To Partially Open a Drawing

1. Click the Application button Open Drawing.
2. Select a drawing file.
3. Click the Open button arrow and choose Partial Open.
4. Select a view and select one or more layers.

   You can load only geometry from model space views that are saved in the current drawing.

   If you do not select a layer or layers to load, no layer geometry is loaded into the drawing but all drawing layers exist in the drawing. If no layer geometry is specified to load into the drawing, no geometry is loaded even if the geometry from a view is specified to load. If you draw objects on a layer that is not loaded, you may be drawing on top of existing geometry that is not loaded in the drawing.

   Note: Xref-dependent layers are displayed in the Layer Geometry to Load list only if the selected drawing was last saved with the VISRETAIN system variable set to 1. Any layers created in the xref since the xref was loaded into the drawing are not displayed in the Layer Geometry to Load list.
5. Click Open.

If the drawing contains a spatial index, you can select the Use Spatial Index option.

A spatial index is a list that organizes objects based on their location in space. A spatial index is used to locate the portion of the drawing that is read, reducing the time required to open the drawing.

If the drawing contains xrefs that you don't want to load, select Unload All Xrefs on Open.

Note: If you partially open a drawing that contains a bound xref, only the portion of the xref that is bound to the partially open drawing (defined by the selected view) is loaded.