If your Xref is consistent - always having the same layer names, etc.... the you could look into creating a temporary Xref in the project directory which can be a set up in a drawing template which also expects to find the Xref in the project directory ALWAYS with the same name . Then simply replace the temporary with the file containing all of the information and you are done.
This technique works great with details being the Xref. as the individual details can be created/edited and saved in the project where they are used. You only open and work on a small detail, save the detail and after working through all of the details, assign them the XREF name corresponding to the location you wish to place them on the detail sheet.
