open xref palette

[Anonymous]

Just loaded AutoCAD 2018. I have tried every xr, xref, -xref, external reference, ect... command possible and cannot find the xref palette. All commands are opening the xref manager, but I prefer the palette. Is there another command / variable I am not finding that opens the xref palette? Thanks...

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

When you installed your AutoCAD 2018, did you do any migration from your prior release (2016?)  Is it possible the palette is open off-screen? If you have multiple monitors you might disable them temporarily to see if the palette appears.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

HI John, Thanks for the quick reply. My IT did not do any migration for this upgrade, everything has been reset to out of the box. Good theory - palette being off the screen, and I did check for that (disabled second monitor / minimize, moved around / maximize), but that is not the case. Every time I type one of the x-ref commands it opens the old school x-ref manager.  Can the old x-ref manager and the x-ref palette even be open at the same time? Thanks...

[user181 · Accepted solution]

Any chance your SDI variable is not set to 0? If not change to 0 and try xref again.

[john.vellek]

HI @Anonymous,

Are you willing to try a Reset Settings to Default to bring things back to "factory" conditions?

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

copy and paste this to the command line

_externalreferences

or

Enter MENUBAR, set it to one, under the menu pulldown 

If that doesn't pop the reference manager it must be off screen.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> I have tried every xr, xref, -xref, external reference, ect... command possible

>> and cannot find the xref palette. All commands are opening the xref manager

What happens when you start this command (with underline and point):

_.XREF

- alfred -

[Anonymous]

Menubar / palettes also worked. I did not realize you could open the menubar anymore, I thought it went away in recent versions of AutoCAD. Thanks for your help...

_.xref also worked... Which brings me to a follow up question. I searched AutoCAD help, the forum, and google trying to find alternate commands for xref I only knew of several hundred 🙂 and did not know about the other couple hundred. I would have never found the other commands on my own, is there a link or document or someplace I can go that has a list of all AutoCAD variables / commands that has a description of each that I could quickly ctrl+f to try and find solutions to issues such as this without having to bother you nice people?

Thanks again for everybody's help...

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> _.xref also worked

If _.XREF is working well, but _XREF does not then there is a tool running which overrides the command and starts the old style command _CLASSICXREF

That can be defined in ACAD.LSP or ACADDOC.LSP or with a loaded application.

Whenever you write a command with point then the original command is invoked, the (point)commands can't be overridden.

- alfred -

[Anonymous]

In the off chance they have collapsed the xref palette between a toolbar the the extents of the AutoCAD window I find it noteworthy to post this. Move the cursor to the last known edge and see if you can stretch the edge and make it wider. I had a user that had stretched it to almost zero width. Not sure how this was accomplished. 

[gregory.luke]

Trying to resolve this problem with the answers given below (they didn't work) the following sequence provided a solution (see attached snips):

Enter 'CUI' on the command line to open the Customer User Dialogue box;

Select the current Workspace (doesn't matter which one is current);

Click on Customize Workspace under Workspace Contents ('Customize Workspace' will change to 'Done');

Expand out Palettes and select External References;

on 'Show' select Yes from the dropdown and 'Orientation' Floating from that dropdown;

Click on 'Done' as above, then 'Apply' and 'OK'

Xref palette should appear on one of your displays. Hope that works for you.

[AAI_ClarkeJ]

I had same problem and FIXED IT.  I had dual displays and the xref manager window must of been somewhere outside what i could se eon my screen.  IF you update display settings to be one window, then "restore down" autocad (vs being full screen). then type "close external reference".  then type "external reference" it may pop-up for you. 

[daniel.poeGG2QF]

I had the same issue but found that External Refences was just hiding behind other palates that I had docked on the right side of AutoCAD Electrical. I had to move Layer Properties Manager, Properties, and Catalog Browser which I keep docked on the right side onto another screen. I noticed a small lip and moved my cursor over to it which showed a left and right arrow for dragging.