Working with external reference files

External reference files are used by CAD applications to make drawings modular. That is, to store portions of a drawing in separate files so that they can be edited individually or simultaneously. When a (parent) drawing is opened that contains references to external files, the (child) files are automatically loaded by the application.

The Project Portal Advanced File Management add-on makes working with external reference files easier by automatically including external reference files in common actions performed on the parent documents. For example, checking out a parent file automatically checks out the child (external reference) files. Instead of downloading only the selected file, all of the related files are combined into a single archive file (with the file extension .krd, by default) for you to download. When you open the archive file on your computer, a Project Portal program extracts the files into working folders that are configured in Project Portal. Then the CAD application loads the parent file, which in turn loads the external reference files and you can start working with the drawing.