What is the difference between overlay and attach an XREF in AutoCAD?

Attachment: Saves a copy of the xref drawing in your drawing. Overlay: Creates a link to the xref drawing in your drawing.

What is an xref overlay?

An attached XREF is attached to the file and will follow it into future XREF’s. The overlay is like a transperancy and does not follow if the new file is used as an XREF. If DWG “A” is XREF’d into DWG “B” as an attachment, when you XREF DWG “B” into another file it will bring the XREF of DWG “A” with it.

What is an overlay AutoCAD?

External references, or xrefs, are files brought into AutoCAD drawings as attachments or overlays. The option to overlay or attach an xref is available under the Reference Type section of the Attach External Reference menu in AutoCAD.

How do you overlay xref in AutoCAD?

To Overlay an Xref

1. Click .
2. In the Select Reference File dialog box, select the file you want to attach and then click Open.
3. In the External Reference dialog box, under Reference Type, select Overlay.
4. Specify the insertion point, scale, and rotation angle. Click Specify On-Screen to use the pointing device. …
5. Click OK.

Can you overlay a picture in AutoCAD?

2 Answers. There is no such built-in feature in AutoCAD. You can however insert the image in the background. Or you can write your own plugin to do that.

How do you change XREF type?

Switch the Xref Type to Be an Attachment or an Overlay

1. Click Insert tab Reference Panel Find .
2. In the External References palette, File References panel, change the type using one of these methods: To change a single reference: In the Type column, double-click the cell to toggle between Overlay and Attach.

What is difference between attachment and overlay?

Attachment: Saves a copy of the xref drawing in your drawing. Overlay: Creates a link to the xref drawing in your drawing.

How do I overlay in Autodesk?

Create Overlay Views



On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Base, and then in the Drawing View dialog, specify the assembly file and the view representation. On the ribbon, click Place Views tab Create panel Overlay, and then click the base view.