when opening or attaching drawings via drag-and-drop, covered elsewhere in this hub.