The Xbind window will appear with the name of all the attached Xrefs in the left panel.

The Xref file does not become part of a drawing database and it is loaded simultaneously with other drawings in which it is imported.

Since an Xref does not become part of drawing database, it helps in keeping the file size of the current drawing small as well.

After clicking the Attach icon, the Select Reference File window will appear.

A new Attach External Reference window will appear with a preview of your Xref in the Preview panel.

If you want to select an external reference file and all its nested files, then select Attachment from the Reference Type panel.

If you want to ignore the nested files of the selected Xref, then select the Overlay radio button as shown in Figure 1 below.

Keep other default settings selected in this window and click on OK.

Click on a point in the drawing area to specify a base and the Xref will be loaded in the current drawing.

In this case, I am attaching a DWG file in a completely blank drawing as an Xref.

Xrefs and blocks cant have the same name in a drawing, so make sure you rename any conflicting Xrefs or blocks before attaching.

This change is automatically applied to the attached Xrefs to distinguish them from other parts of the drawing.

To change the amount of fading applied to Xref, expand the Reference panel on the Insert tab and change the value in the Xref fading slider.

This icon can be used to identify drawings containing Xrefs and it can also be used to open the External References palette.

On saving the attachment drawing, a balloon will pop up in the current drawing, indicating a change has been made in the Xref file.

When modifying an Xref, it is not always necessary to open the reference drawing.

You can also open an Xref in the open drawing in which it is attached.

Select your Xref file and click on OK to open the reference in the current session of the drawing.

Make the required modifications in the drawing and click on the Save Changes icon of the Edit Reference panel on the External Reference tab.

This will open the Xref in a new window, in which you can directly modify the Xref drawing.

Once you have made all changes, save the Xref drawing and close it.

You will see a balloon in the open drawing letting you know that an Xref file has changed.

Reload it to make changes visible in the open drawing as well.

How To Rename An External Reference File In Autocad For Mac