Using the Insert Reference - Bind Type Dialog Box

Use the Insert Reference - Bind Type dialog box to make referenced drawings a permanent part of a host drawing.

The Bind and Insert options provide two modes of binding a Reference:

• Bind mode transforms the referenced drawing to a Block in the drawing and incorporates dependent symbols such as Layers, LineStyle definitions, TextStyles, and DimensionStyles into the host drawing with unique names that start with a blockname$n$ prefix, where blockname is the name of the Reference and n is a number starting at 0. For example, the layer basement of the Reference changes to house$0$basement. If the same name already exists, the number is changed incremetally, for example, house$1$basement. The Bind option is the traditional behavior when binding References.
• Insert mode detaches the Reference and inserts the referenced drawing as Block (as if you used the InsertBlock command). In this case the entities newly attached in the drawing are placed on the existing Layers and a new Layer is created if it did not exist before in the host drawing. The same happens with LineStyles, TextStyles, etc. Named dependent symbol definitions are merged into the current drawing without adding prefixes.

To bind a Reference to the drawing:

1. On the References palette, in the Referenced Files list, select a loaded Reference .
2. Right-click and click Bind.
3. In the Insert Reference dialog box, specify the Bind Type:
   • Bind. Converts the Reference into a Block and uses unique symbol names for Layers and style definitions in the drawing using the blockname$n$symbolname syntax.
   • Insert. Detaches the Reference and inserts the referenced drawing as a Block.
4. Click OK.
5. The Reference disappears from the Referenced Files list. It is replaced by a Block insertion.

  Note: You cannot bind nested References.