External Reference Details dialog box

Drawing files often contain references to other drawings or images. Those references, or dependencies, are simply an embedded record of the path to the referenced objects or files. In AutoCAD, reference files are more commonly referred to as "XREFs" (external reference files). Microstation uses the term "reference files." Drawings containing a reference to other files are referred to as "host drawings."

This dialog box displays two types of information about the selected file (relying on the indexed external reference information):

This File Contains the Following External References

This section lists drawing or image files that are referenced by the currently selected file. This allows advanced users to know all of the files that the current file depends on. These references are shown in a tree so that you can see each referenced file's external references. For example, drawing A can contain a reference to drawing B, which in turn can have a reference to drawing C. It would appear like this:

    Drawing A

        Drawing B

            Drawing C

For example:

 

Files that cannot be opened are indicated by the following icons:

This File is Referenced by the Following Files

This section lists drawings that have references that point to the currently selected file. This allows advanced users to know all the files that depend on the selected file (for example, which files are affected if this file is moved, renamed, or deleted).

Report

Click to open the Create a Report dialog box to select the type of external reference file report to create.

 

To access this dialog box

Select a drawing file, then click Find > External References from the File Tasks panel of various activity centers.