Red Arrow next to Data Link

[DawnAW]

Hello,

I hope this is a simple question.  I have an excel data link as a table in my drawing.  Visually, everything looks good in my drawing but in my 'External Reference' box there is a red arrow next to it.  I have included an image.  As you can see from the image that the data link is loaded.  Does anyone know what the red arrow means?

Thank you. 

[john.vellek]

Hi @DawnAW,

AKN Article might have the information you need to resolve your issue. Do you have this Add-in (or others) installed?

It is hard to see from your JPG attachment what is really happening here. If you could attach the file(s) I would be happy to take a look and see if I can help you resolve the problem.

Since the file is an image, can you verify that the image is still available (not locked by another application) and in the designated location? It might also be worth looking at how many locations the image has been placed (such as in a copy-paste). 

I look forward to helping you on this issue.

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

[john.vellek]

Hi @DawnAW,

I haven't seen an update to your post yet and was hoping that your issue is resolved. If not, please share the information that I requested so we can wrap up the problem for you.

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

[DawnAW]

Thank you for providing that link although I don't thinik it applies in this situation.  This is a table (with a datalink) that is showing up and behaving properly and is loaded.  Please open the new attachment in this post and you will see that I actually have two tables with datalinks in this drawing that were brought in the same way and seem to have all other characteristics the same.  The only exception is that in the xref dialog box, one has that red arrow and the other does not.  There must be a reason for this arrow.

Thank you.

[john.vellek]

Good morning @DawnAW,

I would suggest that the data link with the (red arrow) table might not totally be intact. Can you remove the table by using the data link manager or by selecting a cell, rt-click and remove?  I would like to see if removing the table and then adding it back in resolves the issue.

Another thought would be to check the layer settings for the layer on which the table is inserted to see if there is anything unique about it.

Lastly, verify that there is nothing unique about the file path of the linked table.

Please let me know the results as this is an interesting issue and I would like to see the best way that it can be resolved.

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

[DawnAW]

Hi,

Actually I have already tried it.  The first thing I thought of was that something was wrong with the connection or link.  So I deleted it and brought it in again.  It looked good for the moment but when I saved and closed the DWG and then reopened it, the same arrow appeared again.

Both tables are on the same layer.  Both tables come from the same Excel file as well. 

The fact that the DWG looks good and that the tables show properly makes me think that I can just move on.  But this red arrow certainly must be in AutoCAD programming.  I can't be the first to ever get it.  I am eager to know what it means.  I just can't find any documentation on it.

Thanks.

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @DawnAW

The Red Arrow doesn't appear in my documentation so I can certainly feel your pain. It shows up in other verticals in a variety of places and typically indicates that that an element or linked piece or part might not be functioning properly or that the link is damaged.  Since your links appear to be fine I would not worry about the arrow.

It would be good to see if this can be recreated in a new drawing as well.

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

[DawnAW]

I appreciate you looking into it for me.  I will just have to keep an eye on that link to make sure that it updates properly.  So far it is fine but we will see what the future holds.  Thank you for your help.

[john.vellek]

Good morning sparkyfeets,

I’ve just accepted the response to your post (linked here) as a solution with the understanding that it is the correct answer.

If my response did not work as an answer, please reply to the previously linked thread so that I can unmark the solution, and we can continue the conversation.

No action is required if my response did work as an answer, however I wanted to point out that if the opportunity arises again you can also click on the ‘Accept as Solution’ button if/when relevant so that others can more easily benefit from the information. Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

[martha.quick]

This is an older post but I've found that when I notice red arrows or exclamation marks in my 'External Reference' box for data links and if I have more than one table per excel sheet, that all of the column widths MUST be identical.  If they are not then I will get a red arrow and/or exclamation mark for each table that is different than the first table.  I hope this helps.

[DawnAW]

Thanks for posting. Every little bit helps.