The Mad Cadder

Improved BIND feature in eTransmit (AutoCAD 2010)

Out of all the new features in AutoCAD 2010, the improvement of the BIND command built within the eTransmit feature is one of the best.

The standard BIND command in the Xref Manager has always had two options which I call "BIND-->Bind" and "BIND-->Insert". I am not going to provide the full details of these options but in the end the "BIND-->Bind" option put a $0$ in front of the name of every layer coming from an Xref and the "BIND-->Insert" keeps the original layer name.

The BIND command has been in the eTransmit for many releases but it defaults to the "BIND-->Bind" option. First off, having the BIND command in eTransmit is fantastic. It allows the user to quickly BIND multiple Xrefs across multiple drawings at the same time. In other words, you can BIND all the Xrefs in drawings A-1 through A-12 in one shot. The only problem is that all the layers begin with the dreaded $0$ because there was no option to change the BIND to "BIND-->Insert". Now you can!

In the eTransmit setup for 2010, AutoCAD now gives the user an option to Bind or Insert.

How to:

1. Save your current drawing.

2. Type: etransmit

3. Choose Transmittal Setup

 

4. Choose: Modify button

5. on the top right, select "Bind external references"

 

6. Select the type of BIND you want.

Xref Fade Control

I am not sure if this is a new features for AutoCAD 2009 or 2010, but the solution is the same. When an xref is inserted in the drawing the colours appear faded. It looks like it is in a permanent "in-place edit block" mode but it is not.

I actually like this new feature because it allows for visual recognition of line work and a distinction between an xref and objects drawn.

To control the intensity of the fade or remove the fading use the following steps:

1. In AutoCAD, open the OPTIONS dialogue box.
2. Choose the DISPLAY tab.
3. Located at the bottom-right of the dialogue box, there is a section called "Fade Control".
4. Adjust the slide bar labeled "Xref display" to control the intensity of the Xref fade.