XREF set to Overlay keeps re-appearing in my Linked CAD

[tim102289]

I have an AutoCAD drawing linked into my model.  There is an XREF in the AutoCAD file, set to Overlay, which shows the floor plan of the building for reference when working on the AutoCAD file.  In Revit, I have the CAD file placde on top of a revit floor plan.  When I first link the CAD file, the XREF Overlay does not show up (which is what I want to happen).  However, later on, if I Reload the linked CAD file to update changes, everything from the XREF appears, and the only way I've found to get rid of it again is to completely Remove the link, and link the CAD file back in again.  This completely defeats the purpose of the linked CAD.  If I wanted to re-insert it and line it up with the floor plan every single time I made changes I would just Import it instead of Linking it.  This is a huge annoyance.  Any one have any ideas as to why the XREF keeps reappearing?

Edit: I am using Autodesk Revit MEP 2013 and AutoCAD 2014.

[CoreyDaun · Accepted solution]

I cannot reproduce this behavior. What steps are you taking to reload the Linked DWG file; "Manage Link" > "Reload" button, I assume? Also, is the nested Xref (within the DWG) undergoing changes or is the host DWG being changed?

If you cannot find a solution, perhaps a work-around could be placing the nested Xref on a dedicated Layer, and then shutting that Layer (Subcategory) off in Revit.

[tim102289]

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What steps are you taking to reload the Linked DWG file; "Manage Link" > "Reload" button, I assume?

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Correct.

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Also, is the nested Xref (within the DWG) undergoing changes or is the host DWG being changed?

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The host DWG is being changed.  The Xref may change in the future, but hasn't recently, and it is only in the DWG as an overlay reference so that I can see what I am working on.

It seems to only happen when I have closed the Revit file.  Once I open it again, if I click on Reload for the 2 drawings, it shows the Xref.  If I then remove the link for one of the drawings, and re-link it, then when pressing Reload both drawings reload properly without the Xref displaying.  It is very odd.  I can then continue to work on the CAD drawings and reload and changes will appear in Revit.  But then later if I have closed the Revit file, when I open it again, and Reload, the Xref will come back again.

[Lance.Coffey]

When I tried creating a new DWG file (drew some squares), linked this into another DWG (with some circles) using Overlay, and linking this into Revit MEP 2013, I am not seeing the linked DWG (even after making changes in the host DWG).

You mentioned reloading 2 links. It sounds like you may have a different configuration. Can you reproduce this behavior using new files?

[tim102289]

I will attempt to recreate this with other files some time later when I'm not so busy.  The issue doesn't always happen, only sometimes.  I think it may possibly be caused when I have the sheet open with the Activate View selected, and then reload the link, rather than opening just the view.

And I am reloading two files.  I have a plumbing floor plan for supply, and one for waste/vent.  Both of these drawings have the same XREF in them, set to Overlay.  They are each linked in on only one view apiece.

[J.Cline]

To give the OP a Sanity Check, I too have suffered from this nightmare. It seems to crop up at the worst times, (i.e. right before a project deadline). I found that I had to live with it. In the Visibility Graphics Overrides, I would go 'Imported Categories' tab, find my Xref in the list, hit the plus sign, then hilite the entire list of layers EXCEPT for the layers I want to leave on, and turn everything else off. Then you 'theoretically' only see this problem when a new layer is introduced. You should be able to apply this in the same manner if you have templates set up. I say theoretically, because I now believe nothing is guaranteed when it comes to AutoCAD/Revit behavior. 😉 Hope that tip helps as a work around, and if someone knows how to stop this from happening, I'd love to know as well. J.

[gregmeurer2925]

I just wanted to throw it out there that I am having the same issue. It doesn't happen when you reload the drawing right away. You have to exit the program and then reload the project. As soon as the project is loaded, go to manage links and reload the CAD file that has Xref's set as overlay. The reload process will take exponentially longer (when you use a big CAD file with plenty of Xref's) and all of the Overlay CAD Xref's will suddenly pop on and the layers will appear in the imported categories (which were not there before). This is a HUGE problem for me and my team and if ANYONE has a possible solution, I would love to know. Thanks!!

[J.Cline]

I have found a more predictable solution, tho it changes the way you do things in CAD. In the source DWG that has 'Overlay' attachments, ALWAYS SAVE this source drawing with ALL xrefs Un-Loaded. If they are un-loaded in the source DWG, they do not seem to show up in the Revit Model. Would be great if Revit treated Overlay as AutoCAD treated Overlay... instead of treating Overlay as Attach... For me this has not been overly burdensome, hopefully it works for you.

[Ma7moody]

Hey guys the solution for you concern is that when you link the CAD file there is a drop down botton called LAYERS/LEVELS just select Visible only and it will work fine

[tim102289]

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think that solution would work Ma7moody.  XREFs loaded in as Overlay would still be considered visible I would think, as they are not frozen or off.  The first time you load the file in, the XREFs loaded as Overlay do not appear in Revit.  As was said previously, the issue only presents itself later after you've closed Revit and re-opened it, and then attempt to reload the link from the Manage Links dialogue.  When you attempt that, the XREFs all suddenly appear.

[gregmeurer2925]

The Solution listed doesn’t fully solve the issue when you’re working on a large project. Yes, you can turn off the layers under “imported categories”,  but it doesn’t solve the larger issue of the CAD files taking an exorbitant amount of time to load because it’s pulling in all the backgrounds that are set to overlay. If you really want to stop pulling in the backgrounds that were set to overlay, there is really only one solution I can find until Autodesk fixes the issue. This solution involves an extra step with your CAD backgrounds but has proven to save me time in the long run. Instead of linking in the CAD file you want that has all the overlaid backgrounds in the Xref manager. Take that CAD drawing you want and xref it into a blank CAD file and set the Xref to overlay. Load that “blank” drawing into Revit and then go through the process of closing the project and opening it back up. When you go and reload that CAD background in manage links (that was blank when you loaded it into Revit the first time), it will now load into Revit without all the other links following it. It’s not a pretty workaround, but it’s working well for our team.

[tim102289]

The issue I had back when I first started this thread was the appearance of unwanted XREFs on the drawing, and the annoyance of having to remove and re-link the CAD files anytime I closed and re-opened Revit, and needed to upadte the links.  The workaround chosen as the solution is sufficient to solve that problem without too much extra effort, but I do appreciate your solution as well.  Hopefully both will benefit anyone who has a similar problem and finds this thread, until Autodesk looks into/fixes this issue.

[Allan-Wise]

Just to confirm this problem. We are getting the same problem from time to time. It doesn't happen every day, but it's very annoying because we do big projects. The suggested workaround of UNLOADING the XREFs then saving works. However this problem should be fixed, xref overlays should work as overlays not attachments.  

[Allan-Wise]

J.Cline.360: I created a similar LISP command to do your suggested workaround. It does speed up my team quite a lot, as we do large projects.

Download LISP file at:

http://www.draftsperson.net/index.php?title=UXS_-_Unload_all_xrefs%2C_save%2C_reload_all_xrefs

The LISP file does this: Unload all xrefs, qsave command, reload all xrefs.

[aadel_edu]

Hello,

The simplest work-around i found to this problem is to create in my imported DWG file a layer  - i call it "xref' -  unto wich i place all my XREFs. 

With the visibility overrides, i go to categories and turn off only the "xref" layer. Seems to work for now :).

[AndrewBrownie]

I have stumbled across a fix. Well it worked for me. FYI I'm using Revit 2016

Due the the inconsistency of this occurring i started a new (test) project and linked the cad xref (with nested xrefs) in.

The nested xrefs didn't show so i saved that project to my desktop and closed it.

I then opened my main project that was showing the nested xrefs coming through the xref i wanted to show and they were gone. Success!!!!!! 

For some strange reason once i deleted the new (test) project on my desktop the error came back into my main project.

So i went through the process again and it worked and fixed my main project by removing all the nested xrefs. 

I'm not sure how the test project helps the main project file but it does. Well for me anyway.

Hope this helps you as well as its the most frustration thing especially on large infrastructure projects.

Cheers

Brownie

[tschalnat]

Still having the issue in 2017 - not sure if others still are...

I'm linking in a DWG from our landscape consultants that has a couple civil files linked in and a bunch of other miscellaneous xrefs in it.  I've gone into the file and changed them all to overlay.  As mentioned this worked the first time but then all the layers of all the xrefs showed up later.  The two main reasons I don't want all the xrefs coming in with that file are time (I dont want to spend time reloading files I don't need) and controlling visibility once in revit.  One giant list of all layers of all xrefs isn't very efficient to manage.  I usually prefer to load in the files separately just so the layers are organized by file at least.  

For now it seems like the best solution is to still go into the file and unload the ones you don't need want/ want to load in desperately, save the file.  The downside is you no longer see the XREFs in the CAD file. 

[J.Cline]

Years later, and this issue still comes up.

I have what I believe is an improved method of control.

In the primary DWG, create a layer called "_XREF"  (I use underscore (or even double underscore sometimes) to force the layer name to the top of the list of layer names).

Use this layer to attach ALL XREFS that you do not want to see in your Revit model (or simply move them to this layer if already attached).

In Revit, link your DWG.

In Visibility Graphics, go to the "Imported Categories" tab, then "uncheck" the box in front of layer "_XREF".  That is literally all you should have to do.

None of the offending graphics from the overlay xrefs should appear (even if you leave all the xref layers checked on to be visible!), and now your primary DWG can have overlay DWGs loaded/visible. 

In my example, the Hardscape is by the Landlord, and not re-created in Revit, so I want that XREF visible.  I don't want the text and other XREFs visible, and because the "__XREF" layer is deselected, none of them appear.

This does not necessarily solve the issue of memory usage if your DWG is an overly burdensome size (I have not tested this), but for me it does not seem to have performance impacts.

Good luck!

[RobDraw]

If I were having issues with nested XREFs, I would not hesitate to eliminate them and reference them individually.

[tschalnat]

That works too, turning off the layer will hide all xreffed drawings I don't want to see without going through all the xreffed layers 1 by 1.  However the remaining issue is that the layers still come into Revit, so its still storing their information and slowing down the model and reload time.  And I still have a miles long list of layers (There are 35 xrefs) in the CAD file.  Ideally revit would have something similar to CADs way of managing/organizing the layers of CADS/XREFS, especially with the overlay feature not working.