Autodesk 00128-051462-9310 - AUTOCAD 2008 COMM UPG FRM 2005 DVD, User Manual

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3D view of curtain showing global and manual cut planes at each level
For more information, see “ Working with Cut Planes in a Project ” on page 308.
Before You Begin: External References Within a Project
The Drawing Management feature uses external references as a means to create a project and maintain it. Elements are
referenced into constructs, constructs are referenced into views, and views are referenced into sheets. The mechanism
of referencing is identical to the regular AutoCAD External References Management feature. However, the background
methods employed have additional features.
Whenever you define a project drawing, an accompanying XML file is created. That XML file contains information
about level and division assignments and viewport and content information appropriate for the type of drawing. The
XML file is vital for the project. Under no circumstances should you delete it (unless you are deleting the entire project).
The Project Navigator has a number of commands for referencing project files—like elements, constructs, and views—into
other project files.
If you are working in a project environment, use the Project Navigator commands to reference project drawings into
other project drawings. Do not use the standard AutoCAD Xref Manager to reference project drawing files into other
project drawing files. The AutoCAD Xref Manager cannot differentiate between project drawings (with an accompanying
XML file) and non-project drawings (plain DWG files). If you reference a non-project file into a project file by mistake,
you cannot use the full Drawing Management functionality on that file. For example, a drawing file referenced into a
project file via the AutoCAD Xref Manager is not assigned a project category and does not display in the Project
Navigator.
NOTE Drawing Management supports the use of relative paths for external references. In the project setup, you can decide
whether external references within the project should be inserted with full paths, or with paths relative to the project folder.
Working with relative xref paths makes moving the project and e-transmitting it easier and reduces the need for re-pathing
the project. For more information on relative and full paths, see “Set Paths to Referenced Drawings” in AutoCAD Help.
Keep these considerations in mind when working with a project:
■
Do not delete any XML files generated by the Drawing Management feature. They are vital for the project.
■
Use the commands of the Project Navigator to create, modify and reference project files within the project. If you
want to use existing non-project files in a project, convert them to project files first. For more information, see
“
Converting a Legacy Drawing to an Element ” on page 234 and “ Converting a Legacy Drawing to a Construct ” on
page 221.
■
Determine in the project setup whether to insert full xref paths or relative xref paths.
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