To Generate Spaces from Xrefs Using Overrides in the Host Drawing

If you do not want to make changes to the Bound Spaces property of objects in the xref drawing, you can use an override in the host drawing to change the boundary objects in xrefs without making a change to the xref drawing. For example, if you are a building engineer and receive an architectural drawing from which you want to generate spaces, but you do not want to change any boundary objects in the original drawing, you can xref the drawing into a new host drawing, and override the Bound Spaces property of xref objects in the new host drawing. The source drawing remains unchanged, but you can still generate spaces in the new drawing that are different from those generated in the xref drawing.

1. Xref the drawing from which you want to generate spaces into the host drawing.
2. Select the xref.
3. In the Properties palette, click Advanced category, and verify that the Bound Spaces setting is set to Yes.
4. Display all boundary objects in the drawing (both host and xref) by clicking Home tabInquiry panelShow Space Boundaries.

   If the objects displayed by that command do not meet your needs, you need cancel space generation, and first apply overrides to the Bound Spaces properties of the desired xref objects.

5. At the Command prompt, enter aecspacesetboundingobjects.
6. Select the desired boundary objects in the xref, and press Enter.
7. On the command line, enter Y (Yes) to generate the override, and press Enter.
   Note: An xref override is only valid for the selected instance of the xref in the host drawing where it is set. If the same xref drawing is referenced into a different host drawing, or as another instance into the same host drawing, no overrides exist.

   If you now generate the spaces, all overridden objects in the xref will now be used to generate spaces.

8. If you have not applied any overrides yet, and no valid space boundaries can be found because none of the objects in the xref drawing have their Bound Spaces property set to Yes or the objects that are do not enclose a valid space, a task dialog box will appear and prompt you to select objects that should bound spaces.
9. In this case either select all visible objects as boundary objects, or select individual objects, and press Enter. This will automatically set the Bound Spaces properties of all selected objects to Yes, and if those objects are in an xref will add an override to them in the current drawing.