Xref won't bind

[Anonymous]

I have Drawing A that is x-referenced (attached) into Drawing B, and then Drawing B is x-referenced (attached) into Drawing C. 

When I am in drawing C and try to bind my x-references, it simply does nothing.

How can i bind a drawing with 2 tiers of x-references? I would prefer not to bind Drawing B first then bind Drawing C if possible.

[leothebuilder]

It is possible that one or more of these drawings contain objects that prevent the binding of xrefs.

Are these drawings created in something other than plain autocad? Maybe Civil 3d or a vitical like that?

[wispoxy]

@Anonymous I don't have time to deal with this issue in my drawings, so I open an x-ref from right-clicking on it, bind it at its original file, then copy it and go back to my master file and paste it.

[pkolarik]

We've run into this issue as well. Some times the nested xrefs will bind, but most times they won't (probably 8 or 9 out of 10 times they won't). The only solution we've found was to bring the xrefs A and B into drawing C directly, not A into B then B into C.

Admittedly, we haven't spent a ton of time trying to fix this issue as we hardly ever bind our xrefs, but we've had two projects last year where the people we had to submit drawings to wanted the xrefs bound.

[wispoxy]

Causes:

• If an XREF is either unloaded, orphaned, or otherwise missing, then it will not bind.
• Circular references.
• File corruption.
• Problem with the user profile in Windows.
• XREF is attached more than once

Solution:

Typically, when an XREF will not bind, the first thing to check is that the first two scenarios noted above under Causes are not in place, and if they are, then to resolve them. If the XREF still will not bind after that, it then becomes a matter of trying to fix file corruption. Go to each file involved and run AUDIT and PURGE and then try the bind again. If it still does not work, the next level of cleanup is needed. Follow these steps:

1. Open one of the problematic files and make sure all layers are on and thawed.
2. Detach any XREFs.
3. Using the WBLOCK command, block out all the information in the file to create a new drawing. Select the objects by windowing them; do not type ALL.
4. Open a blank DWG. Do not use any templates.
5. Using the INSERT command, insert the file created in step 3.
6. EXPLODE the newly inserted information so it is not a block any longer. 

After this is complete, go back to the original file and the XREFs will likely now bind correctly. If they still do not, the issue may stem from a problem with the Windows user profile. Log on to the machine as any other user than the one not able to bind. If other users can bind the files after logging in, then likely the initial user needs to have AutoCAD reset to defaults or the user profile rebuilt.

See Also:How to reset AutoCAD to defaults

Article ID: kA230000000tulR