Xref are missing

[fujifilm3000]

Hi there:
I'm using AutoCAD 2011. I have like 25 drawing in a folder. I open each of them and SAVE AS in a different folder; however, when I open them after save as, all the Xref. are gone. (The set-up is: Overlay, and the save path is Relative)
What should I do in order to save or move this drawings any where and be able to open them.

Thank you so much for your help!

[ccowgill]

Well if you changed the name of the file when you saveas, you are out of luck, other than manually repathing. If all you did was relocate it to a different folder, as long as the folder structure is the same, everything should work fine.

[fujifilm3000]

I JUST CREATED A FOLDER INSIDE THE FOLDER WHERE I HAVE THE DRAWINGS, THEN OPEN, AND SAVE AS,,,THAT'S IT. I REALLY DONT UNDERSTANT WHY THE XREF. ARE MISSING....

[cadtag]

Hi there:
I'm using AutoCAD 2011. I have like 25 drawing in a folder. I open each of them and SAVE AS in a different folder; however, when I open them after save as, all the Xref. are gone. (The set-up is: Overlay, and the save path is Relative)
What should I do in order to save or move this drawings any where and be able to open them.

Thank you so much for your help!


Why are you opening and doing a SaveAs? why on earth not just copy from folder to folder in Windows explorer? If you do that, and maintain the relative path from the sheet files to the reference files, then you should not have any issues.

For example, if your sheet files are in Z:\projectno\sheets, and the reference files are in z:\projectno\bases, the relative path from the dawings in sheets to the reference files in bases is ..\bases\xrefname.dwg

you can copy the files in the sheets folder to P:\newproj\drawings and the xref base files to P:\newproj\bases, and everything will be peachy.

Oth, look a ReferenceManager and repath em all after you've copied them.

[cadtag]

I JUST CREATED A FOLDER INSIDE THE FOLDER WHERE I HAVE THE DRAWINGS, THEN OPEN, AND SAVE AS,,,THAT'S IT. I REALLY DONT UNDERSTANT WHY THE XREF. ARE MISSING....

the relative path from the drawings to the reference files has changed. were they both in the same folder previously? or what was the path to each?

[fujifilm3000]

What I did.
Open a file from: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET
Save As in: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET/NEW..
It should call the Xref. or not?...it's simple!

[jaberwok]

What I did.
Open a file from: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET
Save As in: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET/NEW..
It should call the Xref. or not?...it's simple!

not if the xrefs are in a different folder.
why not just copy the folder that contains the drawings AND the folder that contains the xrefs if different. Otherwise you will need to repath either as a different relative path or as an absolute path. You are adding another level to the path so you could use ""..\ooo\ooo" instead of ".\ooo\ooo" (2 periods in place of one).

[fujifilm3000]

the relative path from the drawings to the reference files has changed. were they both in the same folder previously? or what was the path to each?

I havent changed anything, I just Opened it, and Save As....in the same root, but in a new folder

[jaberwok]

I havent changed anything, I just Opened it, and Save As....in the same root, but in a new folder

OF COURSE YOU'VE CHANGED SOMETHING!
You've changed the file location.

[cadtag]

What I did.
Open a file from: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET
Save As in: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET/NEW..
It should call the Xref. or not?...it's simple!

but what folder is the xref in?

if it was in Y-SHEET with the drawing file, the relative path from the dwg to the reference was .\reference.dwg

after you changed the location of the drawing, without changing the location of the xref, relative pathing still has the application looking in .\ , when the correct relative path is ..\

Yes, it is simple. you just need to understand and think about what relative pathing means.

[jaberwok]

Another possibility -

Still assuming the xrefs are in a separate folder, saveas to a folder that's level with the drawing folder instead of to a folder within the drawing folder i.e. Save As in: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEETNEW.

[tedg]

What I did.
Open a file from: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET
Save As in: J:/1603-01/CAD/SKCC/Y-SHEET/NEW..
It should call the Xref. or not?...it's simple!
As others have been trying to tell you, where you "saved as" your new sheet, is causing your problem because of relative xref pathing.

Relative pathing only knows what you tell it (relative to the sheet file), so if you have a sheet file in
X:\12345\SHEETS
and it's looking for the xref in
X:\12345\XREFS
And you create a folder inside your sheets folder (per your post) and do a "save as" to your sheet drawing.
X:\12345\SHEETS\NEW

Your new sheet is only looking up one folder for the xref (because of relative pathing) and your xrefs are two folders away. It can't find it.

If you created your new folder in an equal heiarchy to the "sheets" folder saved as to that, it would have worked. Example:
X:\12345\SHEETS_NEW

Now if you saved the full path, it would have followed along as you're expecting when you do a save as.

Hope this helped.

BTW: I tested all of this and it worked the way I explain it.
Using relative xreffing, I created a folder inside a "sheets" folder and did a save as, when I closed and re-opened, it had lost the xref. When I did a save as back up to the sheets folder (naming the sheet dwg a different name), closed out, opened it back up and it found the xref again. Did a save as again to a new folder equal to the sheets folder, closed and opened again and it still found the xref.

[cadtag]

This doc on the adesk site gives some more information about how relative pathing works.

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-5d95.htm,topicNumber=d0e148663

written for 2010, but relative paths have been consistent since floppy disks were 5-1/4"