I recently had a great question come my way by way of an attendee to a webinar I hosted on managing AutoCAD Layers. I mentioned that, at least between AutoCAD files, unless some vertical like Civil 3D or a Macro is used, the layer property groups do not port. This is also true of XREFs.

I also showed how layer states are easily created from layer property groups. Layer states create snapshots of the state of the layers at a time and save it. At any time, a person can then restore the state of these layers. All the properties of the layers are included in the states.

XREFs do port their layer states, so it does allow one to at least gain control of the XREFs in this way. If the Layer states are managed through a BIM Execution Plan, it should be relatively easy to use.

If you need help adopting AutoCAD in your practice, please contact Micrographics so we may be of assistance.