To Work With Data Shortcut References

Note: Data shortcuts must be created before references can be created. For more information, see To Work With Data Shortcuts.

To reference a data shortcut

After creating data shortcuts, you can create references to those data shortcuts in the active drawing, which is called the consumer drawing. Only one copy of a reference object can be imported into a consumer drawing. If a reference copy exists, the referencing menu option is not available.

When you create references to data shortcuts that are stored in subfolders, the subfolder structure is replicated in the consumer drawing.

Objects can be referenced only from the active project, which is listed in Toolspace, on the Prospector tab.

Tutorial Exercise: Referencing Data Shortcuts

1. Save the drawing into which you want to create the data shortcut references.
2. In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Data Shortcuts collection to find the objects you want to reference.
3. Do one of the following:
   • Right-click the objects or folders that contain the objects. Click Create Reference.
   • Select the objects or folders that contain the objects and drag them from the Prospector tree into the drawing.
   Note: You can create multiple references at once by using Shift+click or Ctrl+click to select the data shortcuts.

Note: You can also create references from the Data Shortcut Manager dialog box.

For more information about the behavior of surface references, see To Work With Surface References.

For more information about the persistence of data reference geometry in drawings, see About Data Shortcuts.

To promote a reference

Promote references to independent objects.

A promoted reference becomes an independent object, and is no longer automatically updated if the original source is edited.

Note: Corridor references cannot be promoted.

1. In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Data Shortcuts collection to see the data shortcut of interest.
2. Right-click the reference object and then click Promote.

To promote all references in a drawing

Note: Corridor references cannot be promoted.

1. Manage tab Data Shortcuts panel Promote All Data References Find.
2. In the Promote All Data References dialog box, click Promote All Referenced Objects Into The Current File.

To repair broken references

You can recover from minor changes such as a moved or renamed drawing.

When a data shortcut reference is broken, the icon is displayed next to the invalid data shortcut in Toolspace, on the Prospector tab for the host or consumer drawing.

Broken references typically occur if a source drawing has been renamed or moved to a different folder. If you can identify the new name or location, it is quite easy to repair the references. If the source drawing contains multiple data shortcuts, once you identify the drawing you are prompted to repair all of the references.

1. In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the object name of the broken reference, and then click Repair Broken References.
2. In the Choose the File dialog box, navigate to the source drawing for the referenced object, and then click Open.

   If the source drawing contains other broken references, the Additional Broken References dialog is displayed. You can click the Repair All Broken References button, or click Cancel to repair only the broken reference you selected.

To view the source drawing path and name

You view the full path to the source drawing for a data reference object.

1. In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the parent node for the object. For example, if the data reference object is a centerline alignment, click Centerline Alignments.
2. In the Item List view, scroll until the Source Drawing column is visible.

To access a data shortcut source drawing

Open the source drawing for a data reference.

This is useful if the source object requires editing.

1. In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Data Shortcuts collection to see the data shortcut of interest.
2. Right-click the data shortcut, and then click Open Source Drawing.

The source drawing for the data shortcuts is displayed in a new document window.