Irritating icons: and how to keep on the right path with xrefs - Autocad clinic: auto CAD helpline answers your support questions

CADalyst, Nov, 2003 by Mike Tuersley

I recently upgraded to Map 2004 for Windows 2000 and apart from not liking the new icons--the designs are much less obvious and individual--I find them indistinct and blurry. This is also the case with the toolbars for other applications that I run through AutoCAD, such as AutoTrack and Keylines. Any suggestions on how to sharpen up the icons?

--Steve Hall, via Internet

First off, it's all in the eyes of the beholder. I like the new icons in the 2004-based products, especially because we lost the smiley face for the questioning cloud. The reason they appear less than spectacular on your system is because they were designed with Windows XP in mind. All XP-compatable software uses the new button look. Each new product release is designed to comply with the latest operating systems. The nice thing about AutoCAD is that if you don't like the icons, you can always edit or create your own!

XREF ISSUES

I work for an electrical engineering construction firm and receive drawings from others. Most of the time, I can open the drawings with little or no trouble. But sometimes people save the path of their xrefs as if they are the only ones who need to open the drawing. When this happens, I see an empty title block with xref errors. Most of the time when I get these drawings I can do nothing with them.

--Jeff Ryan, via Internet

Though this is not the Learning Curve column, here are a few pointers on using xrefs.

1. Never delete or explode an xref--detach it or bind and then explode (figure 1). Deleting or exploding never gets rid of an xref from the drawing database's perspective.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

2. When you attach an xref in AutoCAD 2004-based products, set the Path type option to No Path. If you don't save a path, AutoCAD looks for the xref in the following places in this order: current folder of the host drawing, project search paths defined in Options | Files dialog box and in the PROJECTNAME system variable, support search paths in Options | Files dialog box, and start-in folder specified in the Windows application shortcut.

3. Don't use the Attach option when you insert xrefs. Instead use Overlay. Overlay attaches an xref to the receiving file. If you make the receiving file into an xref, the overlaid file isn't attached. If you use Attach, the xref references the next file as well. This leads to confusion when you try to determine what files you need to send to someone else. This leads to the next point ...

4. Never use Windows Explorer to copy files to send to someone. Use the Etransmit command. It automatically grabs all the referenced files needed to duplicate the current drawing on someone else's system. Using this command generates either a zipped or executable file for e-mailing.

The Etransmit dialog box provides options to remove the xref paths, convert the files to an earlier release, and preserve the directory structure (figure 2a).

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

The command also generates a report that you can send so the receiver knows what files should be received and how they should be assembled (figure 2c). This takes all the guesswork out of what to send!

5. Take the time to learn and be properly trained on your software. Too many users are thrown into using advanced techniques such as xrefs after learning only the minimal amount of information.

Get Help

Send your AutoCAD questions to the AutoCAD Clinic, Cadalyst, 859 Willamette St., Eugene, OR 97401, fax them to 541.984.5328, or e-mail editors@cadalyst.com.

Mike Tuersley is lead applications engineer/lead consultant at Imaginit Technologies (www.imaginit-tech.com).