How to Manage Images in BricsCAD

Quick answer: Manage raster images either through the Drawing Explorer’s Images dialog or the Attachments panel, both let you attach, load, unload, detach, and edit the path of images attached to a drawing.

Managing Images: Two Interfaces

Both interfaces let you:

• Attach an image.
• Load or unload inserted images.
• Detach images.
• Edit an image’s path.
• Preview attached images (Drawing Explorer only).

Opening the Drawing Explorer’s Images dialog: choose Drawing Explorer > Images from the Tools menu, select Images in the Open Drawings sub-window of the Drawing Explorer, or run EXPIMAGES.

Opening the Attachments panel: click Image Management on the Images toolbar or the Insert/Images ribbon panel, or run IMAGE.

The Image Commands

Notification Settings

IMAGENOTIFY controls whether warnings appear for missing or modified image files.

Worth flagging: the earlier PDF underlays page in this hub describes a variable it calls XNOTIFYTIME, with wording identical to what this source uses for a variable it calls XREFNOTIFYTIME, both described as setting how often BricsCAD checks for modified Xrefs, images, and PDF attachments (when XREFNOTIFY, IMAGENOTIFY, and/or PDFNOTIFY are on). These can’t both be the correct name for the same variable, so if you need the exact variable name, it’s worth confirming directly in BricsCAD.

Attaching an Image

1. Click New in the Drawing Explorer’s Images dialog, click Attach Raster Image on the Insert toolbar or ribbon panel, or run IMAGEATTACH. The Select Image File dialog opens.
2. Select the image file, then double-click it or click Open. The Attach Raster Image dialog appears.
3. Optionally tick Use Geocoding Information and click Browse to select an appropriate world file; ticking this disables the Insertion Point, Scale, and Rotation fields entirely.
4. Specify an insertion point, or tick Specify on-screen.
5. Specify a scale, or tick Specify on-screen.
6. Specify a rotation angle, or tick Specify on-screen.
7. Click OK.
8. If none of the on-screen options were ticked, the image inserts immediately at the specified values; otherwise, you’re prompted to specify them on screen.

Loading and Unloading Images

Unloading an attached, inserted image hides it temporarily without removing it, it stays inserted, just not displayed. If Imageframe is on, the frame around the image still shows even while unloaded.

A single image: click its Load column in the Attachments panel or Drawing Explorer’s Images dialog.

Multiple images: hold Ctrl and select them (click a selected one to deselect), then click the Load column of any one of the selected images.

Detaching Images

Since attaching and inserting are two separate steps, you can delete an inserted image from the drawing without detaching the underlying attachment.

To detach: select the image(s) (Ctrl for multiple, click to deselect), then click the Delete or Detach tool button, or right-click and choose Delete or Detach from the context menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does unloading an image remove it from the drawing? No, it stays inserted but stops displaying. If Imageframe is on, its frame remains visible even while unloaded.

Can I delete an inserted image without detaching the whole attachment? Yes, attaching and inserting are separate steps, so deleting an inserted instance doesn’t necessarily detach the attachment itself.

Why are the Insertion Point, Scale, and Rotation fields greyed out when attaching an image? Check whether Use Geocoding Information is ticked; enabling it disables those fields entirely in favour of the world file’s own geocoding data.

How do I load or unload several images at once? Hold Ctrl to select them all, then click the Load column of any one of the selected images.