Advice from an ACAD maestro sought

[Des]

Hi all, I hoping there is someone here who is very familiar with AutoCad who may shed some light. A lot of the time I get DWG drawings which are made up of xrefs. So a lot of the information gets lumped into one layer, I'm presuming each xref gets put into one layer? After importing to FormZ the drawing would have many many layers but after purging empty layers the amount drops to about ten or less and most of the info would be in one layer called "0". I think that would be the xref?

The reason I'm asking is because I want to contact the designer and sound like I know what I'm talking about. So if anyone here can confirm my assessment I'd be very grateful.

If that is the case then I can ask for the separate xrefs to import? I don't have Acad.

Cheers,

Des

Edited August 31, 2023 by Des

[bbuxton]

It depends on how the client has managed the file. All those empty layers are created when starting from a project template.

Invariably clients usually forget to work in the correct layers or use layer zero before organising the project into the correct layers.

This untidiness will always be much worse when xRefs are exploded to send to outside/3rd parties.

The layers you get will depend on the organisation in the referenced files.

xRefs are the enemy of freelancers and 3rd party services.

The same horrendous problems occur in mCAD PDM systems, sigh....

Edited September 1, 2023 by bbuxton

[santa]

Des,

In AutoCAD, xrefs are nothing more than linked external files that are attached to a host drawing file. Once attached, the host file does show the xref layers, but segregated and prefixed with their file name, in the form xref_filename|layername for example. These layers are not part of the host, and therefore cannot be edited there.

However, when distributing drawing files containing xrefs it is customary to BIND the included xrefs for the sake of simplicity. Otherwise, they must be sent as well. This process converts the xrefs into blocks which are then embedded into the host drawing on a specified layer.

From what you write, it appears that this is what was done, on layer_0, which is why they import as such into FZ. I do not know which application you use, but it may be useful to check for blocks in your file. If there aren’t any, they have already been exploded.
 

[Gary]

Hello Des,

in addition to what Santa says above. My experience (importing DWG, but not into Z), if the xrefs have been binded to the file, they will appear as a block or group on one layer. The file will also have numerous layers that the original geometry was on, in the un binded xref file. If you select the block/group and un group it, all of the xref geometry will be placed on their original layers. Your mileage in Z may vary.

 

Gary

[Des]

Thanks so much for the information guys. Yes, it seems that the xrefs were brought in on one layer "0". I got over it by requesting the xref files and imported them separately which gave me the layer control I needed. I was going to move them to the origin anyway. I only use FormZ for importing.

Cheers 👍

Des