Can't Load Certain Nested XREFS

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I'm having trouble loading a particular nested XREF (let's say I've referenced A which references B.) When I open A, B loads just fine. When I open other files that reference B, B loads just fine. It's the particular combination of B within A that is a problem (across multiple files that use this specific nesting).

I can load other nested XREFs.

The XREFs are attached, not overlayed.

Layers are all on and not frozen.

Detaching and reattaching the nested XREFS is unsuccessful.

If I had to guess, I'd wager it must be that the way we've told A to reference B is different from the way we've told every other file on the server to reference other drawings. Would relative/absolute pathing be a factor in all of this? (I cannot reattach the xrefs with a relative path). I'd appreciate any help and/or empathy.

Gratefully,

Dougal

[pendean]

Is B an "Overlay", and not an "Attachment" type xref in A by chance Explained here https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/AutoCA...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply pendean,

All the XREFS in both A and B themselves are attached and not overlayed.

[Anonymous]

(Unsuccessful) Updates:

Changing the path types between A and B (relative vs. absolute) hasn't made a difference.

I've double checked; not a single XREF is set to overlay.

To clarify: When I try to references the nest, A is found, but B is not. When I load A, B is found. I've had Mac-Windows server mapping issues in the past so it could be something along those lines, but it would be strange if B is found in some instances and not found in others. Additionally, a third XREF nested within B (we'll call C) is found even when B is not. So AutoCAD is finding A and C but not B.

[maxim_k]

Are all of Xrefs in the same folder?
Can you attach screenshot with path/name information about A, B and C drawings?
Does all of Xrefs (A, B and C) have the same DWG version?

[Anonymous]

Hi Maxim!

Thank you for your reply. I've attached some redacted screenshots from AutoCAD's reference manager and Finder info on the three files in question. I've redacted some information for privacy, but have left the first and last letter of each step in the pathway so you can identify them.

A (RC_02) is a reflected ceiling plan which references B (PP_02), a floor plan, which in turn references C (COL_GRID), a column grid. A and B are in the same folder for plans. C is in a separate folder for more general files; all three stem from a "Work" folder. I'm not sure how to check the dwg version of each; hopefully the finder screenshot helps. If not, I can track that down.

I'm trying to reference A (>B>C) in a file I use for printing that we can call D. The screenshots from the reference manager are from that D (E2_12).

[maxim_k]

Sorry, I'm a little confused. Can you tell one again which Xrefs you can see in drawing D in a situation described above?

>>>>'m not sure how to check the dwg version of each
When you open drawing in AutoCAD, you can see its version at the command line, for example:
"Opening an AutoCAD 2018 format file.
Regenerating model.
AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.
AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.
Command:"

[Anonymous]

When I open D (E2_12), I can see A (RC_02), but I cannot see B (PP_02) at all. Though AutoCAD can find C (COL_GRID), I can't see it either because it is orphaned by B (PP_02). So ultimately, I only see A (RC_02) when I open D (E2_12).

[Anonymous]

I think I've found a solution, though I don't know why it works. I'm new to this office and many of these links were made before I arrived. By going back and relinking B's file path within A, I was able to see it in D.

What's puzzling to me is why that faulty file path works in A itself. That is, when I open A, the faulty xref file path brings up B without a problem. But when the faulty path to B gets nested within A, it no longer works.

I'm hoping the relinking I've done doesn't cause problems for others on the server; this may be an untenable solution in the long run, but at least it works for now. Thanks for the replies, all. I'll keep you posted.

[maxim_k · Accepted solution]

I think you had a problem because the path to the drawing B inside drawing A was not absolute, but relative - ..\PP_02.DWG as I see on screenshot. You was able to see B drawing in A drawing, because they were in the same folder, but you were not be able to see drawing B, when you attached drawing A to D. When you open drawing D, AutoCAD starts to look for all drawings according to the paths, and it was not able to find drawing B in the indicated path - ..\

[shabik]

Thanks for that but how will this work in a cloud server? I thought absolute links were "hard links" in the way that it will not update properly unless there is a file there. That is, we want to use relative paths always.

To perhaps better explain what I mean is that if I have a cloud server at C:/User/Adam/Dropbox/Company Projects/105 Happy Road/Proposed GA.dwg then this link will stop working if John starts to work on it as on his computer he probably have the dropbox in another location so the same file on his computer may be D:/Storage/Dropbox/Company Projects/105 Happy Road/Proposed GA.dwg. However, if the relative link somehow is /Company Projects/105 Happy Road/Proposed GA.dwg then it should work for both of them, is that not so?

I am having the same issue.

EDIT: It seems like potentially the solution to the problem lies in overlay vs attachment but it is not clear to me how that should be solved.

EDIT 2: It seems to be related to relative paths but more importantly, here is a solution that worked in my case: The xref that does not work, unload it! Then attach the same file and find the one you want. That seems to replace the nested relative path with two separate links.