PDF Xref Display Order Issues

[TomW4364]

I'm attempting to georeference an xref PDF layout sheet into my drawing. To do this, I want to position the PDF so that it aligns with CAD lines representing building footprints. I intend to match the PDF in the background with the CAD objects in the foreground.

I have the display order set so that the Xref is in the background and the CAD objects are in the foreground. Everything appears correctly until I select the PDF xref- the moment I select the xref, everything overlapping the xref area disappears. Even with the xref fade set to 100, selecting the xref hides everything within its area.

Is there some setting controlling this behavior? I want the xref to remain in the background when selected, not jump to the front. See the two images below. The first image is with the xref selected, the second image is with the xref not selected.

[jroot]

You could play with the IMAGEHLT variable (zero or 1), not sure if it would matter that it is an xref.  

[cwr-pae · Accepted solution]

Set "TRANSPARENCYDISPLAY" to 1 and then set the pdf to have transparency of 50 or more. This will only affect the display of the pdf unless you also turn on plot transparency in the page setup manager or when plotting. Any selected object comes to front creating your issue. The above is work around to allow you to see your linework when selecting the pdf.

[HAGED333]

Just lock the xref'd pdf layer, that's always worked for me.