Imported CAD Files - how to update these?

[octavio2]

I notice that the imported CAD files into a Revit plan do not change automatically when the Xrefs CAD files change. 

It is possible to have the imported CAD Xrefs update on the Revit drawings when the CAD drawings are updated?

Thanks in advance. 

[chrisplyler · Accepted solution]

If you Link the cad files in, instead of importing them in, you will be able to Reload the linked files whenever you wish. It is a manual operation though.

[octavio2]

Thanks for your repply.  Will keep that in mind and use "link" for the next upper floors insertions.

Now that the XRefs of the 1st Floor already are on the drawings, is there a way to "link" these existing CAD XRefs already there without having to delete these and re-insert them again, something like like "reload" or similar step? (I am trying to avoid redoing the circle again, since I already have set the crops, etc..., which are tedious tasks by themselves with some many XRefs, as it appears, since  a lot of "rectangles" appear which I had to find out what they were or where they came from.  For example, as one of the issues that came after the insertion, after inserting the orginal XRefs at one point I lost the four elevation marks and it took me a while and some doing to find these again.  By the way, if the phase is set to "existing", why the four original default "Elevation" marks dissapears if we still want to see the "existing" elevations at some future again?).

[octavio2]

New related issue: I have the North Elevation from AutoCAD linked to the North Elevation of Revit, linked.

(In the AutoCAD Drawing, all the elevations are in the same AutoCAD drawing).

Now I want to have the East Elevation of AutoCAD linked also to the East Elevation of Revit.  When I try to link it, a dialog tells me that one instance of this link already exist and that contunuing will create a new link... etc,  and it oculd  be invisible because the link is unloaded...

How could I make it visible?  Do I need to reload?  Or.....?

Please advise the process... 

[chrisplyler]

There is no simple step to convert an imported file to a linked file instead.

If all your elevations are in a single Autocad file, you will have to link it in once for each Revit elevation view that you want it to be in. In each case, make sure the proper Revit elevation view is active, link in the Autocad file making sure to select the option for Current view only, move/align it so that the approprate elevation lines up with your Revit view properly, and then turn on the Crop Region of the Revit view and adjust it so that all the rest of the linked file isn't shown. Or you don't have to crop it like that, if you're going to be hiding it or unloading it later anyway.

The warning you get about a link already existing and continuing will create another instance is okay. But yes, they won't be visible if the link is not loaded. You can load and unload a link any time you wish.