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Another Question on blocks

Printed From: CAD Forum
Category: EN
Forum Name: AutoCAD
Forum Description: Discussion about AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, viewers, DWG and DXF formats, Design Review, AutoCAD web, Drive, add-ons
URL: https://www.cadforum.cz/forum_en/forum_posts.asp?TID=8116
Printed Date: 09.Jun.2026 at 10:14


Topic: Another Question on blocks
Posted By: dssteven
Subject: Another Question on blocks
Date Posted: 16.Jul.2012 at 18:26
I read through some of the other posts on blocks and didn't find the answer I was looking for. Maybe I missed it and if so please just kindly redirect me to the appropriate post. Regardless, this is what I'm asking:

Say I have a small component drawn out and this one small component is used in 100 other drawings. 

Soon after I have put this into 100 different sheets  I realize one line in the component is .1" too short. 

Now say this were a block, or some sort of reference. Is there a way that if I changed the main file "component.dwg" that it would automatically change the component in every file it is used in?

I didn't actually make this mistake yet but someone is bound to eventually so I thought I would start doing it this way, if at all possible, to prevent any issues in the future. 

I use AutoCAD LT 98 but if this version cannot do it I have 2010 readily available. 

Please let me know if there is already a post on this or if you have a suggestion... or you know this simply cannot be done.

Thank you,

Dan


Replies:
Posted By: John Connor
Date Posted: 16.Jul.2012 at 23:20
The component would have to be Xreffed into the drawing.  If you make a change to the master component drawing then open another drawing where it has been xreffed in the updated version of the component drawing will now appear.  Xref = External reference.  LT 98 did not have the feature.  2010 will have it though.  

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"Humans have a strength that cannot be measured. This is John Connor. If you are reading this, you are the resistance."

<<AutoCAD 2015>>

Posted By: dssteven
Date Posted: 17.Jul.2012 at 14:07
I just did this on AutoCAD LT 98 actually. Just went to Insert>External Reference and then inserted my part file. I closed that drawing, opened the part drawing and made an edit. When I opened the file with the xref the edit was reflected. I just changed text color though. 

Is there a way to make these X-refs available for edit or is the whole point of xrefs to avoid editing a particular piece in each specific drawing?

I only ask because sometimes there is the same component but a different view needed for what I do (electrical components). 

Sometimes I'll need the top view and other times I'll need the rear view to show where wires go into the connector. Right now I have each view drawn together and saved in one file.  I was going to just save the one file as the respective part number but I'm unsure how to handle the different views needed. Is there a way to cut, crop or edit somehow these xrefs so I can use only one part of the xref?

Thanks in advance,

Dan

Posted By: bigalfry
Date Posted: 17.Jul.2012 at 17:11
There is a way to clip an XRef.  The command for it is XCLIP.  With this you could have all three views in your Xref component and just clip out the one that you need.

Being that you are using LT 98, I'm not sure if you have this feature or not.  Hopefully you do though.


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Alex D. Fry, C.E.T.
Civil Engineering Technologist Extraordinaire
"I draw lines that look like things..."


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